NFL Power Shifts: Brady’s Influence Drives Raiders Leadership Moves

The Raiders introduced their new coach Pete Carroll and GM John Spytek to the media Monday, following a lengthy search that was heavily influenced by minority owner Tom Brady.

While Brady wasn’t in Las Vegas on Monday, Raiders owner Mark Davis made it clear the seven-time Super Bowl champion, and current Fox NFL analyst, is one of the franchise’s most important people.

“Bringing in Tom Brady was bringing in somebody that was on the football side that I had been lacking having here in the organization,” Davis said after Monday’s press conference. Brady was one of five key members leading the hiring process, Davis said, a development that raised concern given Brady’s 10-year, $375 million contract at Fox.

Davis said Brady is filling a void left by Jon Gruden, who resigned in 2021 after sexist, racist, and homophobic emails Gruden sent while working for ESPN were published by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Since then, Gruden has been embroiled in a defamation lawsuit against the NFL. 

“Back in I guess it was ’18, with Jon Gruden—he was somebody that I brought in and really expected to be that person on the football side that would bring stability to the organization,” Davis said. “He had a 10-year contract and all that, and his head was chopped off. And we were put in a really bad position as an organization.”

It’s evident Davis still feels chided by how Gruden’s exit played out. 

“We want to build something here,” he said. “And again, that’s been the process and the mindset all along. Like I said, it got offset, or kind of blown up, when Jon Gruden was sent away. So, we’ve been trying to get it right since then. But I’ve got patience to get it right.”

In-State Move

Also on Monday, the Jaguars introduced new coach Liam Coen following his controversial departure from his role as offensive coordinator of the Buccaneers.

Coen’s hiring coincided with Jacksonville firing GM Trent Baalke, who had originally been retained by Jaguars owner Shad Khan when coach Doug Pederson was fired. 

“After the 10 video interviews were done, there was a transition point for me to reflect, and what was the right thing for the organization,” Khan said of his conversations with prospective head coaches. “And that’s when I decided that it was time for a change.” Khan hopes to have a new GM hired by the end of February.