Like many dads, Adam Johnson is a Little League coach in his spare time. But like a true pro, he can’t resist using the skills from his day job.
As preteens and assistant coaches scurry around, one Little Leaguer catches his attention, and Johnson interrupts our phone call for a minute.
“Does he need a glove? He doesn’t need a glove, do you?” Johnson calls out. Even on the precipice of Little League glory, he’s still an equipment manager at heart. But not just any equipment manager: Johnson is at the top of his profession, having worked for the Raiders for nearly 20 years. Now he’s vying for a different type of title, coaching his son Oliver in the Little League World Series as the champions of the Mountain Region.
A week after Johnson worked Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium, he hosted tryouts for the Paseo Verde Little League team from Henderson, Nev. Now at the end of the NFL offseason, he’s still coaching.
“I’ll tell you this much,” Johnson tells Front Office Sports, “I’ve had more days off this August for this Little League thing than I have any August in football ever.”
With the Raiders, his official title is assistant equipment manager. He’s in charge of “practice equipment logistics, quarterback ball preparation, staff, coaches, and players practice and game apparel” and “all the clothing and headwear orders for the club,” according to his bio on the team website.
Summer is one of the busiest times of the year for equipment staff preparing for the upcoming season. Johnson understands that his being in Williamsport, Pa., means more work for his Raiders colleagues, and says he’s grateful for the organization for letting him go.
“You go from 12-hour days, 7 days a week during training camp, and all of a sudden, I’m not there,” Johnson says. “I’m indebted to them to be able to have this opportunity to be with my son here and these other 11 kids to watch them live out, I think, the dream of every kid, and a lot of adults also.”
Johnson said the Raiders have done more than just let him take days off. He got pictures of people watching the regional in the team meal room, and players like Maxx Crosby, Derek Carr, and Josh Jacobs have watched his son grow up and supported his baseball success. Crosby in particular has grown “really close” with Oliver, Johnson says, and even called before their regional-clinching game. He also says he’s gotten lots of supportive messages from people from Alameda Little League, Oliver’s region when the family lived in California. (His team won the title in the first year, with Oliver recording a triple play in the championship game. Johnson says he tries to instill in his son that sometimes baseball teams don’t always win, but so far he’s always been on successful ones.)
Originally from northern Nevada, Johnson first started working with Oakland in 2006. When the team moved to Las Vegas in 2020, Johnson and his family followed. Not knowing anyone in the area, they immediately joined the Little League community, and quickly found out one of Johnson’s assistant coaches had just bought a house one address number apart.
Little League runs in the Johnson family blood. The Raiders’ employee’s father was his coach growing up, and Johnson plans to coach both of his sons until they age out of the system. Johnson calls his wife, Molly, his “rock” as he oscillates between two demanding seasons without much downtime.
“My wife and I joke that we go from Little League to football and football to Little League,” Johnson says. “I’m sure at some time I’ll take a deep breath and I’ll probably get emotional thinking about all of it.”
Johnson says much of what he teaches the kids, he’s learned from the Raiders. He picked up from former interim head coach Rich Bisaccia that “coaches coach, players play.”
Johnson’s crew faces the Metro team from Staten Island, New York on Thursday. Johnson says the team is “very talented,” as is every other team that’s made it this far, but he’s confident in his group.
“The reason they’re here is because they’ve earned it through their hard work and they’re disciplined and doing the right things,” Johnson says. “I like watching these kids play baseball. I like watching the 12 of them enjoy being around each other. And so I just hope that that lasts as long as possible.”
