Bear Digest

Raiders didn't know how to take Ben Johnson's no for an answer

Ben Johnson said he wanted the Bears job from Day 1 and Albert Breer reports he told the Raiders ahead of time he wasn't interested, but they forced themselves into the situation.
Gene Chamberlain|
Tom Brady and the Raiders reportedly didn't want to take no for an answer when told they interview wasn't desired.
Tom Brady and the Raiders reportedly didn't want to take no for an answer when told they interview wasn't desired. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Raiders have recently hired Chip Kelly to their staff as offensive coordinator.

Apparently they also have a chip on their shoulders.

There has been great bitterness in Las Vegas over Ben Johnson landing in Chicago. You probably couldn't get more bitterness in Vegas unless someone outlawed keno.

It's all going to make for a very interesting game next season in Las Vegas.

Much of this all stems from what SI's Albert Breer said on The Breer Report about how the new Bears coach considered the Raiders one of the NFL teams he did not want to go to even if he did do an obligatory interview.

It had been widely reported Johnson did not want to go through a ton of interviews and wanted to focus on those for jobs he would be serious about taking.

The Raiders were not among them. They basically forced themselves on Johnson when it wasn't desired and made fools of themselves.

"There were a number of jobs they decided they wouldn't see themselves taking and so they communicated to those teams quietly: 'Don't even put a request in, we don’t want to embarrass you, we don’t want to look like jerks, so we'll respectfully decline. You won’t have to do anything officially, but we're saying no to you and everyone will go on their merry way,' " Breer said on The Breer Report.

The Raiders got their no ahead of time but wouldn't take no for an answer and apparently were intent on embarrassing themselves even after being told Johnson would not be interested.

Johnson's agent and Johnson accomodated Brady, but in his interview on Bill Zimmerman's podcast agent Rick Smith made it clear Johnson was never interested in Las Vegas. However, they politely listened to the pitch. Then they took the Bears job after Johnson told the Bears he wanted the job at the outset of their interview.

Raiders was never happening, and this much was made clear by Smith.

"Tom Brady absolutely has an extremely compelling case that gets you to listen," Smith said on Bill Zimmerman's podcast interview. "The whole thing, 'Ben to the Raiders,' great sources' and all the other stuff? That was never right.”

It seemed more than bitterness and perhaps total pettiness right after Johnson's hiring when an unnamed AFC executive was quoted by Las Vegas Raiders on SI's Hondo Carpenter as saying Johnson is comparable to Josh McDaniels, the former Patriots offensive coordinator who failed as a head coach for Denver and the Raiders.

"I love Ben, and I wouldn’t even think twice about making him the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the NFL, but the Raiders just dodged a bullet," the source told Carpenter. "A fully guaranteed deal for six years with a guy that I am not sure can lead an entire team was risky. Love Ben and love Tom (Brady), but Mark Davis and the Raiders just dodged a bullet."

This guy who says he "loves Ben," then proceeded to paint the new Bears coach as a failure waiting to happen.

"I can attest to you that Josh McDaniels, the man, is a good man,” Carpenter said. “Raiders players liked him away from the building and nobody wished him ill will. But Josh was not a leader of men that the head coach has to be. He's more introverted, more quiet, more to himself. A lot like Ben Johnson … and this person who knows Josh very well and knows Ben Johnson very well … felt the Raiders dodged a bullet and called him (Johnson) Josh McDaniels 2.0."

The Raiders were sure trying to get in the way of that "bullet," though.

The Raiders have Pete Carroll now as head coach. He's a very outgoing guy. They should like that.

The last time he was a leader of men who won a playoff game was in 2016.

The Raiders and Bears can sort all of this out next season.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.