Silver And Black Pride
Did Las Vegas truly zero in on Ben Johnson as Todd Monken is the only other known offensive play caller team is interested in
The reported interest in Ben Johnson highlighted the Las Vegas Raiders’ intent to revive a comatose offense. And it’s very easy to see why.
The Silver & Black ended its 4-13 2024 campaign ranked 29th in points scored (309), 27th in yards gained (1,065), 28th in passing touchdowns (19), 32nd in rushing yards (1,357), and 28th in rushing touchdowns (10). Las Vegas did rank fourth in passing attempts (635) and 13th in passing yards (3,797), but overall, it was a stinker.
So much so it led to a clean sweep at head coach (Antonio Pierce) and general manager (Tom Telesco) as owner Mark Davis and Co. went for a sweep and clear this offseason.
And, hence, the interest in Johnson. But, the architect of the Detroit Lions’ top-ranked offense in terms of points and second-overall for yards gained, quickly decided to take the Chicago Bears job despite being interviewed by the Raiders. Not even a long chat between Johnson and Raiders minority owner Tom Brady could sway the hot commodity of a candidate.
So, the Raiders’ adventure of finding a new head coach continues. But the team will have another voice in the room in finding a new leading man — John Spytek. Las Vegas is set to hire the Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant general manger to be the GM in the desert. And expect Spytek — who knows Brady dating back to their collegiate days in Michigan and shared time in Tampa — to be included in landing the replacement for Pierce.
Including Johnson, there are seven other known candidates the Raiders are interested in:
Eight total candidates, but what’s peculiar is out of that group, only two were offensive-minded coaches. Or, is it a tell?
The pursuit of Johnson spotlighted the dire need for a defibrillator for the flatlined offense. But the only other name on the list that has the prowess to breath life into the Raiders’ offense is Monken.
It’s not difficult to see why Las Vegas asked to speak with Monken. He engineered a Ravens offense that finished third overall in points scored and tops in yards gained this past season. It surely helps when you have a talented quarterback in Lamar Jackson and a monster running back in Derrick Henry. Monken also has familiarity with Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers during a stint as Georgia’s offensive coordinator from 2020-22.
Las Vegas requested an interview with the Ravens play caller all the way back on January 8 and there’s nary...
