The Raiders didn't just forget to interview Mike Vrabel before moving on to the Patriots.
Vrabel told former Patriots teammate Tom Brady (who owns a minority stake in the Raiders) that he would probably end up returning to New England. According to a report from NFL Network.
This explains why the Raiders didn't seriously pursue Vrabel due to the vacancy, even though both the Jets and Bears interviewed him. It was clearly a waste of time for both teams, and perhaps it was a way for Vrabel to create influence and force the Patriots to act quickly.
“For months, the most rumored destination for Mike Vrabel was the Las Vegas Raiders. They had his old friend and teammate Tom Brady there as a minority owner, and they actually “Considering the current head coaching search,” insider Tom said. Pelissero said. “My understanding is that the Raiders never requested an interview or tried to bring Mike Vrabel in because Vrabel essentially told Tom Brady, 'I'm going to eventually return to New England. Because I said, “It will be.''
Everyone expected Vrabel to return to New England, where he won three Super Bowls as a player, but Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced in the hours after the final regular-season game that Vrabel would return to New England, where he won three Super Bowls as a player. As soon as he fired (Jerrod Mayo), it would still be offensive if Vrabel had openly treated his landing spot as a formality.
Because of the Rooney Rule, even if the Patriots had their sights set on Vrabel, they would have had to interview two minority candidates before hiring him.
Former NFL offensive coordinators Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich (both no longer in the league and available for immediate in-person interviews) were interviewed.
NFL Network also reported that Brady is personally recruiting Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Johnson's work with quarterback Jared Goff makes him one of the most desirable candidates for any vacancy, but the Raiders do not have a franchise quarterback in place and in Johnson's eyes, That would look like an attack on them.
At least until the GOAT quarterback targets you.
