The Las Vegas Raiders will be looking for a head coach and potentially a franchise quarterback should they use the No. 1 pick for that. Moreover, minority owner Tom Brady will reportedly help with the head coaching search and likely have an input on the No. 1 pick.
While it’s been over a year since Brady secured a minority stake in the Raiders, his ownership of part of the team while calling games as the lead analyst for FOX Sports still doesn’t sit well with some.
The latest to call out Brady for picking one lane is ESPN’s Chris Russo, who had strong words for the NFL for allowing the former QB to call playoff games while helping Las Vegas find a new head coach.
“I understand my buddy [Troy] Aikman; he’s a consultant [and] he doesn’t own the [Miami] Dolphins,” Russo said on the Jan. 7 edition of “First Take” (h/t Awful Announcing). “What is Brady doing now? The NFL is going to allow Brady to call the games on Fox and also pick the Raiders’ coach.
“He’s an owner. You could do one or the other. You can’t do both. I mean, it’s just ridiculous that the guy who’s going to call a game this weekend is going to pick the Raiders’ coach and the quarterback and the number one pick. He’s going to make the decision. You think Mark Davis is making a decision? No way. He’s got Brady sitting there.”
“So Brady is going to call the game this week in Philadelphia. At the same time, he’s going to have [his] cell phone going on to see who’s a candidate to coach the Raiders. That is a bad look.”
Mike Florio Calls Out Tom Brady Over Raiders Season
Russo isn’t the only member of sports media calling out Brady. After the Raiders parted ways with Pete Carroll, NBC Sports NFL insider Mike Florio didn’t hold back on the team’s minority owner.
“He was brought in to stabilize the organization,” Florio said on the Jan. 5 edition of “PFT PM.“ “Owner Mark Davis said so himself. Brady got a slice of the team at a below-market rate, in part because Davis is buying Tom’s expertise. Remember, last year, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that this is Tom’s show now. That was a year ago.
“If it was really a show, it would be cancelled. It was a mess. Brady somehow has avoided the blame for it. Not many. I know I’m one of them. We have to call it like we see it. This is partially Brady’s fault. He’s the one who’s pressing buttons, and he’s the one who’s choosing not to go all in. I’ve said for weeks now, Brady’s got to go all in or all out. You can’t do this job halfway. We’ll see how much time he spends on it going forward.”
Richard Sherman Doesn’t Hold Back on the Raiders
Moreover, the decision to fire Carroll and bring in another head coach didn’t sit well with former NFL cornerback Richard Sherman.
“I didn’t see it coming,“ Sherman said in a Jan. 7 video from “The Richard Sherman Podcast.” “I didn’t think they would be that impatient. Sure, this was a rough year. Obviously, Chip Kelly wasn’t the guy they thought he was. His system doesn’t necessarily work in the National Football League. It works in college, and it works well in college. It does not work in the National Football League.
“It’s odd that Pete would have hired him when he’s played him as an opponent, and we’ve had a lot of success against that system. I thought that would give him another chance, another year to continue to establish the culture, also knowing that they’re paying other coaches—your previous coaches—a lot of money.”
NFL Faces Strong Words Over Raiders Minority Owner Tom Brady