Ben Johnson

Raiders are “enamored” with Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Johnson, who interviewed with the Raiders virtually Friday, has quickly emerged as the candidate to watch for Las Vegas, according to Rapoport. While the Raiders job has some obvious drawbacks such as a difficult division and no long-term solution at quarterback, there are some benefits that might appeal to Johnson, who ultimately decided to sit out the past two coaching cycles. Las Vegas cleaned house and will have alignment from limited partner Tom Brady, who appears to be running the show, to the general manager and head coach. That alignment is said to be important to Johnson, though other teams he’s meeting with like the Bears and Jaguars haven’t made those front office changes. According to Rapoport, the Raiders are also willing to wait for Johnson’s playoff run with the Lions to conclude if it means securing the Detroit play caller as their future head coach. Brady both lobbied internally to make Johnson a priority in the Raiders coaching search and implored Johnson to take the interview through his agent.