Raiders insider offers clarity on Tom Brady's role after rumors of reaching out to Bill Belichick

This week has been all about the Las Vegas Raiders but for all the wrong reasons. First, the franchise made Antonio Pierce address the media in a striking Raiders Starter jacket, only to fire him a day later.

The franchise then parted ways with general manager Tom Telesco, the man who drafted tight end Brock Bowers at No. 13 overall out of Georgia despite drafting Michael Mayer the year prior. Bowers, of course, landed on the All-Pro team as a rookie and was arguably the most impressive storyline to come out of the draft alongside Jayden Daniels and Brian Thomas Jr.

The Raiders became the fifth team to fire their coach and will now conduct interviews with a range of candidates to start planning for next season.

Interestingly, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported this week that Tom Brady, who purchased 5% of the Raiders in 2024, has reached out to Bill Belichick to determine what it would take to entice him to return to the league.

Belichick signed a five-year, $50 million deal with the University of North Carolina late last year but reportedly has a clause in his contract that allows him to renege on the deal to return to the NFL.

However, Raiders insider Vincent Bonsignore doesn't believe the franchise fired Tom Telesco to give Belichick a blank check to fashion the franchise in his image. Responding to speculation from a fan regarding the same, Bonsignore tweeted:

"I'd be shocked if Bill wanted to answer to Tom Brady, or vice versa. It's much more likely (trust me) that Tom Brady is rebuilding his visions with his hand-picked decision-making chain, football-wise."

---

Ranking potential head coach candidates for Tom Brady's Raiders

It appears unlikely that the Raiders will force Belichick wriggle out of his deal with UNC but that doesn't mean they will be short of candidates to take over.

They have already requested an interview with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, arguably the most wanted man in the 2025 pool of candidates. Given that they fired Tom Telesco as GM, the Raiders job could be an attractive one for Johnson if they make him an offer he can't refuse.

If they don't land Johnson (who should, ideally, be their priority), they could land Mike Vrabel, who has a storied history with Brady.

Another big name who has been linked with the Raiders is Pete Carroll, who has already interviewed with the Chicago Bears (and reportedly expressed a desire to coach Caleb Williams).