Last January, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the Raiders are “Tom’s show now.”
One year later, if The Tom Brady Show were playing somewhere on the strip, the curtain would fall for good.
But owners can’t be fired. And Brady is an owner of the Raiders. Primary owner Mark Davis specifically sold a slice of the team to Brady at a below-market rate to stabilize the team. After Brady’s first full season on the job, the Raiders are less stable than dry dynamite in the trunk of a three-wheeled Toyota.
Brady has managed, somehow, to avoid widespread scrutiny for the current condition of the team. That won’t last. The time is now for him to make a move.
And with an infusion of Patriot DNA dramatically altering the situation in New England, where two years of 4-13 have become 13-3 and the first division title since Brady’s last year in the building, Brady may be thinking about bringing a little Beantown to Sin City.
The obvious choice would be offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. But that act has already played, and failed, in Vegas. There’s a rumor currently making the rounds that, once Brady rolls up his sleeves (while also wearing one glove and an expensive-ass watch), he’ll make the case for bringing in Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
As the chatter goes, Flores would be the head coach, and former Giants coach Brian Daboll would be the offensive coordinator. Like Flores, Daboll has extensive experience with the Patriot Way. Daboll was there for the first three Super Bowl wins of the Brady/Belichick era, and for two of the second trio of championships.
Brady and Flores are believed to have a good relationship. Flores was among those in Miami who wanted to bring Brady to town after his time in Tampa.
That said, the Brian Flores lawsuit blew up the revised plan to pair Brady with Sean Payton, an effort that resulted in a massive tampering punishment, including the loss of a first-round pick, a $1.5 million fine, and a six-week suspension of owner Stephen Ross.
The Flores lawsuit is still pending. For some teams (including those who are named defendants to the case — Giants, Broncos, Texans, and Dolphins) that would be an issue. For a team like the Raiders, which has a history of litigation against the league, it may not matter. Especially after the manner in which someone saw fit to force out coach Jon Gruden in 2021.
From a coaching standpoint, Flores fits with the widespread trend of finding a coach who is the exact opposite of the last guy. Carroll is a rah-rah, player-friendly coach. Flores is no-nonsense and Belichickian.
Really, Flores may be the closest thing to Belichick (other than McDaniels) currently in the league. If it really is The Tom Brady Show in Las Vegas, Flores & Daboll could be the next Siegfried & Roy.
Before things went awry, that is.
