Tom Brady’s appearance in the Las Vegas Raiders’ coaching booth on Monday night has prompted an outcry from some members of the media and fans, citing a potential conflict of interest with his broadcasting job.
Johnson said Wednesday he’s ‘not worried’ about any potential competitive advantage the Raiders might be getting from Brady, their minority owner who also serves as the lead Fox Sports NFL color commentator. The former quarterback’s job at Fox allows him to participate in production meetings with coaches and players ahead of the game he’s due to broadcast.
Brady is due to commentate the Bears’ Week 3 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys – one week before the Bears are set to play the Raiders. That brought extra intrigue in how Johnson perceived his looming production meeting with Brady.
‘I’m really not worried about it,’ Johnson said. ‘I mean, we change week to week in terms of what we do. Schematically, he’s going to be able to turn on the tape and see what everyone else in the world is seeing right now.
‘It’s not like I’m going to sit down with him and say, ‘Hey, don’t do this to (Bears quarterback) Caleb Williams or you might get it!’ Like, there’s not going to be any trade secrets that are going to be exchanged. But I really don’t think it’s that big of a deal.’
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer shared a similar lack of concern. His team will visit the Raiders in November for a Week 11 ‘Monday Night Football’ matchup.
‘I don’t have a problem with [what Brady is doing],’ he said. ‘Some people might, but look, I’ll talk football with anybody. I love the game, and what Tom does with his ownership position is up to Tom. But in terms of me being concerned about something I might say to Tom getting back to Pete or getting back to them, I think Pete and I know each other pretty well.’
Schottenheimer served as the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator under then-head coach Pete Carroll from 2018 to 2020.
The NFL, for their part, has also excused Brady’s behavior as being allowed under their current policies for the partial team owner and Fox broadcaster.
‘There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches’ booth or wearing a headset during a game,’ NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement Tuesday.
‘Tom continues to be prohibited from going to a team facility for practices or production meetings,’ the statement said. ‘He may attend production meetings remotely but may not attend in person at the team facility or hotel. He may also conduct an interview off site with a player like he did last year a couple of times, including the Super Bowl. Of course, as with any production meeting with broadcast teams, it’s up to the club, coach or players to determine what they say in those sessions.’