But thanks in part to the involvement of Brady, who sources say personally vouched for Johnson and begged him to do the interview through his agent, Johnson spoke to them. Essentially, Brady recruited Johnson for an interview.

And based on Johnson’s work on the field as one of the NFL’s top coordinators and his experience alongside Dan Campbell in helping take the Lions from the ground up to the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, Johnson is considered ideal partner.

Johnson is said to have kept an open mind and is still weighing up which options he likes and which he would take if given the opportunity. He will probably have other options too.

When asked about head coaching jobs during the season, Johnson said in general: “In every man there is a burning desire to find out what he is made of, to push the boundaries and see if he has what it takes. So there’s a fire there.” . When the time comes, I don’t know when it will be, but there’s definitely a fire there.”

The Raiders are an intriguing team, thanks in part to Brady, who became a limited partner last October. He’s been quietly researching coaching candidates for some time, speaking to his old coach Bill Belichick, according to NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero, and using his pregame time on the field to pick the brains of some of the game’s best. For example, Brady called the Lions-Packers game in Week 9 for FOX Sports, which featured two candidates from Las Vegas (Johnson and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn).

Raiders owner Mark Davis was effusive about how he views Brady’s role in his speech at the conclusion of the league’s December meeting in Irving, Texas.

“Obviously I talk to him all the time and his input is greatly appreciated and will always be valued,” Davis told a small group of reporters at the time. “We will see over time how his role here develops. … I want Tom to have a big voice. It’s part of building the infrastructure of the organization that we didn’t have – a football person.” On this side, it’s not a coach or a general manager, but someone who can oversee the big picture. I believe that in time Tom will be the person who can do that.

That time seems to have come now. In fact, Brady was instrumental in the decision to fire Pierce and Telesco, seeking consensus between himself, the GM and the coach.

Now, with a clean slate and Davis’ blessing, he’ll have the chance. And Johnson could play a prominent role.