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Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is reportedly "running everything" as the Las Vegas Raiders' minority owner, the Athletic's Dianna Russini claimed during an appearance on the Ryen Russillo Podcast.
“Let’s just start with making it really clear that Tom Brady is running everything in Vegas,” Russini said. “It’s all Tom Brady. I think there’s some rumors, some chatter — I’m telling you, this is all Tom Brady there. … He is trying to do it and change the Raiders and have a tremendous amount of influence on them.”
Russini's claim came days after the Raiders hired former Super Bowl and BCS national champion Pete Carroll as their next head coach.
Brady, whose purchase of a stake in the Raiders' ownership was approved in October 2024, was reported to have a vital role in the franchise's coaching search after former head coach Antonio Pierce was fired earlier this month. The seven-time Super Bowl champion reportedly targeted former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who instead took the head coaching job with the Chicago Bears last week.
“The pitch to Ben Johnson has to be layered in Bradyisms,” Russini said. “Ben Johnson had to feel like we’re going to do this the right way, I’m going to do this with you. We’re in lockstep. We’re together. We’re a team. Not so much, I’m owner, your coach. And I think that was really enticing to Ben Johnson.”
“I get why Brady was after him. And Brady was enamored with him. He thought he was a brilliant coach," she added.
Brady announced his retirement in February 2023 and recently completed his first regular season as FOX Sports' lead NFL analyst, with scheduled duties for the NFC Championship Game on Sunday (January 26) and Super Bowl LIX on February 9. The San Mateo native is the NFL's all-time passing leader for yards and touchdowns, as well as quarterback wins, among numerous other records and his seven Super Bowl championship victories -- having won six with the New England Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- are more than any other NFL player or team.