The Jacksonville Jaguars have set their sights on several candidates to fill their head coach vacancy, but there's no doubt that Ben Johnson is the best candidate of the bunch. Fortunately, for them, it appears that he's interested in their opening. Moreover, the Jags should feel good about their chances of landing the crown jewel of this hiring cycle despite the fact that the Las Vegas Raiders are making a strong push for him.
Hays Carlyon joined the Frank Frangie Show on the 1010 XL and shared an update on the Jags' coaching search. He says he talked to someone in Johnson's camp and was told that the Lions offensive coordinator has a strong interest in the Jacksonville opening even if general manager Trent Baalke stays.
"Yeah. I
talked to somebody last night who was pretty well-versed on more than Ben Johnson's side of things and feel much better about it," Carlyon responded when Frangie asked if he feels better about the Jags' chances of landing Johnson. "I have reservations about it getting across the goal line and getting it done, but I always felt very leery about this search, and that it would result in Ben Johnson, who was, by far and away, I think, the best candidate for the job."
Carlyon continued, "And that's not to say that Aaron Glenn and others out there aren't capable, but Ben Johnson, to me, with what he's been able to do in Detroit, he's the No. 1 guy. He's exactly what you're looking for, somebody that can take Trevor Lawrence to the next level and build an explosive offense here. And yeah, I feel much better about it that I think Ben Johnson's going to have final say here, which I think is important, even if Trent Baalke, is still the general manager, or whatever post he's going to have. It seems like that's comfortable."
"And the biggest takeaway I had was that I was petrified that Ben Johnson was going to go to the Raiders. We talked about Dan Graziano. That's where he predicted Ben Johnson would end up. We've seen a lot of other national reporters believing that that's where Ben Johnson is going to go because of Tom Brady. They fired the coach and GM in Las Vegas, so we'd have that synergy. I was told that he doesn't have any interest to move into Vegas. So, so that was refreshing. So, yeah, I mean, I feel much better about it right now than I did this time yesterday."
There doesn't seem to be a clear favorite in the Ben Johnson sweepstakes, so Carlyon's update is a breath of fresh air.
One of the biggest reasons aside from the Tom Brady factor that the Raiders have become a viable spot for Johnson was that they dismissed general manager Tom Telesco. This would pave the way for the Lions' offensive coordinator to bring in a front-office executive he feels comfortable working with.
However, it looks like Johnson is still interested in the Jaguars job despite the fact that Trent Baalke is somehow still around. Below is the full clip about the Jacksonville coaching search. The tidbit about Johnson starts around the 3:47 mark.
Trent Baalke may not be a factor in the Jaguars' coaching search after all
There's been chatter that Trent Baalke's presence could discourage coaches from interviewing with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In fact, a prominent candidate for the job says that he's less interested in the opening because of the divisive general manager.
The silver lining is that Shad Khans is open to dismissing Baalke if a better option is suggested. Similarly, Josina Anderson reported that the Jaguars would be willing to add another voice to their front office. Regardless of the path they take, it sounds like Ben Johnson is still intrigued with the opening, based on Hays Carlyon's scoop.
Now, many things could happen in the upcoming weeks. After all, this is a fluid situation. That said, the Jacksonville Jaguars should feel great about their chances of hiring Ben Johnson if he's the top candidate on their wish list.