Tom Brady is finally in the Raiders' spotlight
Of all the various surprises of the past 36 hours, one sentence stunned me more than any other.
From the press release announcing the Raiders' decision to fire coach Pete Carroll: "Moving forward, General Manager John Spytek will lead all football operations in close collaboration with Tom Brady, including the search for the club's next head coach."
That official remark from the Raiders ends any effort by Brady to keep a low profile when it comes to the very low profile the Raiders have assumed in the NFL's overall landscape.
Last January, the Las Vegas Review-Journal declared that the Raiders are "Tom's show now." But when the Tom show became a shit show, Brady avoided criticism for it, thanks to the perception that his involvement is far more limited than the circumstances would suggest.
He had staked out the best possible sweet spot with one of the league's worst teams. If things go well, he gets the credit. If things go poorly, he gets no blame. He's a part-timer, at best. A consultant with equity. He's not working elbow to elbow, with anyone.
That's not what owner Mark Davis envisioned when giving Brady a piece of the team at a below-market price. Davis said last January that he specifically brought Brady on board to fill the role previously held by Jon Gruden.
Some, but not many, have refused to give Brady a pass for being a passive voice in the direction of the Raiders. Monday's statement makes it clear that Brady will be making decisions. And that, if those decisions don't pan out, Brady will be blamed.
Of course, like all owners, he can't be fired. For Brady, however, it's not about being held privately accountable by Davis. It's about being held publicly labeled as a failure in his effort to translate his skills as a quarterback to the management of a team.
Regardless of whether Brady has gotten the blame he deserves for the decisions made and not made in 2025, he's on the hook as of 2026. And the conflict of interest between his Fox job and his "close collaboration" with Spytek in the leadership of all Raiders football operations becomes more clear than ever before.
No, Brady shouldn't be doing both jobs. Now, there will be no doubt that he is.
To do it right, his best move would be to step down from Fox, move to Las Vegas, and show up for work, every day. But he's not willing or able to make that commitment, given his various other commitments and revenue streams.
That's why Peyton Manning hasn't gotten involved with a team. He know he wouldn't be able to do what he's wired to do: Go all in, all the time.
And so the next phase of Brady's ownership has begun. He's front and center, even if he won't be around nearly as much as he needs to be. And if this shift in his commitment to the Raiders doesn't work, the next move will be either to step up - or step off.