To those who would insist Tom Brady has no conflict of interest between his job with Fox covering all teams and his position as an owner of one of them, the NFL acknowledged the problem by placing restrictions on his activities for Fox.
For this week, with Brady calling a game featuring two assistant coaches he has interviewed for the Raiders’ head-coaching vacancy and the conflict of interest taking center stage, the league has made no change to the existing rules.
“There have been no further restrictions this week,” chief NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said by email on Friday. “Tom will continue to adhere to the broadcast guidelines and also the anti-tampering and Rooney Rule policies.”
The broadcast guidelines prohibit Brady from attending practice, participating in production meetings, and entering team facilities. They allow, however, Brady to talk to players and coaches on the field and/or before the game.
There’s a way to thread the needle that allows Brady, if he wants, to repeatedly speak to Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and/or Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn by phone in the days preceding the game. And while Brady wasn’t and isn’t permitted to talk to them about the Raiders’ head-coaching job (when in doubt, destroy the phone), Brady had the ability to get a front-row seat to how they went about coming up with a game plan for a high-stakes playoff game.
It gives him an edge no other team has ever had in any head-coaching search. He gets the chance to evaluate, in real time, the process of two candidates for the Raiders’ head-coaching job to prepare for a single-elimination game. What better way to get the overall sense as to whether Johnson and/or Glenn will step up or step off when pressure mounts?
Think of it this way. If you were looking to hire someone to come work for your company, wouldn’t you love to have a chance to witness the manner in which the candidate performs his or her current job? To have access to them as they’re doing it?
The owners have overlooked or disregarded the advantage the Raiders have, thanks to Brady’s dual roles. They might feel differently if/when the Raiders slide from the category of “teams to not worry about” to “teams to take seriously.”
