After providing one of the NFL’s most historical offenses, Todd Monken is being requested to interview with the Las Vegas Raiders
After being requested to interview with the Chicago Bears on Monday and the Jacksonville Jaguars on Tuesday, the Las Vegas Raiders have also requested to interview Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken according to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Wednesday.
#Raiders have requested to interview #Ravens OC Todd Monken for their head coaching position, per source.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 9, 2025
The Raiders fired former player turned-coach Antonio Pierce on Tuesday after one full year on the job following taking over as the interim during the second half of the 2023 season. Under his guidance, Las Vegas went 4-13 and missed the playoffs for the third year in a row. They finished last in the division in 2024 while Monken orchestrated one of the most dynamic, explosive and balanced offenses in the league for a division-winning team primed to make a deep playoff run which is what he is solely focused on right now.
“Everything is about the [Pittsburgh] Steelers,” Monken said Wednesday. “First of all, when anybody puts in a request, it’s really a compliment to the organization, our staff and our players. That’s really what it is. You can’t do it without really good players, really good staff, a great organization and an unbelievable head coach, but there’s nothing about that that factors in right now, other than beating the Steelers.”
From a football standpoint, if Monken were to be offered and take the job, he’d go from one of the best and most secured quarterback situations with a two-time—maybe even soon-to-be three-time—league MVP in Lamar Jackson to a depth chart currently consisting of journeyman veteran Gardner Minshew, second-year pro Aidan O’Connell and third-year cast off Desmond Ridder who is on his third team in two years.
Of the three, Minshew has the most experience and moxie and Monken has had a front row to him leading two different teams to upset wins over the the Ravens in each of the past two seasons. The Raiders currently hold the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft which puts them firmly out of range for one of the top quarterback prospects but could still land them an elite talent at one of their many other positions of need on either side of the ball.
Monken would also be inheriting general manager Tom Telesco who is coming off his first year on the job where his claim to fame is outbidding for the services of veteran defensive tackle Christian Wilkins and having star record-breaking rookie tight end Brock Bowers fall into his lap outside of the top 10 picks in last year’s draft.
One potential positive and intriguing if not appealing aspect of this job is the fact that seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback turned broadcaster, Tom Brady, is a minority owner in the franchise and is expected to be involved in some decision-making capacity this offseason.