By Armando Salguero

Copyright outkick

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson represented a significant percentage of NFL coaches and personnel people on Wednesday when he was asked his thoughts on meeting with Fox lead NFL analyst Tom Brady this week and possibly giving away secrets that the former quarterback could in turn use to benefit the Las Vegas Raiders. “I’ve been careful,” Johnson said with a straight face. “Everything I’ve said since the season started, I’ve been in pure “coach speak” mode since this season has started.” Bears Not Worried About Conflict Of Interest Brady is covering the Bears versus the Cowboys this week on FOX. So he’ll meet with Johnson and other Bears personnel via zoom, per the NFL’s rules for him, as part of his production meeting duties. But next week the Bears play the Raiders. And Brady is a 5 percent owner of the Raiders. So, obviously there are conflict of interest questions. And Johnson sounds concerned he might give away secrets to Brady, right? Of course not. Johnson broke character and actually laughed at the idea. “I’m really not worried about it,” he said, being serious this time. “I mean, we change week-to-week in terms of what we do schematically. He’s going to be able to turn on the tape and see what everyone else in the world is seeing right now. “Personnel wise, really the same thing. It’s not like I’m going to sit down with him and tell, ‘Hey, don’t do this to Caleb Williams or you might get him.’ There’s not going to be any trade secrets that are going to be exchanged. I really don’t think it’s that big of a deal, to be honest with you.” NFL Coaches Can Govern Their Mouths Multiple NFL coaches addressed this issue on Wednesday. “I understand he’s part ownership with a division opponent,” Broncos coach Sean Payton told reporters. “I get that. Then he covers games. He covers NFC games. That doesn’t bother me.” OutKick communicated with five other AFC and NFC coaches on Wednesday as the whirlwind of controversy about Brady’s twin allegiances to FOX and as minority owner of the Raiders made the rounds. And not one of those coaches is concerned. All said they are capable of using a self-governor to keep vital team information from leaking to Brady or anyone else in a TV production meeting. “So the next time you text me about Brady, it better be because he’s coming here to play QB,” one AFC coach seemingly growled, “cause have you seen our guy play so far?” We are headed into Week 3 of the NFL season in 2025. Brady hasn’t put on a uniform since the 2022 season. And yet he’s on everyone’s lips. Tom Brady In Raiders Coaching Booth He certainly has been on the lips of the folks in the NFL office in New York. That’s because during the Monday Night Football broadcast between the Raiders and Chargers, ESPN’s cameras focused on the Raiders’ coaching booth. And there was Brady, wearing a headset. Jack Buck and Troy Aikman told the audience Brady regularly discusses the game plan with Las Vegas offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. The two meet multiple times a week, they said, to discuss the upcoming game. “That’s not accurate,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll said after game. “Not accurate. That’s not accurate at all. We have conversations. I talk to Tom. Chip talks to Tom. Regularly. I mean, we have a tremendous asset. And so we all get along well, we respect each other. And so we talk about life and football and whatever else comes up.” Carroll Insists Brady Doesn’t Plan Games This thing about Brady meeting with Raiders coaches multiple times a week while currently meeting with coaches on other teams via a virtual production meeting developed into such a story that Carroll had to address it multiple times, including the day after the game. “He has not been — he is not planning games with us,” Carroll said. “He is not talking to us about anything other than our conversations that we have that are really . . . random. They’re not set up, they’re not structured in any way. “And he knows. He’s very respectful of what he does otherwise, and he’s of the opinion that, you know, he doesn’t want to be that kind of a factor, and so he’s not.” So end of story? Of course not. NFL: No Policy About Brady In Booth Other media, meanwhile, went down the rabbit hole of asking the NFL if Brady’s presence in the booth with coaches was any sort of league violation. It should be noted that new Colts principal owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon spends games on the Colts sideline listening to the entirety of the team’s game day communications on headphones, and no one is asking about that. But the NFL had to explain Brady wasn’t doing anything untoward. “There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches’ booth or wearing a headset during a game,” the NFL’s chief spokesperson said in a statement. “Brady was sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner. “All personnel sitting in the booth must abide by policies that prohibit the use of electronic devices other than league-issued equipment such as a Microsoft Surface Tablet for the Sideline Viewing System.” Brady ‘Cooperative’ About Avoiding Conflict The NFL has been accepting and even complimentary of how Brady has balanced his dual role issues between the Raiders and Fox. No less than Roger Goodell – sued by Brady in 2015 in connection to the Deflategate scandal – has spoken about how Brady calls to make sure he’s in line and avoiding conflicts. Brady has been “incredibly cooperative” in trying to avoid problems, commissioner Roger Goodell said before the Super Bowl. And this is where it should probably end but won’t. Why? Because Brady will continue on Fox. And he’ll continue to own part of the Raiders (he wants to be a team owner some day), and the media will continue to ask questions about conflicts of interest. And, meanwhile, NFL coaches around the league know the only information Brady would be able to give the Raiders is information they give him – which they have no intention of providing.