Tom Brady may have given Raiders unfair advantage in hiring of Klint Kubiak

Tom Brady was serving as both the minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and as Fox's lead in-game NFL analyst when he said ahead of the Super Bowl LX matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots that he didn't "have a dog in the fight in this one" and simply wanted to "see good plays, good throws, good strategy, good decisions."

Even before that game got underway, it was widely believed that Brady's Raiders were going to hire then-Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak as Las Vegas' next head coach. For a piece published on Wednesday, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk hinted that Brady's in-season career helped the Raiders have an advantage in the courting of Kubiak.

Did Tom Brady have unique access to Klint Kubiak amid hiring process?

"One Seahawks source recently suggested that the Raiders wouldn’t have hired Klint Kubiak as the team’s latest head coach but for Brady’s access to Kubiak as part of Brady’s Fox gig," Florio wrote. "No other team that was considering Kubiak had an opportunity to essentially interview him within the confines of meetings and communications unrelated to a formal interview. Brady worked both of the Seattle playoff games, in both the divisional round and conference-championship round, at a time when teams were figuring out which coaches to hire. Given his separate role as a Raiders owner, Brady had an opportunity to actively evaluate Kubiak that none of the other teams looking for coaches could even begin to duplicate."

Brady is reportedly "the de facto boss when it comes to football matters" for the Raiders, and it's no secret he has direct access to Kubiak. Meanwhile, conflict-of-interest concerns regarding Brady being permitted to call games for one of the NFL's top media partners while he is also a minority owner of a franchise resurfaced after it was learned that Troy Aikman is permitted to serve as a consultant for the Miami Dolphins and as an analyst for ESPN "Monday Night Football" broadcasts. 

A subsequent report noted that Aikman must follow the so-called "Brady rules" as it pertains to the team access the two receive as part of their broadcasting jobs.

"Both may attend production meetings virtually but will have no access to practice facilities or practices," NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said about Brady and Aikman, per Mark Maske of Front Office Sports. "They may conduct interviews outside team facilities with football personnel and players. They could conduct the interview at the team hotel in an area separate from other football personnel. They could broadcast games involving their own club."

When could NFL owners take issue with Tom Brady, Troy Aikman?

"None of this will be an issue until the Raiders and/or Dolphins become consistent contenders again," Florio added about Brady and Aikman's roles. "If/when that happens, people with other teams will finally realize that they never should have let this situation exist, and they’ll begin clamoring for a way to undo it."

Presumably, such a scenario playing out won't keep Kubiak from potentially helping the Raiders turn things around en route to becoming a winning franchise.