This offseason will hopefully serve as a turning point for the Las Vegas Raiders franchise. Klint Kubiak is taking over as head coach and with the team holding the top overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, it is widely expected that they will take Heisman Trophy winning QB Fernando Mendoza who led Indiana University to the National Championship.
For an offensive-minded coach like Kubiak it is absolutely imperative to get the right player under center and there has been some discourse about whether or not Mendoza is truly a franchise-altering player. But what is most important is whether Kubiak and the Raiders feel that is the case.
Kubiak recently spoke about the presumed top overall pick and admitted that he hasn’t been able to study Mendoza too much yet, but is looking forward to getting to know him better throughout the pre-draft process, via Raiders YouTube:
“My exposure is very limited. I saw him play the national championship game, I saw the interviews he’s given after those games and how team-oriented he is. I look forward to getting to know the player better, but obviously a really talented guy with a bright future. We’ll see. We’ll see where it ends up. But we’ve got a lot of work to do to get to know him before that time comes.”
Kubiak will no doubt do his due diligence in studying Mendoza in all facets. The Raiders coach will pick through all of the game tapes, but will also get to know him better through in-person interviews and film studies to really get a feel for who Mendoza is as a player and person and whether he is the right fit to lead this franchise.
The Raiders simply can not afford to mess this up and so Kubiak must be absolutely certain that Mendoza is the guy before using that top overall pick. A team must have the right quarterback in place to succeed in this league and Kubiak’s success with the Raiders lies in making sure they have that player.
Raiders begin filling out coaching staff around Klint Kubiak
It is also extremely important to build out a proper coaching staff, especially around a first-time head coach such as Klint Kubiak. And they are already bringing in major pieces, hiring Andrew Janocko as offensive coordinator, Rob Leonard as defensive coordinator, Joe DeCamillis as special teams coordinator and Mike McCoy as assistant head coach.
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