The Raiders believe they have found a franchise quarterback in Fernando Mendoza, and his former head coach at Indiana shared this week why he thinks Mendoza is going to be a special player at the NFL level.
In his Wednesday conversation with Rich Eisen, Curt Cignetti said Mendoza is different than any player he has ever coached.
“He can come off a little geeky [but] the guy is a lion as a competitor. He is ferocious, tough, and makes plays with his arms and legs. [Fernando is] real and a very deep guy. [He’s] extremely intelligent [and] can talk about a lot of different things. But committed to be great,” Cignetti said on the Rich Eisen Show.
“Tom Brady was his idol, and I’ve never been around a guy in 45 years that prepared like he did. He covered every bass and then some. I learned from him. The great ones, you learn from the great ones. [I learned] the level of detail and preparation and how it never ends. How it never ends. And you know what else? The way he played and the toughness he displayed really pulled that team together and he was a great team guy.”
Raiders GM, Tom Brady never reached out to Cignetti about Mendoza
Eisen asked Cignetti if he talked to Tom Brady about Mendoza before the draft, and the Indiana head coach said he only ever talked to head coach Klint Kubiak in regard to Mendoza.
“No, I talked to the head coach, the new head coach, and I talked to the GM about another matter,” Cignetti said. “But no, they didn’t need to talk to me. They let the film… it’s right there on tape. The tape don’t lie.”
Considering the massive investment the Raiders made in Mendoza, it’s hard to imagine the GM and Brady not reaching out to Cignetti, but it’s interesting that Kubiak did have discussions with the Indiana head coach.
If the Raiders hadn’t held the number one pick and Mendoza had not been available, it’s fair to wonder if Kubiak might not have accepted the head coaching position in Las Vegas.
As of February, when Kubiak was hired, the Raiders’ roster was widely considered one of the least exciting in the league, Crosby was halfway out the door with a trade request, and the team had no answers at the quarterback position other than the first pick in the draft.
But thanks to a 3-14 record and tiebreakers with the Jets, Cardinals and Titans, the Raiders secured the no. 1 pick and we’ll never have to know if Kubiak would have taken the job with Geno Smith or Aidan O’Connell at the top of the QB depth chart.
x: @raidersbeat
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😂 Brady never talked to him. I am not shocked. Another know it all who doesn’t put the work in & Mark lets him run things. Laughable