If the Raiders are planning to draft Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, and the belief right now is that they will, it will be imperative that Tom Brady and company identity the right head coach to pair with their new face of the franchise.
The Raiders are expected to prioritize finding an offensive-minded head coach who will work with Brady and GM John Spytek better than Pete Carroll did in his 11 months with the team.
It’s early in the interview process, but one name everyone already knows would fit with Mendoza is the head coach he has now at Indiana.
NBC Sports host Mike Florio is among a growing list of commenters who have floated the idea of the Raiders making Curt Cignetti an offer he can’t refuse.
“If the Raiders are thinking about making Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft, why not think about pairing him with Cignetti?” Florio asked at Pro Football Talk.
“In the 23 seasons since the Raiders appeared in Super Bowl XXXVII, they have had two playoff appearances and no postseason wins. They could do a lot worse than Cignetti, because they have.”
In theory, the idea would be a home run for the Raiders.
Cignetti has been a winner everywhere he has coached and it would be tempting for the 64-year-old head coach to take a deal that would make him one of the highest paid coaches in all of sports.
But according to Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter, the fit between Cignetti and the decision makers in Las Vegas wouldn’t be a good one.
“I love Curt Cignetti a lot. I think he’s a great coach. I think he is the best coach in college football right now… but Curt Cignetti would not fit with the Raiders. [He] would not be a good fit. I would hire him in a heartbeat. The way the man maneuvers the NIL clearly tells you his ability to lead, but he would not come here under the current Raider leadership layout,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
“I think it would be a great hire. Go get Mendoza and put him with Kurt. But the other thing is you’re going to have to pay him a ton of money… you’re going to probably have to pay him $17 million to $18 million a year, and it’s going to have to be a fully guaranteed. Probably a 10-year deal. Somewhere around $170 million, $180 million, and you’re going to have to give him total control, and Mark isn’t going to do that.”
Carpenter pointed to Davis, but the real issue would probably be Brady.
Davis has given Brady full control of essentially everything in the building, and Davis isn’t about to change course with Brady, who just bought into the organization in October of 2024.
For better or worse, the road to another Super Bowl for the Raiders is going to go through Brady and the jury is still out on how effective Brady can be as the team’s second-highest ranking decision maker.
Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer talked about Brady’s first year in his new ownership role, and as others have said before him, Brady still has a lot to learn about running a football team.
“I think Tom Brady’s got to learn how to run a football team. That sounds weird coming from me … That’s the greatest player of all time,” Breer said on the Dan Patrick Show. “So I don’t want to sound like an idiot saying that, but people who work there saw his blind spots.”
For what it’s worth, one of the popular names linked to the Raiders this week is former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, who is known to have a good relationship with Brady.
“With an infusion of Patriot DNA dramatically altering the situation in New England, where two years of 4-13 have become 13-3 and the first division title since Brady’s last year in the building, Brady may be thinking about bringing a little Beantown to Sin City,” the aforementioned Florio wrote on Sunday.
“The obvious choice would be offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. But that act has already played, and failed, in Vegas. There’s a rumor currently making the rounds that, once Brady rolls up his sleeves (while also wearing one glove and an expensive-*** watch), he’ll make the case for bringing in Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.”
As the chatter goes, Flores would be the head coach, and former Giants coach Brian Daboll would be the offensive coordinator. Like Flores, Daboll has extensive experience with the Patriot Way. Daboll was there for the first three Super Bowl wins of the Brady/Belichick era, and for two of the second trio of championships,” Florio continued.
“Brady and Flores are believed to have a good relationship. Flores was among those in Miami who wanted to bring Brady to town after his time in Tampa.”
x: @raidersbeat
No winning season, it’s been too long. No playoffs, it’s been too long. Give fans a reason to buy season tickets.
Stop playing! Bring in Gruden.
Hondo Carpenter is a fraud.
Flores is the one who snitched on Ross for tampering to get Brady. Have we forgotten?