Tom Brady Considering Returning Raiders to the ‘Patriot Way’ in 2026, Report Says

The Raiders are expected to be in the market for a head coach soon, and according to NBC Sports analyst Mike Florio, minority owner Tom Brady is rumored to want to bring the ‘Patriot Way’ back to Las Vegas.

The Josh McDaniels experiment didn’t work for the Raiders two years ago, and it is believed Brady didn’t want owner Mark Davis to fire McDaniels when he did.

Now it sounds like Brady might be trying to bring back another of his pals from New England.

“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,” 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.”

Coaching rumors are everywhere this time of year, but what’s interesting about Florio’s report is the fact that he names the offensive coordinator expected to follow Flores to the Raiders if Flores gets the job.

It’s no secret that Brady has been making calls around the league about a possible replacement for Pete Carroll, and it sounds like Flores is at least in the mix for the job that hasn’t officially been vacated (as of the fourth quarter of the Raiders’ season finale).

With the no. 1 pick in the draft already secured, the Raiders are expected to take a quarterback and if that happens, it will be important that they bring in an offensive coach who offers more than the smoke and mirrors Chip Kelly brought to the team this year.

The Raiders have plenty of time to find their next head coach (assuming Carroll is fired), and it’s probably a safe assumption that the candidate they choose will have a preexisting relationship with Brady.

Brady found an offensive coordinator he could influence in 2025, but he’s probably going to want the head coach in his corner in 2026.

As for the quarterback Brady is going to bring to Las Vegas, it’s hard to imagine the player being anyone other than Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza.

During the second quarter of Thursday’s college playoff game, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit talked about Mendoza’s preparation and the emphasis he places on the mental aspect of playing the quarterback position.

“He would tell you a big part of his success this year has been the prep. He feels like he has the answers,” Herbstreit said before the broadcast went to sideline reporter Holly Rowe.

“He’s been working with a sports psychologist all year,” Rowe added.

“And he’s really worked lately on ‘I have the answers to the puzzle. I know where the puzzle pieces need to go.’ His preparation is legendary. Before he even got to Indiana, he asked for a sheet of every player’s name and a picture of them so that by the time he got to his very first meeting and his very first practice, he had memorized every single kid. So he stepped into the building knowing his teammates, being able to call them by their first names and the preparation is legendary, just like you said.”

If Mendoza’s traits sound familiar, it’s because Brady once talked about his “superpower” as a player, and his description of himself sounded a lot like what is being said about Mendoza now.

These were Brady’s comments last year on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, talking about preparing for the Chiefs in the Super Bowl…

“Friday night, I was just going through the film and I knew Kansas City’s defense better than they knew themselves,” Brady said. “I knew their body movements, the way their linebackers moved, the way their safeties moved – Tyrann Mathieu, Nick Sorensen, Charvarius Ward – I knew everything they were doing. I got on the field and I looked up as I got to the line of scrimmage and said, ‘OK, they’re blitzing.’ I was dealing with it right away. I walked up and I said, ‘OK, they’re going to bail to Cover 2.’ Ball was snapped, Cover 2.”

“It was like I had the answers to the test. That’s where I was great,” Brady continued.

“That’s where my magic superpower was. It wasn’t how fast I could run. It was how fast I could diagnose what they were doing. What’s the special quality, what’s the internet speed of me as a quarterback? Fast as [expletive]. I was Starlink before Starlink.”

x: @raidersbeat