The Las Vegas Raiders have been desperately attempting to establish a winning culture for over two decades. Despite multiple overhauls to each of the roster, coaching staff, and front office, the organization has remained a perennial loser.
Since reaching the Super Bowl in 2002, the Raiders have made the postseason just twice, failing to win a single game. In that span, only the Cleveland Browns have a worse record, while only the Miami Dolphins have gone a longer stretch without a postseason victory.
Las Vegas is set to enter a new era in 2026, however. Klint Kubiak was officially introduced as the head coach, and Fernando Mendoza is expected to be the No. 1 pick. If the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner is indeed the selection, the head coach and quarterback duo will make NFL history.
Raiders could make history with Klint Kubiak-Fernando Mendoza pairing
Mendoza is coming off an elite season with the Indiana Hoosiers, throwing for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns on a 72.0% completion rate, while adding 276 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. He won the Heisman Trophy and led the program to its first-ever national championship.
He is projected to be the first player off the board in this year's draft, which would make him just the third player ever to take home the Heisman, win a national title, and be selected No. 1 overall in the same year -- joining Cam Newton and Joe Burrow.
But Mendoza will have something that neither of those quarterbacks had in their rookie season.
Las Vegas bringing in both Kubiak and Mendoza would make the franchise the first team in NFL history to pair a coordinator coming off a Super Bowl victory with a No. 1 overall pick who just won the Heisman Trophy and a national championship.
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Both still have plenty to prove: Kubiak, that his play-calling and leadership will carry over to the head coaching role, and Mendoza, that his game will translate to the professional ranks. Still, fans have plenty to be optimistic about regarding the future in Las Vegas.
Kubiak, who was one of the most coveted coaches this hiring cycle, is just 38 years old and viewed as one of the league's best offensive minds. Meanwhile, Mendoza would be the first quarterback taken by the Raiders in the first round since 2007, when they selected JaMarcus Russell first overall.
Of course, general manager John Spytek and his front office will have to build out the rest of the roster. Bringing in two proven winners, which is something no team in league history has done in the same offseason, is a great start as Las Vegas looks to finally turn things around.