The Las Vegas Raiders introduced Klint Kubiak as head coach on Tuesday, so it was a day of celebration for the franchise. Owner Mark Davis has tried to step into the shadows a bit more this past season.
He brought in Tom Brady as a minority owner and has empowered him to run football operations alongside general manager John Spytek. He decided against sitting at the podium with Kubiak and Spytek during Kubiak’s introductory press conference. He sat in the crowd and observed.
However, he did decide to take questions. According to Davis, the fact that the Raiders have the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft played a big role in the decision to go after an offensive-minded head coach like Kubiak.
“It came down to where we are this year, having the first pick in the draft and everything, and understanding that there’s a good chance we’ll go on the offensive side of the ball, so it might be a good chance that we would want a young offensive mind that could grow with somebody,” Davis told reporters.
Davis Praises Fernando Mendoza
Davis dropped a pretty major hint in his quote when he said the Raiders are likely going to the offensive side of the ball with the No. 1 pick. That is a strong suggestion that Las Vegas is closing in on selecting Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
Davis is still trying to keep his cards close to the vest, but he did offer some slight praise for Mendoza.
“He looked good … he won the National Championship, so that’s a good thing,” Davis said.
Though the Raiders aren’t competing for anybody for Mendoza, Davis wasn’t ready to declare him the top pick yet.
“It’s possible,” Davis said when asked if the Raiders plan to draft Mendoza.
Davis Talks Building Las Vegas Fan Base
The Raiders have had a hard time building a fan base in Las Vegas. They still have huge fan presences in Los Angeles and Oakland, but the local Las Vegas fan base hasn’t gotten on board yet.
Home games are frequently turning into road games for the Raiders, as fans of opposing teams flood the stands. A big reason for that is that the Raiders just haven’t been very good.
They’ve had one winning season since moving to Las Vegas. Davis believes winning will change the fan dynamics at Allegiant Stadium.
“Winning will help change that dynamic. When we first moved here, we sold out the stadium locally,” Davis said. “Everybody was excited. … Las Vegas is a great place for people to visit. Our stadium is probably one of the nicest in the world. People do want to come see it. Unfortunately, we haven’t held up our end in winning to help create and build that local fanbase. It all starts with the kids, so it may be 10 years or so before there’s really a strong, strong local fanbase, but we’re trying every day to make it better.”
With an exciting young head coach coming in and a possibly No. 1 pick quarterback joining the squad, it’ll be a lot easier to convince fans to come to games.
Mark Davis Drops Major Hint About Raiders’ Future