It would appear the Las Vegas Raiders are hoping to seal the deal with Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to be the franchise’s next head coach. He’s one of the best candidates of the cycle, but he can’t be officially hired until after the Super Bowl.
That could end up putting the Raiders at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to filling out the rest of the coaching staff. Kubiak will almost certainly call the offensive plays, so the offensive coordinator role won’t be too important.
That said, if the plan is to draft Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, they’re going to need to pair him with a strong quarterbacks coach. Indiana’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chandler Whitmer is getting some NFL hype due to the work he did with Mendoza last year.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are considering him for their quarterbacks coach job, but according to FOX Sports’ Greg Auman, he may be waiting to see if he has the chance to reunite with Mendoza on the Raiders.
“Raiders haven’t hired a coach and haven’t said who they’ll take with the No. 1 pick, but one potential hurdle to the Bucs hiring Indiana’s Chandler Whitmer as QBs coach is if he thinks he could go to Las Vegas and coach Fernando Mendoza there,” Auman wrote on X.
Whitmer Is Logical Hire for Raiders
Whitmer has no experience working for Kubiak, so there’s a good chance that he already has somebody in mind for his quarterbacks coach. Former Raiders quarterback Derek Carr played with Kubiak last season on the New Orleans Saints, and he’s been floated as a possible quarterbacks coach.
However, Whitmer has experience coaching and knows Mendoza well. Plus, he coached in the NFL last season for the Atlanta Falcons, so this wouldn’t be his first pro job. Unless Kubiak has a specific quarterbacks coach in mind, Whitmer would be a great hire.
He knows how to get the best out of Mendoza and would help make the young quarterback’s transition to the NFL a lot easier.
Patrick Graham Hired By Steelers
On the defensive side of the ball, the Raiders are going to need a new defensive coordinator. For the last four seasons, Patrick Graham led the defense. He survived multiple coaching staffs and could’ve been a strong coach for Kubiak to retain if he takes the job.
Unfortunately, that won’t be an option. Graham has decided to take the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ defensive coordinator job under new head coach Mike McCarthy. This should actually be a much better situation for Graham.
The Steelers are the most stable franchise in the NFL when it comes to coaching staffs. He shouldn’t have to worry about working under a new head coach every year. Plus, the Steelers spend big on defense. He’ll have a lot of pieces to work with. Graham clearly has head coaching aspirations, but that wasn’t going to happen if he stayed with the Raiders. Coaching with the Steelers should help his chances of getting a head job in the future.
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