The Las Vegas Raiders are ushering in a new era with new head coach Klint Kubiak. However, the former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator didn’t come alone; he brought Andrew Janocko from the Pacific Northwest to serve as his offensive coordinator.
While Kubiak will be the playcaller, Janocko will serve as his right-hand man, helping mold the offense into their vision. Moreover, both men will have a hand in ensuring that No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza is ready when he takes the field, whether it’s Week 1 or in the middle of the 2026 season.
Moreover, in a May 18 video on the Raiders’ YouTube channel, Janocko shared his initial thoughts on Mendoza.
“[Mendoza is] a tremendous worker [and] he’s somebody who wants to know the whys behind everything, the story behind everything, not just what we’re calling, but why we’re calling it,” Janocko said.
“He wants to know the building blocks of the footwork, the building blocks of his vision, how he’s going to see it, and how he’s going to articulate it to the offense. He’s really just a sponge who wants to know everything.”
Last season with the Indiana Hoosiers, Mendoza had 336 dropbacks, resulting in an 87.9 overall PFF grade while recording 2,758 passing yards, 32 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Moreover, he registered 16 big-time throws and nine turnover-worthy plays.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Mendoza added 200 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.
Why Fernando Mendoza Has Been Fun to Coach
Furthermore, Janocko went into more detail on why it’s been fun working with Mendoza, as they get a feel for their potential franchise QB who will be leading them for the foreseeable future.
“It’s a lot of fun working with a quarterback like that because he’s coming in as a blank slate in this offense, never having been in this offense before and asking a ton of questions,” Janocko added.
“So it’s been really cool to be able to answer all those questions. He’s asking things you might not have thought about in a couple of years working with more veteran guys, but now you have a guy who’s fresh into the league and has different questions.
“What it does is keep you on your toes for everything, but it also makes you evaluate everything and think, ‘Hey, maybe we could get better if we did it this way.’ We’ve had some success doing it one way, but we could do it another way and be even better.“
When Could the Raiders Name Fernando Mendoza Their Starting QB?
Nonetheless, the main question surrounding the Silver and Black is when will Mendoza see the field as the Raiders’ starting QB? On the May 18 edition of “Up & Adams,“ Hall of Fame QB Warren Moon shared his prediction as to when the No. 1 pick will be under center.
“I don’t think it hurts them [to have Cousins start all season],“ Moon said. “That means Kirk’s playing pretty well, and they’re winning football games. But I think he’ll be in there probably by the halfway point, a little bit after.”
It will be interesting to see when Janocko and Kubiak feel Mendoza is ready to run their offense and become the Raiders’ starting QB.
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