Ed Graney: Raiders should call Curt Cignetti about coach opening

Ed Graney, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Jan 13, 2026

Published in Football

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LAS VEGAS — Be it Tom Brady or John Spytek — whichever dials the most important numbers for the Las Vegas Raiders nowadays — one should put a call into Curt Cignetti.

You know, just to check in.

You know, just to take the temperature of the room.

The Las Vegas Raiders need a coach, and Cignetti has proved to be, well, a terrific one. His turnaround of the Indiana program is the best in college football history. His talent evaluation is off the charts.

Sure. He hasn’t in any manner offered the idea he is interested in making a jump to the NFL. He signed in October an eight-year deal with the Hoosiers for $11.6 million annually.

But it would be shortsighted of the Raiders not to at least inquire.

Especially given who they might select with the No. 1 draft pick.

With each passing victory and superb performance, Fernando Mendoza more and more resembles a franchise quarterback the Raiders desperately need.

I mean, they can’t mess this one up, right?

Cignetti’s coaching and Mendoza’s play have led the Hoosiers to a College Football Playoff championship game against Miami (Fla.). Indiana is a win away from 16-0, and Mendoza has completed 86 percent of his passes with more touchdowns (8) than incompletions (5) in two CFP wins.

Let that part sink in.

There is no guarantee Mendoza is the next Joe Burrow or even Drake Maye, but instant familiarity with a head coach could go a long way in determining how quickly he matures.

Which means you don’t know about Cignetti until you ask.

Maybe the idea of coaching at the game’s highest level and knowing he would have Mendoza to continue tutoring might make him pause before disregarding the notion.

The Raiders interviewed a handful of candidates last week, and some were more intriguing than others. More talks are scheduled in the coming days. It sure looks as if this is a true process, which is how it should be and hasn’t been in the past.

First, and Spytek intimated this when speaking on the day Pete Carroll was fired, this isn’t a quick rebuild for a 3-14 team.

This will take time.

They need a crisp and innovative offensive mind. Someone who understands the modern world of analytics. They need someone in charge who could develop a player like Mendoza into more than a competent NFL player. Into a winner.

And should the Raiders go defense with their head coach, the person better make a home run hire with his offensive coordinator.

Sorry. They need to go offense.

Cignetti has coached quarterbacks most of his career. Nobody knows Mendoza better. The combination could be just what the Raiders need to begin the rebuilding process,

“I’ve never talked to Curt about going to the NFL,” former Alabama coach Nick Saban said on ESPN about one of his former assistant coaches. “I don’t really know that he has any interest in doing that. I will say this, though, it is a fairly difficult transition to go from college to the NFL if you’ve never been in the NFL before.”

Saban knows what he speaks. He made the jump and lasted two seasons in Miami while compiling a 15-17 record. He’s right. It’s different. And it’s not easy.

Brady is essentially running this ship. Not that his power wasn’t all-encompassing before this. How would he feel about hiring a college coach with no NFL experience?

But, remember, Cignetti has taken the worst team in college football history to a national championship game in two years. If he wins it all, and knows Mendoza would be there for the taking, maybe that’s enough for him to consider such a move.

The odds are against it.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t dial the number.

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