Fernando Mendoza starred for Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, Florida. (Courtesy of C ...
Fernando Mendoza to ‘root for Columbus,’ where his journey started
Kubiak ready for ‘awful’ experience of 1st cutdown day with Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) is sacked by San Francisco 49ers defensive ...
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) is sacked by San Francisco 49ers defensive ...
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) gets sacked by San Francisco 49ers defensiv ...
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) gets sacked by San Francisco 49ers defensiv ...
Hall of Fame receiver Tim Brown said despite the up-and-down start to the Raiders’ Southern Nevada tenure six years in, he’s hopeful that the team can get on the same winning track that the other local pro franchises are on.
Since the Raiders, who open the 2026 season at home against the Dolphins next Sunday, began playing at Allegiant Stadium in 2020, a season without fans amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the team has had six permanent or interim head coaches and compiled a record of 39-62 in in Las Vegas.
Constant turnover
The constant turnover has led the team to make the playoffs one time in Las Vegas, during the 2021 season when Jon Gruden resigned as head coach in Week 5 amid an email scandal and interim coach Rich Bisaccia led the postseason charge.
The ever-changing of staff has made continuity a hard thing to obtain, according Brown, who played for the Raiders between 1988 and 2003.
“It’s a tough, tough deal,” Brown said Thursday at Allegiant Stadium where the Raiders hosted alumni night. “It started with Gruden. The way that whole deal went down, unfortunately, it sent the team in a tailspin. They really haven’t came out of it since. They’ve tried two or three different coaches; they didn’t work out. They get rid of Derek Carr, a very popular guy at the end of the season; that doesn’t look great to people. Just a lot of bad decisions mainly. Now we are where we are, and it’s time to move forward.”
‘Bit of a problem’
Brown hopes the Raiders can begin to win and keep pace with other pro teams in the market, including the GoldenKnights, who won the Stanley Cup Final in 2023 and made the Cup final again last season, and the Aces, who have won three WNBA titles in four years and are in the hunt for back-to-back titles this year.
“I would like to see the team be a little bit more on pace with what’s happened with the Aces,” Brown said. “Between the Aces and the hockey team, I think we’ve got a little bit of a problem, right? They’ve won some championships and we haven’t. … We’ve got to get there some kind of way.”
Fan support
With Las Vegas being a popular destination for fans of opposing teams to attend an away game, the seats at Allegiant Stadium can sometimes feature as many or more road team fans as Raiders faithful. Hall of Fame Raiders running back Marcus Allen said the fan support could be better locally but admits the lack of winning has something to do with that.
“Well, it’s been good; it could be better,” Allen said. “I’ve come to a lot of games and sometimes I see the opposing team has a greater presence than they should. And so, I’d like to see more silver and black out there. But we got to start winning in order to get that. So, I think most of the fans are getting pretty die-hard and we want to get them something to cheer about.”
Bringing new head coach Klint Kubiak straight off a Super Bowl winning run with the Seattle Seahawks last season, the drafting of Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza and a few key free agent signings has the future looking bright for the team, according to former Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett.
“Well, I think they’ve done a good job,” Plunkett said. “You know, there’s a lot of distractions here in Vegas, but they’re hard workers, they’ve got a good coach, and you know, I have high expectations for this ball club starting this year and on forward.”
Mendoza future
Mendoza has experienced some growing pains making the jump to the pros from the college ranks during preseason, but Plunkett, a former Heisman winner and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Raiders, thinks he’ll eventually find his footing.
“I think he’s got a lot to learn, and he’s got to get used to being in a real game with people coming after him,” Plunkett said. “But I’ve talked with him. We’ve discussed a lot of things, and he’s going to be a real fine player, if not a great one.”
Having a veteran QB in Kirk Cousins on the roster should pay dividends in the development of Mendoza, Plunkett said.
Patience
Despite the constant turnover during the first few years that the Raiders have played in Las Vegas, Allen said be patient; he thinks winning is on the horizon with the new pieces in place.
“I think it’s going to get better,” Allen said. “I anticipate winning more. We’re certainly building in the right direction. That’s what’s really the most important thing. … I know after six years, maybe people don’t have patience, but after going through several coaches and I think we’re going to hopefully find some stability with our new coach. And so I’m excited about the future.”