With the Las Vegas Raiders sporting the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, the expectation is they will land the clear-cut top quarterback in next year's class, Fernando Mendoza, assuming he actually declares.
That needs to factor into the Raiders' head coach search, which as of right now i s quite extensive and includes a slew of candidates.
That list does not include former Arizona Cardinals head coach and former Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
Despite that, Just Blog Baby's Levi Dombro predicts the Raiders will hire Kingsbury as their next head coach. Here's his thoughts on the prediction:
"Kingsbury is by no means the betting favorite, or anyone's favorite, to replace Pete Carroll," Dombro said. "But his history with Brady could play a factor, and his track record of working with and developing the game's best quarterbacks might be hard to resist for a team picking No. 1 and sure to take a signal-caller."
Kingsbury was cut loose by the Commanders recently in what was considered a surprising move, especially for quarterback Jayden Daniels and the players, who reportedly weren't happy with the decision.
Kingsbury's firing came as a result of a disagreement he had with head coach Dan Quinn with the way the team would move forward with Daniels and the offense.
It was a brutal year for the Commanders' offense in 2025, but Daniels was also hurt for most of it. The year prior, Kingsbury helped develop Daniels into a star, which should be of interest to the Raiders, who will likely draft a quarterback, and more specifically Mendoza.
We can also cite Kingsbury's work with Kyler Murray, who had his most productive season with Kingsbury at the helm.
If the Raiders don't hire him as the head coach, they should consider Kingsbury for the offensive coordinator role, which might actually be a better fit for both sides considering Kingsbury's past lack of success as the Cardinals' head coach.
All that said, Kingsbury is drawing interest from multiple teams for their head-coach vacancies, so it might be head coach or bust for Kingsbury in Vegas.
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