The Las Vegas Raiders finished the 2025 season right back where they started, searching for answers after a year that was supposed to mark a turning point.
There was optimism last spring. Tom Brady’s influence brought credibility, Pete Carroll’s return suggested stability, and Geno Smith looked like a sensible option under centre.
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None of it stuck. Carroll is already out, Smith led the league with 17 interceptions and absorbed 55 sacks, and the Raiders once again enter the offseason trying to steady a franchise that has drifted for more than two decades.
Brady will remain involved, but after such a collapse, even that is no longer viewed as an automatic positive. With the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Las Vegas has a chance to reset, yet the question is whether the organisation is finally ready to do it the right way.
That uncertainty sparked an interesting suggestion from former NFL quarterback David Carr, who raised the idea of thinking beyond the usual coaching and draft script. On his podcast, Carr questioned why Raiders owner Mark Davis would not at least consider reaching out to Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti.
Cignetti has just completed one of the most dramatic turnarounds in college football, taking Indiana from obscurity to the No. 1 team in the country and a National Championship appearance.
With Las Vegas widely expected to draft Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Carr wondered whether pairing the coach with his quarterback might be worth exploring.
“What would keep [Raiders owner] Mark [Davis] from just picking the phone up and being like, ‘Hey Curt Cignetti, I know you like Indiana, but if we’re gonna go get a quarterback, and you think Mendoza’s the quarterback … would you like to come coach him with the Las Vegas Raiders?'” Carr asked.
“Like that might be worth a phone call, right? At least a call. Maybe he likes it at Indiana, but maybe he wants to be a head coach in the NFL.”
The bigger issue goes beyond the No. 1 pick
Even Carr acknowledged the idea was unlikely. Cignetti‘s old-school approach and the major contract extension he recently signed with Indiana make an NFL jump improbable, particularly to a franchise still searching for its footing.
Carr‘s brother, Derek Carr, who spent years as the Raiders’ starter, agreed that Cignetti is worth a phone call. Where he drew a hard line was at using the top pick on a quarterback.
“I’m all against [drafting a QB]. I don’t know if they’re ready for that,” Carr said. “There are so many holes. … There’s no young quarterback that you’re just gonna insert-unless they fix other things. If you just go out there and say, ‘The quarterback is coming, and he’s gonna fix it.’
“Geno can read coverage, Aidan knows coverage. There’s no young guy that’s gonna know more ball than them now.”
