Securing coaching stability, acing the draft, and strategic player transactions are crucial for the Raiders' impactful offseason turnaround.
Following a season like the Las Vegas Raiders just had, there is no shortage of improvement for the Raiders to make this offseason. Winning just three games after entering the season with high expectations, Las Vegas suddenly finds itself at the start of a hugely important rebuild.
ESPN’s Ryan McFadden detailed the position the Raiders are in this offseason and how they can get it right in a Wednesday morning article. The biggest areas for the Raiders to hit on this offseason, in McFadden’s eyes, are coaching stability, having a strong draft, and making the right transactions.
The Raiders, despite being in a not-so-ideal spot after a season well below all expectations placed on them before the season, are actually in a great spot to make an impactful change this offseason. They own the first overall selection in April’s draft and have nine more picks to go along with it.
With the first overall selection, everybody in football expects the Raiders to take what they hope to be a franchise quarterback. Indiana University’s Fernando Mendoza is at the top of all the draft boards after a huge season in which he has earned his team a spot in the College Football Championship. Mendoza could be the face of the Raiders for years to come, and he fills a huge hole Las Vegas faced last season.
To support whomever they select at No. 1, the Raiders have plenty of money to work with this offseason. With the second-most cap space, the Las Vegas front office can overhaul the areas of the roster that need fixing the most, such as the offensive line. They have a very important decision to make with star edge rusher Maxx Crosby, who is reportedly unhappy with the team. If the time is finally right to pull the trigger on a trade, the Raiders could use the assets acquired to better build the team’s future even more.
Likely the most important decision for the front office to make for better results in 2026, however, is to find the right head coach.
“Spytek will be leading the coaching search in close collaboration with minority owner Tom Brady. Spytek has noticed how teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots and Chicago Bears -- all of whom made the playoffs -- have turned things around in one season with a new coach,” McFadden wrote.
“As good as a quick turnaround sounds, Spytek is not putting that kind of pressure on candidates. He said the organization will be open-minded in the search and look for someone who can help the team build for future success.”
The Raiders have already interviewed multiple candidates, such as Klint Kubiak, Matt Nagy, and Kevin Stefanski. The key for Las Vegas is to finally find stability at the head coach position, something that’s been haunting the franchise for several years now. If they can find stability at head coach, hit on their draft picks, and allocate their huge amount of available cap in the right way, the Raiders could be a much-improved team as early as 2026. There’s a lot of ‘ifs’, but the Raiders are in as good a spot as they could be right now.