John Spytek’s first responsibility in this cycle is not selling “culture,” but demanding a real quarterback-development plan. The Las Vegas Raiders are positioned to draft a quarterback at No. 1, and everything that follows—head coach, coordinator, roster moves—will either protect that investment or ruin it.
The conversation around Brian Daboll needs to stay grounded. Daboll is not a magic wand. He is a specific offensive coach with a specific track record, and the Raiders would have to commit to the full package: the system, the teaching staff, and the weekly discipline that turns a play sheet into actual progress for a young quarterback. More importantly, there will need to be tons of patience, lots of it.
Does Brian Daboll make sense as Raiders OC?
The best case for Daboll is simple. He has run a modern NFL offense while understanding how to build answers against pressure and how to shape an attack around what a quarterback does well. In Buffalo, he helped guide a young Josh Allen as the offense grew from basic survival to a more aggressive, functional identity. For the Raiders, that truly matters. They have lacked the same things for years: clear spacing, clean reads, and an offense that looks the same week to week instead of reinventing itself every Sunday.
At the same time, there would be some concerns. Quarterback development is not one coach’s résumé line. It is an entire building. Daboll’s recent time with the New York Giants showed how quickly growth can stall when protection breaks down, receivers do not separate, and the organization is not steady. The Raiders cannot bring in Daboll and then repeat their oldest mistake: asking the quarterback to be the infrastructure. If they do that, things will just revert to what they’ve been these past few years.
If the Raiders draft Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, the Daboll fit becomes more concrete. Mendoza wins with decision-making, ball placement, and controlled aggression. He’s the kind of signal-caller who can take off quickly in an offense that creates easier pictures before the snap, gives him answers when defenses blitz, and stacks completions that turn into explosive plays. Daboll built his best offenses that way. However, that’s only when the pieces around the quarterback are real.
Will the Raiders build it the “right way” with Mendoza?
That is the key point. A Mendoza-Daboll pairing only becomes dangerous if the Raiders do the unglamorous work. We’re referring to pocket protection, running the ball well enough to force honest defenses, and stocking the receiver room with players who can separate and win at the catch point.
The “Patriot Way” talk is background noise unless Spytek and Tom Brady define who controls what. Who owns the offense? The quarterback coach is hired by whom? Who sets the weekly standards when the first losing streak hits? A defensive head coach and a veteran offensive coordinator can work—but only if the structure is clear and collaboration is not optional.
Spytek has a simple question if Daboll is in play: Show the implementation, show the staff plan, and show how Mendoza will be protected from the request to save the franchise prematurely.
*Top Photo: Imagn Images