Insight into Raiders' Coaching Search Continues to Come Forward

The Las Vegas Raiders' search inches another step closer toward the final day of January.

Jan 25, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Tom Brady signs autographs before the 2026 NFC Championship Game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

The calendar and process of elimination say the Las Vegas Raiders will soon decide on their next head coach. Until then, speculation remains rampant, as the Raiders' options remain open. Las Vegas' front office has spent the past three weeks sorting through several different possibilities.

Las Vegas' Competition

The Raiders have seemingly narrowed down what has been a broad coaching search. It has been reported that Las Vegas is now down to only a couple of candidates, as several of the coaches they were interested in have accepted positions with other teams around the National Football League.

On Monday, ESPN's Adam Schefter explained that Las Vegas will have stiff competition for its top choices to fill their vacant position.

Indiana's Fernando Mendoza (15) gets loose before the College Football Playoff National Championship college football game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I think the candidates on the Raiders and Buffalo Bills radar are pretty similar. The Bills feel like they are going to go offense, and it feels like Davis Webb, Brian Daboll, Joe Brady [and] Grant Udinksi. That’s what it feels like to me in Buffalo right now," Schefter said.

“The Raiders, it looks like it could be Davis Webb, Joe Brady’s there today [and] Brian Daboll. The same names in both places. I would think that Josh Allen is going to be more of a drawing card than the Raiders’ situation, but if you love Fernando Mendoza then go take the Raiders’ job and spend the next decade with him.”

Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady gives instructions during drills during day six of Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University Tuesday, July 29, 2025 in Pittsford, NY. | Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Regardless of who the Raiders choose as its next head coach, Las Vegas' front office must build around Mendoza, whom they are widely expected to take with the top pick in the NFL Draft. Las Vegas' roster needs a complete overhaul and a coach that can handles all that comes with it.

The Raiders' vacant head coaching position has its pros and cons. Raiders General Manager John Spytek knows he and Las Vegas' front office face an offseason filled with coaching and roster-related questions until the dust from the prolonged coaching search settles, and the roster is filled.

Jan 19, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek walks on the sideline before the CFP National Championship college football game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"The league is littered with when you get the top pick right, those guys are franchise altering players. There's probably no more important hire in an NFL organization than the head coach. They're the daily guy,” Spytek said.

“They set the vision, they set the cadence. They are what touches the players every day and demand excellence from players. And the players are the ones that have to go out there and do it. And the more good players you have, and the better person at the helm that you have steering that ship, my experiences is, the more successful you are.”

Jan 19, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Tom Brady looks on from the sideline before the CFP National Championship college football game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Follow us on: X/Twitter @HondoCarpenter, @EZTrez_SI ,and IG @HondoSr . We also invite you to visit our Facebook page, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE

Have every Raiders story straight to your email with the latest news.  Our newsletter is completely FREE. We do not spam you or sell your information.  SIGN UP HERE NOW