The Raiders Are Getting It Right With Mendoza and Flores, Even If Nobody Wants to Admit It

You want to know what separates organizations that actually know what they are doing from the ones that are perpetually stumbling around in the dark? It is the small stuff. It is the moments that nobody is paying attention to, the decisions that seem insignificant on the surface but actually reveal everything about the culture you are building and the respect you have for your own history. The Las Vegas Raiders just showed more organizational clarity in one decision about a jersey number than most franchises show in an entire offseason of moves.

Fernando Mendoza wearing number 15 with the blessing of Tom Flores is not just a nice story about respecting the past. It is a statement. It says that the Raiders organization understands what matters. It says they have somebody in the building who actually knows what the Raiders are supposed to be. And it says they are trying to do something different from the chaos that has defined this franchise for way too long.

Let me be clear about something right up front because I know where this conversation is going. I am not saying Fernando Mendoza is going to be a Hall of Famer. I am not saying he is the answer at quarterback. What I am saying is that the Raiders have finally found somebody in a position of authority who gets it. Tom Flores won two Super Bowls. Tom Flores was a quarterback in this city. Tom Flores knows what it takes to win at the highest level in the NFL. When Tom Flores gives his blessing for a young quarterback to wear his number, that is not some sentimental gesture. That is an investment in the future. That is Flores saying something about this kid that goes beyond the statistics we see on Sundays.

The consensus among the national media is that the Raiders are a dumpster fire. The consensus is that Mark Davis does not know what he is doing. The consensus is that this franchise is permanently broken and will never win another Super Bowl. The consensus is that they should have gotten rid of everybody and started completely fresh. You know what? The consensus is usually wrong about these things. The consensus was wrong about the Las Vegas move. The consensus was wrong about hiring Josh McDaniels. The consensus was wrong about Derek Carr. The consensus is probably wrong about this too.

But here is where I differ from a lot of people who will defend the Raiders. I am not going to sit here and tell you everything is fine. I am not going to pretend that the last few years have gone well. I am not going to act like losing Derek Carr to free agency was not a major blow or that the organization handled that situation perfectly. What I am going to tell you is that sometimes the most important decisions are not the splashy ones. Sometimes the most important decisions are the ones where you show respect for your own standards and your own history.

Tom Flores is back in the building. That matters. That matters more than any free agent signing or any draft pick in my opinion. Flores represents something that has been missing from the Raiders for a long time. He represents success. He represents winning. He represents knowing what it takes to compete at the highest level of professional football. The fact that Mark Davis was smart enough to bring him back and put him in a position where he has real influence over the quarterback situation is one of the smartest things that organization has done in years.

Now let's talk about Fernando Mendoza because this is where people are going to push back on me the hardest. Mendoza was not a first round pick. Mendoza did not come into the league with pedigree. Mendoza did not have everybody in the national media telling us he was the future. Mendoza had to wait his turn. Mendoza had to earn his opportunity. That is the kind of quarterback you want building your franchise. That is the kind of guy who understands that nothing in this league is given to you. That is the kind of guy who is going to work harder than everybody else because he knows he had to fight for every inch.

The number 15 is not just a number. The number 15 in Las Vegas Raiders history is the number that Tom Flores wore when he was getting ready to play in the Super Bowl. The number 15 is tied directly to championship football in this city. When you give that number to a young quarterback, you are not giving him a number. You are giving him a responsibility. You are giving him a standard. You are saying to him and to the entire organization that you are expected to do something special. You are expected to lead this team back to relevance. You are expected to understand what it means to be a Raiders quarterback.

That is why Tom Flores had to give his blessing. That is why this decision matters. Flores knows better than anybody what wearing that number in that uniform means. Flores knows what it takes to win with the Raiders organization. When Flores said yes, he was putting his stamp of approval on Mendoza. He was saying something to the rest of the organization. He was saying that this kid has something. He was saying that this kid understands what it takes. He was saying that this is a quarterback who has the right mentality to potentially lead this franchise back to winning.

Look, I am under no illusions about what the Raiders are going to do this season. I am under no illusions about what Mendoza is or is not as a professional football player. What I am talking about is the direction of the franchise. What I am talking about is whether or not the people running this organization actually understand what they are supposed to be doing. What I am talking about is whether there is clarity in the building about the standards and the expectations.

The Raiders have not won a playoff game since 2002. That is an embarrassment. That is unacceptable. That is the kind of failure that should shake an entire organization to its core. The fact that Tom Flores is back and the fact that he is involved in these kinds of decisions tells me that somebody in leadership finally understands that you cannot just sleepwalk through running an NFL franchise. You cannot just hire people and hope it works out. You cannot just make decisions based on what you think sounds good in the moment. You have to have vision. You have to have a plan. You have to respect what came before while building toward what comes next.

That is what this number 15 decision represents. It represents an organization that finally understands that culture matters. It represents an organization that finally understands that there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. It represents an organization that finally has someone in the building who knows what the right way is because he has done it before.

The Raiders are not going to win the Super Bowl this year. The Raiders are probably not going to win their division this year. The Raiders are probably not even going to make the playoffs this year. But the Raiders are finally, finally starting to do some things the right way. They are finally starting to show respect for their own organization and their own history. They are finally starting to build something with a foundation instead of just throwing things at the wall and hoping something sticks. That is worth something. That matters more than people realize.

VERDICT: The Raiders finally have an adult in the room. Tom Flores giving his blessing on this number shows an organization that understands excellence. This is not a fix all. But it is a start. Grade A for organizational clarity. B minus for actual football performance this season. But the direction is right for the first time in years.