Many have speculated that the Las Vegas Raiders are leaning toward hiring an offensive mind to be the team’s next head coach, which makes sense since the Raiders are likely going to take Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2026 NFL draft. Meanwhile, current Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur has interviewed for the job and has gained some steam lately. Betting markets are giving him the third-best odds to end up in Las Vegas (h/t The Draft Network’s Jamie Eisner), as of Jan. 22.
So, let’s dive into LaFleur’s resume when it comes to working with quarterbacks and see what parallels can be drawn with Mendoza.
Atlanta Falcons Offensive Assistant (2015-2016)
Likely part of the reason why the Silver and Black are interested in LaFleur is that he comes from the coveted Kyle Shanahan coaching tree. The former interned for the latter with the Cleveland Browns in 2014, and the two of them moved to Atlanta together when Shanahan became the Falcons’ offensive coordinator. While Matt Ryan was a three-time Pro Bowler prior to their arrival, Ryan blossomed into an NFL MVP in this system.
To be fair, LaFleur shouldn’t get too much credit for Ryan’s ascension since he was a low-level assistant on Shanahan’s staff in Atlanta. But one of the popular comparisons for Mendoza, and the one I’d go with, is Ryan. So, LaFleur should at least have some familiarity with how to coach this type of quarterback in his offense.
San Francisco 49ers Passing Game Coordinator (2017-2020)
For clarity, LaFleur was also the 49ers’ wide receiver coach in 2017 and 2018 before becoming the passing game coordinator exclusively in 2019. Also, it’s worth noting that San Francisco didn’t have an offensive coordinator during this time since Shanahan called the plays, so the PGC was the second in command on the offensive staff.
The 2017 season was an interesting one for the Niners, as they began the season with Brian Hoyer as the starting quarterback. However, Hoyer struggled and went 0-6 as a starter before getting benched for C.J. Beathard, who wasn’t much better. That led to San Francisco trading for Jimmy Garoppolo, and Garoppolo famously went 5-0 down the stretch of the campaign to build some momentum heading into 2018.
Unfortunately, the optimism surrounding the 49ers that year was short-lived, since Jimmy G tore an ACL three games into the season. That left LaFleur to work with Bethard again and Nick Mullens, who was a practice squad player as a rookie and got called up after Garoppolo’s injury. Mullens ended up being a decent backup, going 3-5 in eight starts with a 64.2 completion percentage, 2,277 yard and 13 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.
With a healthy Garoppolo in 2019, San Francisco went 13-3 to earn the NFC’s top seed in the playoffs and represented the conference in the Super Bowl, a 31-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The quarterback completed 69.1 percent of his passes for 3,978 yards, 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while falling one vote short of winning Comeback Player of the Year. Then, the injury bug bit him again in 2020, forcing LaFluer to juggle the combination of Beathard and Mullens for a second time.
Overall, LaFleur had to work with a lot of career-long backups during his tenure in San Francisco, primarily because Jimmy G struggled to stay healthy. But Garoppolo’s performance in 2019, his only healthy full season with the 49ers, is encouraging when it comes to the coach’s ability to work with Mendoza. Both quarterbacks are/were known for their accuracy and decision-making rather than their arm strength, though Mendoza has the superior arm talent of the two.
New York Jets Offensive Coordinator (2021-2022)
This is where LaFleur’s resume gets scary. Robert Saleh, who was the 49ers’ defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2020, brought LaFleur with him to New York and gave the young coach an opportunity to be an offensive coordinator for the first time. Also, the Jets used the No. 2 overall pick on Zach Wilson, giving the coaching staff a rookie quarterback to mold. However, that didn’t work out, to say the least.
Wilson never developed and quickly became a bust, completing just 55.2 percent of his passes for 4,022 yards, 15 touchdowns and 18 interceptions (22 starts) in his first two years, and the Jets’ offense as a whole struggled. That led to LaFleur’s dismissal in New York.
The silver lining for Las Vegas here—if the organization decides to hire LaFleur—is that Wilson and Mendoza are significantly different types of prospects. The BYU product had a big arm and was an impressive athlete, but was raw, needing to improve his mechanics and accuracy, falling into the “low floor, high ceiling” category. Meanwhile, the Indiana product is fairly clean mechanically and might not have the biggest arm, but his ball placement is highly regarded.
So, an argument could be made that Wilson wasn’t a fit in the system, and it’s not as if he’s tearing it up after leaving the Jets.
Los Angeles Rams Offensive Coordinator (2023-present)
The Rams’ offense has been strong over the last three years, finishing the regular season seventh, 15th and first in yards, respectively. Quarterback Matthew Stafford is a large reason for that, as he’s made two Pro Bowls, earned a first-team All-Pro bid and is a 2025 MVP candidate during that timeframe. That being said, it’s hard to give LaFleur much credit for this run.
Stafford was already a well-established veteran and had won a Super Bowl in Los Angeles before LaFleur’s arrival, and head coach Sean McVay spearheads the Rams’ offense. So, while the offensive coordinator has had success in Southern California, there’s no denying that he walked into a great situation.
Also, there aren’t a ton of parallels to draw between Stafford’s and Mendoza’s skill sets. The 17-year pro’s calling cards are his arm strength, gunslinger mentality and ability to throw from multiple arm angles. Meanwhile, the incoming rookie is more measured and primarily operates within the structure of the play call.
In other words, while LaFleur has been successful with the Rams, the overall situation could push him down the Raiders’ priority list when it comes to hiring their next head coach.
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