Kirk Morrison: How Fernando Mendoza’s Personality Will Mesh with Raiders’ Culture

The Raiders' new culture and Fernando Mendoza's personality both come with a learning curve. Kirk Morrison thinks they fit.

Morrison gave the show a long look at Mendoza's reputation as a worker, going back to Cal.

"From what I've seen and what I've observed, Fernando Mendoza is one of the hardest working guys that I've seen coming out of college," Morrison said. "This goes back to his time when he was at Cal Berkeley."

The first time Morrison watched Mendoza was as a redshirt freshman.

"I'm watching him on the film like, this guy can spin it," Morrison said. "This guy's got the size. How did y'all get him?"

The staff at Cal gave Morrison the answer.

"They was like, man, hey, he's the hardest worker," Morrison said. "The guys love him. He's been our culture setter."

The proof point Morrison kept coming back to was an in-game duel.

"Watched him outduel Cam Ward in the game," Morrison said. "And that was the number one overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. So I've seen him compete."

Indiana, in Morrison's read, only stamped what was already on the page.

"He brings a sense of accountability, a sense of leadership, a sense of, I'm going to work and I'm all about the work," Morrison said.

Morrison loved the timing of one specific data point. This very week, President Donald Trump had to give Mendoza a pass on the White House visit because Mendoza was at OTAs.

"He said, I can't make the White House visit with my Indiana teammates because Fernando's got, as the president called it, spring training," Morrison said. "We call it OTAs in the NFL."

Morrison framed Mendoza's posture in the building as a quiet challenge to the Raiders' old identity.

"He works to a point where, the Raiders perception, I think for many years, were always the guys who were castoffs," Morrison said. "Like the island of misfit toys almost."

The new culture starts at the top and runs through Clint Kubiak.

"You stick around and you're around Clint Kubiak for like five minutes, you're like, oh, this dude about ball," Morrison said. "He's not about the bouquets. I don't want your praise. I'm all about the work."

The structural pieces all support it, in his framing. Mark Davis stepping back. John Spanos and Kubiak running their jobs. Tom Brady available as a sounding board.

"It's been a collective effort over this past year that I've seen that tells me that this franchise is moving in a different direction that it has many years ahead of time before that," Morrison said.

The schedule itself, Morrison said, fits the new posture.

"This schedule is representative of what I love about where I think this team is headed," Morrison said. "Cuz the schedule says, prove it. No more are we going off the what we did in the '70s and the '80s."

Morrison made sure the Cowboys got pulled into the analogy as the cautionary tale.

"The mystique of what those Super Bowls once were, they're always going to be there," Morrison said. "But at the same time, you got to show up. You got to earn the respect."