Fernando Mendoza spent one season with Curt Cignetti at Indiana and only a few months with Klint Kubiak in Las Vegas, but sees similarities between the two coaches.
During an interview on "The Rush with Maxx Crosby" podcast, Mendoza said the main similarity between Cignetti and Kubiak is "the attention to detail."
"I think the example of, you know, in practice you'll have a good play," Mendoza said. "For example, you make a big completion, and you're looking forward to seeing it on film, and then both of those guys would be like, 'Come on, really? You took an extra hitch,' or 'Come on, instead of five yards you were at four and a half.' And you're like, 'What? I literally took the perfect footwork, perfect read, perfect throw, awesome explosive play.' And you're like, 'Bro, you got to give me a break, what's this guy talking about?' Then you see, especially with Cignetti, having spent a whole season with him, like when he's riding me on all these things in fall camp, I'm like, 'You've got to be kidding me,' and then the season you see it show up. And it's like OK, that pass was completed by this much because I was at the right depth or because I didn't take the extra hitch."
In the little time he's been in Kubiak's system, the No. 1 overall pick has seen similar expectations from his new head coach.
"You see the same similarities with coach Kubiak pushing and really making sure you're doing everything, rather than giving you a pat on the back, finding something to improve, because I have a lot to improve on," he said.
Mendoza underscored that both Cignetti and Kubiak expect a lot from their quarterbacks, but neither views them as above the rest of the roster.
"And then for my thing, one thing that I think coach Cignetti and coach Kubiak both preach in a way, is that everyone's equal," he said. "And how I see that as a quarterback is killing the ego. Making sure that no matter what success I had at Indiana or what future success or whatever expectation, there's no ego there. The only motivation is getting better."
Mendoza will enter training camp later this month seeking to unseat Kirk Cousins for the starting gig. As the rookie noted, he has significant strides to make to go from Cignetti's scheme to Kubiak's, which includes a lot more under-center and play-action work. How fast the Heisman Trophy winner adapts will indicate how quickly he'll push to get on the field.
One thing appears certain: Kubiak won't rush his rookie.
