Andrew Janocko - Head Coach, raiders Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-18 | Full transcript (primary source).
Andrew Janocko, Head Coach of the Raiders, addressed the media during a press conference on September 18, 2026, following the team's recent game against the Dolphins. The session focused on player performances and strategies as the team looks to improve in the upcoming weeks.
Transcript
Janocko: Hey guys, how we doing today? The dolphins. It's still morning. High five, yeah.
Janocko: The dolphins were pretty set on they weren't going to let you get deep on them with some explosive plays. There were some calls where it could have happened but their defense precluded it. How much do you like having a veteran quarterback that knows, okay, that's not a shot worth taking?
Janocko: Yeah, I think we say that all the time, you know, in our lingo a shot call, it's not always a shot take and you know, we want to take what the defense gives us. We're always trying, quarterback's always trying to listen to his feet, go through his progression, you know, operate with intelligent aggression and then when it's not there, get the ball and playmakers hands underneath, let them break tackles and create explosives that way.
Janocko: How do you think Michael Mayer handled his expanded role in week one?
Janocko: Yeah, I think everybody you know, everybody has an evolving role each week, especially as we all get, you know, as we get into this, it's our first year, whether it's our first year together you know, or we're together for a long time. Everybody's evolving week one, you know, whether it's Michael, whether it's different guys we asked to do different jobs, but I thought Mike did a nice job, you know, what we asked him to do, took advantage of his opportunities, made some plays for us and you know, we look forward to the offense as a whole you know, just keep evolving keep creating plays.
Janocko: Who is your takeaway in the way you guys are able to control the time and possession especially going out open and dropping the game and do you feel like, you know, that's going to be a blueprint of success going forward for the offense?
Janocko: Yeah, I mean, that's one of the things that we always talk about is being able to maximize our possessions, maximize the time that we have the ball in our hands. I thought our coaches did a great job, you know, with the planning purposes, executing the playing, have our guys on point, letting our guys execute so that we were able to stay on the field.
Janocko: Who uses Mike Washington to give your back field now, seeing him go out there and do what he did in the preseason in week one?
Janocko: Mike is an explosive player and we try to maximize his talents. He's a guy that, you know, when he gets the ball in his hand, you know, we like to, you know, he gets the ball in his hand and we expect a lot out of him, you know, making sure that he's on his tracks, he's seen what he's supposed to see and then, you know, making sure he, you know, he hits the hole and gets us to the second level and it breaks tackles down the field.
Janocko: As a first year offensive coordinator, how much of a security blanket is it to be able to have Rick Dennison lead in your offensive line?
Janocko: Yeah, I mean, Rico is, you know, Rico's, Rico's one of my closest friends, you know, he's somebody that I look up to, he's somebody that just always has an answer, you know, whether it's, you know, whether it's here in the building or whether it's I take my golf cart, my son and I take my golf cart up to bother him on Friday night, but Rico is, you know, Rico's been a tremendous support to me and continues to be a, you know, a great friend and a great colleague, but he's somebody that I know myself, Clint, you know, everybody that's around him, you know, leans on him, you know, he even has a 30 for 30 about him if you ever want to do that homework.
Janocko: So, are you anticipating, is Dean anticipating Brock?
Janocko: Yeah, Brock's day to day, you know, coach handles the injury stuff, I can't, I don't really want to dive into that, but, you know, we look forward to, you know, Brock progressing everything, but, you know, coach kind of handles all that stuff.
Janocko: The end of production you got from Ashton and Mike on Sunday is how crucial is that in controlling tempo and just making sure you guys are staying on schedule as an offense?
Janocko: I think those guys, you know, however it shakes out and every game's different, but however it shakes out, getting those guys rolling, you know, making sure that we get them in the best position to be successful and letting them take advantage of both their opportunities.
Janocko: Ashton had a hundred yards rushing and two receiving touchdowns. How big of an asset is he in the passing game and I guess just overall?
Janocko: Yeah, we want to maximize everything he does. We're trying to, you know, use him whether it's in the pass game, in the run game. He's a, you know, he's a player that has a lot of talent, so we try to, you know, we try to take advantage of him however we see fit, whatever the defense gives us that week.
Janocko: The guys in the locker room were talking about wanting to finish the game better. What have you guys worked on this week to work on that?
Janocko: I think it's just staying true to who we are, playing, you know, playing our style, you know, playing with a shocking operation, everything that we talk about, and just staying true to our fundamentals, whether it's play, you know, snap one, snap fifty, snap, you know, however many it takes in that game, but just staying true to our fundamentals and, you know, executing what's called.
Janocko: Andrew, when you watched the film of the Chargers from Sunday, there were some player mistakes on defense, but they weren't coaching, they weren't schematic mistakes for the coach. That talks about good coaching. How much do you relay that to your players just about what you saw last week's not what you're going to see this week?
Janocko: I mean, I think, you know, I think this defense is very talented. They've been together, a lot of those guys have been together for a long time. They're talented, they're a veteran-led group, you know, the stats speak for themselves and what they've done in the past and what do you expect them to do going forward. This is a heck of a challenge for us, and we're excited for the challenge, but there's a lot of talent on that defense that they've been very successful for a long time.
Janocko: Along those same lines, what did you like the most out of your offensive line in week one and how they really have to kind of step it up into defensive line in week two?
Janocko: I thought that, you know, our offensive line, they came off the ball with speed. I thought they tried to finish plays. They communicated very well. Everything that we've talked about since we got together in April, we just want to see that come to life.
Janocko: Having an efficient run game, how does that help you open up the rest of your playbook?
Janocko: I think that's just everything we believe in in general. Everything starts with running the football for us, whether it's running, running, you know, play action. But, you know, for us, you know, everything, and I always truly believe that. I think that's just who we believe in, so we're just trying to maximize what we do in that aspect.
Janocko: You've been speaking about the offensive line, but Colton in particular, you know, his first offseason has been really healthy in a while and just to be able to start off the way he did, what did you see from him and how important is he to the offensive line?
Janocko: Yeah, I thought Colton played very hard. I think, you know, he's a savvy guy. He plays with a lot of smarts he knows. You know, he's seen a lot of football, great communication down the line, getting there, you know, between him, Tyler, the whole group, communicating with the coaches on the sideline that, you know, that allows us to be successful.
Janocko: Last season, Jack Besh was looking for a fit in this offensive this year. It seems like he started to really find his groove. What's allowed him to really take that next step and push for an expanded role?
Janocko: Yeah, Jack's a hard worker, but that whole group works extremely hard. You know, Coach Zani gets those guys, you know, he's on them constantly. They don't, you know, they don't breathe without, you know, him coaching them hard on everything they do. So, you know, just to see Jack make improvements in each part of his game, it's a credit to how hard that whole group works, seeing those guys take steps forward, and then, you know, it's a credit to, you know, how Coach gets unprepared.
Janocko: For Naomi, that was on the sidelines. Like there was video of him talking Mike Sullivan and reciting the play call that he was hearing the helmet. Just as a backup quarterback, what's the benefits of doing that, especially during game day?
Janocko: I think you're just putting yourself in, you're putting yourself in the game, so you're getting game reps just like you would out of practice. You're getting reps, you're getting game reps, and, you know, that's twofold. That goes for, you know, for down the road and prepping to play, but that also puts you in that game. So when your number is called, whether it be, you know, the next snap or, you know, a while down the road, you're establishing yourself with game reps.
Janocko: Cody White obviously made the huge play on special teams. What does he need to do, Andrew, to move up and get up on the 53?
Janocko: Yeah, I think Cody, you know, Cody does everything we ask. Cody's an extremely hard worker. He's just, you know, he's kind of coming into our offense right now, learning, you know, learning the nuances and, you know, subtle tweaks that we made since we were together last time. So just seeing Cody improve on that, working with Coach Azani, you know, and that's all stuff that we're asking from every player, not just Cody, but, you know, every player in that role.
Janocko: All right, all good. Thanks, guys. Have a good one.
