Las Vegas Provides New But Familiar Environment for Mariota

The city includes a significant number of Hawaii natives who will support the quarterback in his attempt to restart his career

One of the men who helped Marcus Mariota get where he is today believes the former Tennessee Titans quarterback is now right where he needs to be.

“He needed a change of scenery,” Vinny Passas, who coached the teenage Mariota in Hawaii, told The Athletic. “Some new chemistry around him. Even though he is making another change at offensive coordinator and learning a new language, it’s good for him.”

In signing a free agent contract with the Las Vegas Raiders last month, Mariota not only is closer to home geographically, he is closer to a lot more people from home. Las Vegas is known as the “Ninth Island” because of the number of native Hawaiians who have relocated there.

The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner at Oregon noted that was a consideration when he weighed options on where he wanted to be for the next phase of his NFL career, which began when the Titans selected him with the second overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.

“People are excited about that, here in Vegas and back home,” Passas told The Athletic. “Everyone is closer now to come see Marcus play.”

The hope in Las Vegas, where he is expected to back up Derek Carr, is that they will see the guy they remember from his youth, not the one who struggled with injuries and inconsistencies during his five seasons with Tennessee. During that time, the Titans had three head coaches, five play-callers and two general managers and many believe the constant change stunted his development.

Mariota’s best season in Tennessee was 2016, when he threw for 3,426 yards with 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also rushed for 349 yards and two more touchdowns.

The next year he led the Titans to the playoffs but threw more interceptions (15) than touchdown passes (13), which produced the worst passer rating of his career (79.3). An arm injury plagued him throughout 2018 and after six games last fall, he lost his job as the starter to Ryan Tannehill.

“He knows nobody is going to feel sorry for him, and he has to be ready to compete,” Passas said. “His dad used to always tell him growing up, ‘Whatcha gonna do about it?’ Marcus knows what to do. His confidence is fine.”