Inside the Las Vegas Raiders’ Rebuild Under Klint Kubiak

The Las Vegas Raiders rebuild is well underway with new coach Klint Kubiak, second-year GM John Spytek, and minority owner Tom Brady.

To the credit of the Raider brain trust, since Pete Carroll's termination, the franchise has shown exceptional discipline and a commitment to the process, entering 2028 with a playoffs-or-bust internal temperature.

Coach Klint Kubiak and GM John Spytek flanked by multiple NFL, Raider greats. | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

What’s going on? Here are the processes underway.

New Staff

As Kubiak assembles the remainder of his staff, having already selected his three coordinators, they help the Raiders quickly move on to other facets of the rebuild. This is not to minimize the role of the position coaches, but assembling the three coordinators is the single most impactful hire.

They together finalize the scheme, general tactics, and the tangibles they are looking for at every position on the 53-man roster.

Las Vegas Raiders GM John Spytek, and minority owner Tom Brady | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Kubiak’s coordinators:

Offensive Coordinator: Andrew Janocko

Defensive Coordinator: Rob Leonard

Special Teams Coordinator: Joe DeCamillis

Kubiak said of assembling his staff, “We're trying to put together a great staff of teachers. We got to get some really good teachers and coaches here, and get us all on the same page and get our players going in the same direction. That communication is really important. I think if we can put together a great staff here and get our players up to date on these playbooks and the things we expect of them, then the results speak for themselves after that.”

John Spytek, Owner, Mark Davis | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Roster Evaluation

The Silver and Black have assembled a terrific team of young stars, helping John Spytek. Their ability assemble in-depth analysis of their own team helps the Kubiak staff hit the ground running.

Las Vegas Raiders GM John Spytek | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

The Raiders staff will develop their scheme as aforementioned above. In the roster evaluation process, the staff now undergoes the difficult task of assessing who fits, who doesn’t, on the current roster in what Kubiak ultimately wishes to accomplish.

Free Agency Scouting

After looking at the players currently under contract, Kubiak and his staff, along with the exceptional staff under Spytek, begin the evaluation of the Raiders’ own free agents.

Indiana's Fernando Mendoza (15) scores a touchdown during the College Football Playoff National Championship college football game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A long list of players that they not only have to evaluate from the standpoint of who fits the scheme and not, but also, with a goal of 2028 or bust for the NFL Playoffs, who will fit in 2028?

It just isn’t who can contribute in 2026, but who will be at the top of their game in 2028?

The Raiders have a unique mulligan, a unicorn in the National Football League, in that they are going to get a two-year mulligan for this rebuild. Because of that, a player peaking in 2026 may not be a fit in 2028, so the team will need to evaluate moving on to a younger player who will benefit from patience and development in 2026 and 2027, with payoff in 2028.

Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Trades

The Raiders have done a thorough evaluation of their own roster as I reported above, but what most are not aware of is that they have done a significant deep-dive on every other roster of the other 31 teams.

Las Vegas Raiders John Spytek | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Spytek’s exceptional team knows those rosters backwards and forwards, and the Raiders will then begin to explore trades, potential cuts, and which players already in the NFL on other teams could fit with the Silver and Black at a cost that fits within the grand scheme.

There is much more to what is happening right now.

Allegiant Stadium, Home of the Las Vegas Raiders — Allediant Stadium | Dexter Ernest Wayne Carpenter, Sports Illustrated

We explore all of that in our latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast.

Watch the Podcast Below:

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