Kubiak, Raiders Must Answer Serious Questions on This Side of the Ball

If the Las Vegas Raiders want to have first-season success under their new head coach, Klint Kubiak, it is going to be a team effort.

The Raiders will have to be good on all three phases of the game. Offense, defense, and special teams will all play a big role in what the Raiders will look like next season. Kubiak will handle the offense as we know it, but he is going to have a huge say on the defense side and what they look like as well.

Kubiak wants to help the defense in any way he can, but he is going to let whoever is the next Raiders defensive coordinator run the show on the defensive side.

Kubiak will give his insights on what he sees from their opponents, and that could go a long way in the success of the Raiders' defense next season. Like we saw last season, there were a lot of teams with successful defenses that made the playoffs and made a huge run.

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

Raiders Defense as important as Offense in 2026

Kubiak's next steps after getting hired are looking for his defensive coordinator. Once that happens, the Raiders must get the players that they believe would best their defense and scheme next season. The Raiders' defense will have a lot of holes this offseason, but the Raiders have the cap space to fill them in, and they will need to. The important thing is to get the right players in the building, and that will make a difference next season.

"So, we're identifying candidates and going to be contacting guys and bringing them in, but I think whoever that coach is, it'll be really important that we establish a style of play, a physical style of play, and that's offense and defense," said Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak about finding his defensive coordinator. "So, I'm just way more worried about how our guys play than opposed to the X's and O's of it all."

"That's part of our job as coaches is to scheme guys and help them be put in the best positions, but I want to make sure that we have a DC that is coaching effort first and technique and the guy that's going to rip into somebody if they're not finishing at practice, because that's what helps you win in February. It's not the X's and O's, they've got 17 games of tape on you. It's about how hard your guys play."

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