One Kubiak Comment Changes Feel Heading Into Raiders Camp

HENDERSON, Nev. - The Las Vegas Raiders veterans report to the 2026 NFL Training Camp on Tuesday, and officially, the team will be together preparing for the upcoming season.

After over two decades of watching their franchise flounder, a fan base that takes the Raiders' success or failure personally, it is a way of life for them, is ready to have some fact-based hope and excitement.

Since the Raiders decided to fire Pete Carroll and go in a completely different direction, this franchise has yet to offer a clear reason for fans to complain.

Fernando Mendoza with John Spytek, Klint Kubiak | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

No cutting corners, unnecessary risks, or foolish signings.

They have been focused on everything they have done, and that discipline has captivated the fans, who are overjoyed that the franchise is using the old identity as the roadmap for its new one.

Klint Kubiak

Everything that succeeds in this world rises and falls on leadership. We have already documented how the Raiders picked Klint Kubiak, an impressive accomplishment in its own right, but what he has done since getting the job has earned and seized the NFL's attention, which has seen him as the premier young, offense-minded coach that he is.

Kubiak is not one given to hyperbole.

He doesn’t wax poetic with fluidity of speech, decorated with the latest terms popularized by modernity. He is all business. The fewer the words, the happier he is.

That is why earlier this summer, when the OTA and mandatory minicamp portion of the Silver and Black offseason was completed, I asked him about his team.

Kubiak isn’t a liar. He won’t look anyone in the eye and lie to them, neither a camera nor a microphone.

When you ask him a question, he gives you a direct answer; he isn’t a jaded veteran who sees each question as a potential attack. He takes it for what it is, a genuine interest in the opinion of the man leading the team.

What He Said

I asked Kubiak if the team, after all the offseason practices, was where he had hoped it would be. His answer surprised me. Not because it was truthful, but because I had expected a much more melancholy answer. It was far from it.

"We're an improved team. Our guys have taken the coaching. They're doing everything we ask them to do. I definitely see an improvement from where we started, and this time of year, you can kind of get lulled to sleep when the pads aren't on. So, what team that we're going to become, we'll find out come training camp when we put pads on.”

But Kubiak didn’t stop there. He went further, wrapping his excitement for the accomplishment with a dose of reality in what will be the toughest and most competitive training camp in many years for the Silver and Black.

“There's so many guys that are maybe doing great right now that will disappear come the fall. There's so many guys that you maybe not notice as much, but all of a sudden, whether it's a running back or an offensive lineman or defensive lineman, now that guy really shows his value. So, you get what you can out of this time of year, and then the real evaluation comes with those 11 practices before we play that first preseason game."

11 Practices

11 practices before the Raiders kick off the preseason. 11 practices for guys to make their mark, to stand out on tape, and to get noticed.

Gone is the feeling of entitlement, and in is the mantra of effort.

Raider fans should find solace in Kubiak’s praise for the offseason work, and comfort in his blunt assessment of the upcoming 11 practices.

Like a mother hen over her chicks, Kubiak and his outstanding film crew will document everything. Every single action, move, and play will be reviewed countless times late into the night and most certainly early into the morning every day.

11 practices stand between all 90 men on the roster and the badge of being Kubiak’s first team in a long-overdue rebuilding of one of professional sports' greatest and most storied franchises.

The player’s job is to make GM John Spytek and Klint Kubiak miserable when the time comes to cut their roster.

Kubiak’s job is to make practice and training camp so difficult that the players look forward to the game, a prize for the hard work, and fuel for a fan base starving to: “Just Win, Baby.”

Las Vegas Raiders Kint Kubiak | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Klint Kubiak has already set the standard for “Commitment to Excellence.” Over the next 11 practices and the rest of August, we will learn what players will take their place next to him in this journey.

They aren’t going to a Super Bowl in 2026, but if one does come of this rebuild, books will be written, stories will be told, and legends will emerge from these 11 practices.

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

Or as the far from flamboyant Kubiak said, “…real evaluation comes with those 11 practices…”

It’s almost time. Two days. Let the fun begin.

Get To Know Kubiak for Yourself

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