Raiders’ Kubiak Holds Nothing Back About His Team

HENDERSON, Nev.—The Las Vegas Raiders have devoted the entirety of their attention to Sunday’s initial 53-man roster and preparing for the NFL regular season that kicks off in just 15 days, when they host the Miami Dolphins.

Excitement is high for the Raiders rebuild, as the team looks ahead with a plan they believe will begin to take them to the NFL Playoffs annually, starting in 2028.

Klint Kubiak | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

For a desperate fan base that embraces this storied franchise more as a way of life than a football team, that is great to hear.

Kubiak’s in Midseason Form

The Las Vegas Raiders appear to have struck gold in the hiring of Klint Kubiak, who broke the mold going all the way back to his first press conference.

He spoke after digging into the film of the loss to the San Francisco 49ers with a vision toward the future, and he didn’t hold back.

Waiver Wire Winners

With the No. 1 overall pick for being the worst team in football last season, the Raiders not only picked the young man NFL executives labeled the best QB prospect of the last four years, but they also picked an impressive rookie class with said QB, Fernando Mendoza.

Klint Kubiak, Andrew Janocko | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

That said, as the worst team, the Raiders hold the right of first refusal on any player waived by the other 31 teams on Sunday. A position a rebuilding team like the Silver and Black could add to their roster.

I spoke with Kubiak about that and how excited he may be about the potential of gaining several new players off the waiver wire. His answer was his typical, brutally honest, and refreshingly blunt self.

"It's a possibility. Working really closely with Spy [John Spytek] and all the scouts right now. This will be a really important couple of days here. We're first in the order, so that's something we're going to look hard at."

No QB Conundrum

Kubiak and the Raiders have made it clear - crystal clear (think Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men") that Kirk Cousins is the starting QB. But that doesn’t mean he is the only QB on the roster that he believes in.

"We have three guys that are ready to play. And it's going to be some hard decisions on who's one, who's two, and that's not a decision that we have to make today. But those are discussions that are ongoing."

Not on the Nandolorian

Fernando Mendoza threw an interception on Thursday night that looked like it was a mistake by the WR. Kubiak was blunt about Fernando Mendoza's interception and who was to blame.

"I thought it was an excellent throw. He ripped it just like we asked him to on time. Yeah, it was a little bit high. Jalen's [Nailor] got to make the play."

Not for the Faint of Heart

Over the next few days, the Raiders will waive and cut some young men they have come to call friends and care about. For a leader like Kubiak, he gets it, but don’t let the stoic, no-nonsense leader fool you. He is a warm and caring man, and it is hard.

"Yeah, it's awful. You develop relationships with these guys since April and they give you their heart and their soul and all their time, and eventually it comes down to this. But there's also so many examples of guys that have been cut and make practice squads and make a team, or guys that get claimed by other teams, or guys that get cut five times and make 12-year careers.”

Kubiak continued, “So, there's lots of examples that you can share with them to encourage them because there's a lot of good football players that are out there in the NFL that have been sliced and diced multiple times. Coaches too, hired and fired, and you just get better. You get better and you learn, and you fail forward."

No Nonsense Equals Unbridled Truth

I personally like Klint Kubiak, and I highly respect what I have seen so far from the coach. But one thing I respect is that he is no-nonsense. He is all business, and what makes that great is that he won’t lie to you. If he doesn’t want to answer, he won’t, so when he does, you know you are getting a full dose of reality. That unbridled truth came out when he talked about what this team has become since he got here.

He didn’t try to sandbag; he spoke from his heart, and his answer should have any realistic Raider fan excited heading into a rebuilding season.

"I love our guys. I love how hard they work. I love how mature they are. I love how important the game is to them and how important playing for the Silver and Black is to them. I can't wait to go on this journey with them for the next 17 weeks in a row."

Maxx Crosby | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Don’t Panic About the Defense

Raider Nation is somewhat concerned about the Silver and Black defense. Kubiak knows they aren’t the 1985 Bears, but he also knows they have been very vanilla and haven’t played the starters much. So what has encouraged him?

"Obviously, I love how fast our defense started and how great of a job they did on third down, in the red zone. I thought our coaches have done an excellent job. I look forward to going and playing these games with our starters for a full four quarters and then playing a full game together. Offense, defense and special teams complementing each other. That's the goal, to get all three phases playing at a high level."

Ashton Jeanty | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Running Back Riches

Before the 2026 NFL Draft, I told you that there were four running backs that the Silver and Black truly liked and would have been happy to have picked any of the four to pair with Ashton Jeanty in the two-back Klint Kubiak system. One of those four was Mike Washington Jr., who has been terrific during his rookie camp and has made the Raiders' leadership look brilliant.

So what is Kubiak thinking about his tandem backs, and the others in that backfield?

Mike Washington Jr | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

"I think that they're both going to prepare to play a lot of football and as these games unfold, you react to the game. I think we got two guys that we're really excited about. We got some younger guys that we're really excited about too. All of our backs are going to play this year, offense, defense, and special teams. They just got to make the most of every rep that they get.”

Not one to be verbose, Kubiak wasn’t done. “Not making any promises on percentages of play time. It's when you get to the game, sometimes the guy you think is going to have five carries has 20. Sometimes the guy you think is going to be just a scat protection back is in there blocking six-man protection for 20 reps. So, we got to get ready for them to play in all phases."

Kirk Cousins Pulls Back the Curtain

Raiders QB Kirk Cousins, after the 49ers game, discussed a note he sent Kubiak praising the leadership and plan Kubiak executed during the OTA portion of the season, and how impressed he has been with his coach throughout Cousins’ 15th NFL training camp.

Kubiak discussed his commitment to the process and his sense of urgency.

"Yeah, I think just from coaching, you know that any one little mistake on any given play can affect the outcome of a game. The edges are so short and the mistakes get magnified so much. So, if you don't treat the little mistakes in practice and in walkthroughs like it's a live rep in the AFC Championship game, then you're selling the players short."

"So, I think that's our coaching staff's mindset is to never walk past a mistake and to be as detailed as we can be, knowing how important it is that we get things fixed. So, that's just our job as coaches to never be lackadaisical, even in a walkthrough."

Cousins Gets It

Fernando Mendoza, Kirk Cousins | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Kirk Cousins has looked marvelous since arriving in practice and in leading multiple scoring drives. Something Kubiak knows will help his team as they enter this rebuilding campaign, and for his rookie QB to witness.

“I just think he's taking practice to the field. Like you said, he's led scoring drives. We would have loved to lead three touchdown scoring drives. So, we're not satisfied with field goals and that's an area that we need to improve at. But I see a guy that's leading the offense.”

Fernando Is a Fan

Fernando Mendoza referred to Kirk Cousins after the 49ers game as “ruthlessly efficient.” Hey coach, can you explain what that looks like from a QB1?

“Well, there's so many details pre-snap. Snap points, getting protection set, communicating to your halfback who's behind you, signaling to receivers before the ball snap, cadence, on the sideline going into each series, going to each position and talking about the plays that are coming and things that he's looking for. And then all of a sudden, the whole picture changes and making an adjustment on the fly and getting everybody on the same page."

"So, there's just so many things that have nothing to do with throwing a tight spiral or an accurate football that goes with being efficient. And that's what the best quarterbacks do, that's what they are, and that's something that a young QB like Fernando will keep getting better at with reps.”

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