The Raiders, Kubiak Must Trust the Decisions They Made

Most new head coaches in the National Football League are not coming off winning a Super Bowl days after winning a Super Bowl. However, that was the case for the Las Vegas Raiders and head coach Klint Kubiak, which created a unique situation for the first-time head coach.

Raiders' Moves

With Kubiak coaching the Seattle Seahawks' offense in the Super Bowl, the Raiders were forced to wait things out. Las Vegas' front office waited patiently while doing their due diligence, interviewing other candidates, until they eventually had a clear path to hire Kubiak as their next head coach.

Las Vegas eventually got its guy and revamped its roster on both sides of the ball. Yet, the decisions Kubiak made immediately after being hired are on full display now that the team is in Organized Team Activities. Kubiak is quickly learning all he can in a short amount of time, ahead of the regular season.

Kubiak's Delegation

No head coach can be in different places at the same time. The jump from coordinator to head coach is undoubtedly significant. Yet, that is the very jump Kubiak is in the process of making. Immediately upon taking the position, Kubiak filled his coaching staff with decades of coaching experience.

Notably, Kubiak filled out his coaching staff within roughly a week of taking the position. Only a person who is confident in the decisions they are making can hire three coordinators in a week's time, after already being behind schedule because of prior responsibilities.

Kubiak showed further confidence in his ability to pick a coaching staff by quickly filling out the positional coaches as well. Kubiak filled out a complete coaching staff in a short amount of time. Now, Kubiak must rely on those coaches to do their respective jobs at a high level.

As the Raiders work through OTAs, mostly everything will be new for just about everyone involved. The importance of Kubiak's coaching staff to the Raiders' new-look roster, and to Kubiak himself, cannot be overstated. Kubiak knows how critical each coach on his staff is.

“Learning that on the fly. We hired these assistants for a reason, so I got to trust them to do their jobs. And I know the Raiders brought me here for a reason as well, to coach offense,” Kubiak said.

“So, I'm going to be spending a lot of time with the offense and kind of make sure I get that right, all the while being with the whole team. But Robbie Leonard and Joe DeCamillis, two phenomenal coaches that I'm really happy to have leading their units.”

As the Raiders move towards the 2026 regular season, the relationship between Kubiak, his coaching staff, and his team will be vital. Las Vegas is depending on improved coaching as much as it is on an improved roster to help turn things around in 2026 and beyond. They may depend on coaching more.

Kubiak and offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko will work closely on the offense. Defensively, Kubiak has handed the keys to defensive coordinator Rob Leonard, who was promoted after years with the team. Kubiak clarified what his role will be along with Leonard on defense this season.

“We're working together. We're teaming up on these installs, but Rob's [Leonard] running the show. He's done a great job. He's got a lot of talented assistants with Joe Woods, and there's some veteran coaches on there that are doing a great job, and we're going to put Coach Robbie in positions to call periods here at OTAs and in training camp so that he's ready to go come the season," Kubiak said.

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