What Quick Raiders Turnaround Could Mean for Klint Kubiak

The Las Vegas Raiders want to be successful next season. How will that success translate?

Klint Kubiak | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Based on all of their offseason additions, the Las Vegas Raiders should be a much-improved team. They added one of the best head coaching candidates to their staff and used the first overall pick on a quarterback they believe holds the key to their future success.

Even with all of that, it's entirely possible those improvements don't lead to a drastically improved win count. Something would have to be terribly wrong for them to go 3-14 again, but it would take a lot for them to suddenly leapfrog into contender status.

Fernando Mendoza | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Fernando Mendoza won't be the Week 1 starter for this team, and while sitting on the bench is good for his development, it also means this team will go as far as Kirk Cousins' arm will take them. That job becomes even harder now that Ashton Jeanty is dealing with an injury.

However, if the Raiders were to go on a surprise run, it would largely be due to the youth they added to the team. Their offseason additions would directly lead to greater success, making Klint Kubiak a strong candidate for a sought-after award at the end of the season.

COY Candidate

Klint Kubiak | Darrell CraigHarris, On SI

Klint Kubiak has an opportunity to take home the Coach of the Year Award by the end of the season if the Raiders can take a leap and become a potential playoff team. When taking a look at the last few Coach of the Year winners, there's a clear pattern of accelerating a team's rebuild and surpassing expectations.

He's offensively savvy, and if he can do in Las Vegas what he did last year for the Seattle Seahawks, he will be one of the premier play-callers in the NFL, alongside Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan. This award also has a lot to do with culture, and as long as the Raiders are more competitive in each game, he's sure to get some nods for this award by the end of the season.

Overall Team Success

Kirk Cousins | Arnie Bazemore, On SI

No matter how good Kubiak is and what he means to the Raiders as a whole, he won't win the award if the Raiders don't end the season with a winning record. The last time someone won the award with a losing record was all the way back in 1990, and it's harder said than done for a Raiders team with a tough schedule.

If they can win their season opener against the Miami Dolphins, that momentum can snowball and lead to wins as underdogs, but Kubiak will have to seriously work some of his offensive magic to get them near the postseason.