The 2025 NFL season will come to an end on Sunday evening after the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots face off in Super Bowl LX. Shortly after that, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is expected to officially sign a deal to become the Las Vegas Raiders' next head coach.
Kubiak's work with the Seattle offense this season speaks for itself, and that is why John Spytek and Tom Brady were willing to play the waiting game with him during this hiring cycle. But Kubiak has also been praised at length by his Seahawks colleagues and players this week ahead of the big game.
Because the move cannot be announced until after the conclusion of the Super Bowl, it has been fairly quiet on the Raiders' front. But star running back Ashton Jeanty bucked that trend when he was asked during media sessions this week about the hire of Kubiak, and he seems to be a big fan.
Ashton Jeanty raves about Raiders' reported Klint Kubiak hire
Jeanty has been bouncing around on radio row ahead of Super Bowl LX, and he joined CBS Sports to talk about several things on Wednesday. One of which was his presumed new head coach, Klint Kubiak, whom Jeanty raved about.
"He's hot right now. Obviously, what he's been doing with the Seahawks offense has been special. The way he's getting the (running) backs involved and obviously Jaxon Smith-Njigba having a career year," Jeanty said. "It's exciting to see what he's done so far, and hopefully they go and get it all, and then he's going to bring that energy, that momentum from the Seahawks over to us. So, I think it's a great hire, and I'm super excited."
It's hard to imagine a better response than that. Jeanty is absolutely right in his assessment that Kubiak has nailed his integration of both Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet into the run game, yet the offense also has a Pro Bowl quarterback and the league's leader in receiving yards.
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That last sentence is what Raider Nation is really grasping onto. Yes, it is nice to hear people from the Seahawks' organization, like Smith-Njigba, Sam Darnold and Mike Macdonald, praise Kubiak. Christian McCaffrey, who has family ties to Kubiak, also spoke highly of him earlier this week.
But hearing from someone in the building in Las Vegas that it's a great hire and there is a sense of excitement, particularly from a prominent figure like Jeanty, is great for the fanbase to hear. It's been a long, dragged-out coaching cycle. But, by all accounts, the Raiders got their guy. Their No. 1 choice.
Kubiak will need to prove that he can lead an entire team, as he'll be a first-time head coach in Las Vegas when the pen eventually hits paper. But with the right staff around him and buy-in from the players, this Raiders team can turn things around quickly. It seems like he's already got the latter.