The Las Vegas Raiders, after a brutal 2025 NFL season under Pete Carroll, were gifted the perfect chance to hit the reset button this offseason. Not only did the Raiders fire their aging head coach, but they have the No. 1 pick in April's draft, nine additional selections, and $90 million in salary cap space.
With Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza likely coming to Las Vegas, the Raiders actually had an intriguing job available. No longer are they expected to be the team with a stopgap quarterback and little patience. This is a full-on rebuild with a potential franchise quarterback on a rookie deal.
Apparently, that was enough to sway Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who will reportedly accept an offer to be the next head coach in Las Vegas after Super Bowl LX. People have gushed about Kubiak all week, and San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey was no different.
49ers star Christian McCaffrey's praise of Klint Kubiak during Pro Bowl is music to Raiders fans' ears
Kirk Morrison, a former Raiders linebacker who now covers the team in various capacities, caught up with McCaffrey at the 2026 Pro Bowl Games. Morrison asked McCaffrey about Kubiak, with whom he is closely tied, and the four-time Pro Bowler had high praise for Las Vegas' future coach.
"Klint is amazing, man. I got a little bit of time with him and the whole Kubiak family. We had Klint, we have Klay now, and it's just a special family," McCaffrey said. "He's somebody that's poised, he's under control, but he's a killer, man. It was just fun to be able to spend a couple years with him, and he deserves all of it. I'm so pumped for him."
As McCaffrey alluded to, he and Kubiak worked with each other directly in 2023, when the latter was the Passing Game Coordinator under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco. McCaffrey's father, Ed, and Kubiak's father, Gary, were also teammates on the Denver Broncos from 1991 to 1995.
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The McCaffreys are closely associated with both the Kubiak and the Shanahan coaching families, as Ed McCaffrey played under Mike Shanahan, just as Christian McCaffrey plays under Kyle Shanahan. But just because these two have a relationship does not mean McCaffrey's words are tainted.
Heavy Sports' Austin Boyd also caught up with 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who spent the 2023 season working intimately with Kubiak as well. Purdy
"He's awesome, man. Really smart. It was pretty cool to have him in that 2023 year with his experiences, and then also learn from Kyle, and vice versa, both of them bouncing ideas off each other when it comes to an offense," Purdy said. "The way Klint handles himself, how he thinks and what he believes, as a man, like, who he is, I could tell he's a leader of men, for sure. So, for him to be able to get an opportunity as a head coach, I'm really happy for him, excited for him, and he deserves it.'
Kubiak has been praised, almost ad nauseam, during the lead-up to Super Bowl LX by everyone. First, it was Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald. Then it was Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold. Then it was superstar wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and tight end A.J. Barner.
Raider Nation is quickly learning that the favorable perception around Kubiak is not just media-driven, and it is not a product of nepotism because his dad is a former coach. Kubiak, by all accounts, appears to be the head coach that Las Vegas has long waited for. Let's hope he lives up to his billing.