The Las Vegas Raiders have just completed phase 1 of their lengthy rebuild: Hiring a young, new head coach. Landing on Klint Kubiak, the promising offensive coordinator from the Seattle Seahawks, was a big-time first step. But it cannot be said enough that so much work remains to be done.
Kubiak hasn't even started filling out his coaching staff yet, outside of hiring Mike McCoy as an assistant head coach, let alone addressed the roster. The Raiders have to get through free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft before even knowing who will be around on the offseason 90-man team.
And yet, it is hard not to get excited about the prospect of Kubiak and Fernando Mendoza, the presumed No. 1 pick, no matter who is around them. Even Super Bowl champion defensive back and current NFL analyst Jason McCourty is already seeing the vision in Las Vegas under Kubiak.
Jason McCourty believes Klint Kubiak can be coach who takes Raiders to the promised land
Earlier this week, before Kubiak was even officially introduced as the Raiders' next head coach, McCourty appeared on the Up & Adams Show. He talked about Kubiak and how he believes minority owner Tom Brady can sell him as the game-changing head coach Las Vegas needs.
"Kubiak being able to gameplan guys wide open, those are the things that, if you're [Tom] Brady, you're looking at it, and you're like, 'See, that's what we want. That's what we need for [Fernando] Mendoza. We need a guy that's gonna come in here and design things for Brock Bowers to be wide open. Design a run game for Ashton Jeanty not to get hit the most of any running back in the NFL behind the line of scrimmage. That's what we need. I can sell Las Vegas fans that Kubiak is going to be the guy to get us to the promised land.'"
The promised land.
Considering McCourty has seen the promised land, and Kubiak just got back from it, Raiders fans should be excited. Cautiously excited. Obviously, a lot more goes into winning than just pairing a great play-caller with a No. 1 pick quarterback and some explosive young weapons.
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But one could argue that those are three of the biggest components of success in the NFL, and if Las Vegas did indeed nail all three, they could contend sooner rather than later. Now, this is a projection. Kubiak and the Raiders have to prove a lot on the field before teams even take them seriously.
For the first time in forever, however, it isn't just this fanbase and a small sampling of optimists in the national media buying what the Silver and Black are selling. Some of the Raiders' harshest critics and detractors are even jumping on board.
Does this mean that people are expecting Las Vegas to hoist the Lombardi Trophy a year from now? Certainly not. But it takes time to build a winner in the NFL, and if the Raiders are laying the groundwork now, as they seem to be, they could soon reap the benefits. McCourty sees the vision.