Life moves fast in the NFL. Klint Kubiak was winning a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. He was flown in on Monday and introduced as the next head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday. He went back for the Super Bowl parade on Wednesday. Now he's back in Las Vegas.
It has surely been a whirlwind for the first-time head coach, but given the late start that the Raiders got in the hiring cycle, there is no time for Kubiak to waste. Already behind the 8-Ball, his first order of business will be filling out a coaching staff. He spoke on Tuesday about that looming process.
"Definitely have a list of candidates that we're going through right now, and we're going to be working hand-in-hand on coaches and the roster, everything. That's part of us being successful, is us working together."
Klint Kubiak knows the exact kind of staff he wants in Las Vegas
Fans are particularly interested in the defensive coordinator hire. Not only will the Raiders have someone other than Patrick Graham calling defensive plays for the first time since 2021, but Kubiak is an offensive-minded head coach, so nailing the hire on the other side of the ball is paramount.
"I'm in the weeds of it right now, man. We're identifying candidates and going to be contacting guys and bringing them in. But I think whoever that coach is, it'll be really important that we establish a physical style of play," Kubiak said. "That's part of our job as coaches, to scheme guys and help them be put in the best positions. But I want to make sure that we have a DC that is coaching effort first and technique. A guy that's going to rip into somebody if they're not finishing in practice because that's what helps you win in February. It's not the X's and O's. They got 17 games of tape on you. It's about how hard you guys play."
Now, just because Kubiak has risen through the ranks as an offensive coach doesn't mean that he lacks experience defensively. In fact, he was a very good safety at Colorado State in the Mountain West. Kubiak spoke about seeing the game from that perspective as well.
"I think I'll always see it that way; see it from the back end. When you're in the pass game-wise, when you're thinking about what's going to give them problems, that's kind of where I would start putting myself in that situation. ... I've always felt like I had it from a defensive perspective."
Kubiak isn't going to be like Pete Carroll, though. He's not going to influence things on gameday or require coaches to run a specific scheme. Kubiak wants the coaching staff to see eye-to-eye and be a cohesive unit that works together toward a common goal, as it should be.
"The best teams are connected. You have each other's back, and that comes from many hours in meeting rooms together. You try not to separate as much. We like to meet together a lot so we're all on the same page, so that we can all get praised and corrected together in front of everybody. So, I think that's really important because it just makes you a little bit more of a cohesive unit."
Again, more important than the X's and O'x to Kubiak is how that coach approaches the game. Instead of just getting the best schematic mind in the building, Kubiak is focused on a coach who emphasizes the development of players and has a teaching style of coaching.
"We're trying to put together a great staff of teachers, and we got to get some really good teachers and coaches here, and get us all on the same page, and get our players going in the same direction," Kubiak said. "That communication is really important. I think if we can put together a great staff here and get our players up to date on these playbooks and the things we expect of them, and then let the results speak for themselves after that."
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General manager John Spytek was also asked about the defensive coordinator hire and Kubiak building out his inaugural coaching staff. Spytek clearly wants a different brand of football than the Raiders have had in the past.
"Well, [Coach Kubiak] said it in there: Gritty, tough, physical. Violent is a word we like to use. We want our tape to speak for ourselves and precede us. And more importantly, that's going to be the mentality of our organization. This is the Raiders. You need to feel us. It needs to be different. We want you to wake up on Monday morning and be like, 'That sucked.'"
Now, all of that is great. But Raider Nation also wants some names, surely. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer believes that Andrew Janocko is the frontrunner to be the offensive coordinator in Las Vegas. If he gets promoted in Seattle, then Breer thinks John Benton would be the Raiders' OC.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler also believes that Justin Outten and Jake Peetz, both assistants for the Seahawks, could also be on Kubiak's radar for the offensive coordinator position in Las Vegas if neither gets promoted in Seattle.
Defensively, Breer thinks that the Silver and Black have interest in Jim Schwartz. That said, the impression is that Schwartz is fine sitting out a year and trying his luck next offseason. ESPN's Dan Graziano echoed that sentiment.
Breer floated Kansas City Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen, Seahawks passing game coordinator Karl Scott, Cleveland Browns linebackers coach Jason Tarver and Raiders defensive backs coach Joe Woods as other defensive coordinator names on Kubiak's radar.
Whoever the Raiders end up hiring, it sounds like the coaching staff will be full of teachers and people who hold everyone in the building accountable. Names can be flashy and draw attention. But results are all the fanbase really cares about, and Kubiak and his staff will be "all about the work."