The 2026 head coach hiring cycle was wildly competitive, as 10 NFL teams were looking for a new leader. In years past, that would have doomed the Las Vegas Raiders, who have played second fiddle to the rest of the league when it comes to landing prized coaches or players over the years.
But not this time.
Klint Kubiak was the apple of the Raiders' eye, and they waited a whole month to eventually hire him. Yes, Las Vegas was one of two teams that had the patience to interview him a second time, but Kubiak clearly wanted to be the team's next head coach all along, as he said on Tuesday.
"You know, guys, I got all these notes prepared, and I've never really been good at that. The main thing is that this is no ordinary job. This is the Silver and Black; this is the Raiders. This is a historic franchise," Kubiak said. "When the opportunity came up to stay in Seattle and continue there, or to have a chance to come here and compete with this organization, it was a no-brainer."
Klint Kubiak wanted the Raiders, not just any head coaching job
Now, Kubiak didn't just let the mystique and aura of the Silver and Black persuade him to relocate himself and his family to Las Vegas. He also spoke about the relationship that he built with the front office during the interview process and the comfort level that he felt in the building.
"I think over two separate interviews, I just got very comfortable with John [Spytek] and Mr. [Mark] Davis and the ownership structure," Kubiak said. "And really, they didn't have to say much. Just, 'This is the Raiders.' This is one of the most historic franchises in the NFL, with a great history that I want to be a part of. I want to be a part of furthering that history. I think the Raiders really sold itself. But having those two different interviews and getting more comfortable with the men in the room went a long way."
Kubiak was also asked whether the chance to draft Fernando Mendoza factored into his decision at all, or what his impressions of him were. Kubiak swerved around the question a bit, choosing instead to talk about all of the resources that Las Vegas has.
"The resources that the Raiders have: This building, having cap space, having the first pick, those all go into the decision," Kubiak said. "There's just a lot to love about this organization. To look around this building and the resources that we have, our meal room, the weight room, the fields outside, the coaches' offices. I mean, this is as good as it gets in the NFL. Been in a lot of buildings for good reasons and bad reasons. Been hired and fired. The resources are here. We just got to go put it all together."
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Once he got off the podium, Kubiak caught up with Amber Theoharis, James Jones and Eric Allen. They asked Kubiak about some of the players already on the Raiders' roster, and he made it clear that the team has talent, it just needs to be supplemented and developed.
"Yeah, it's easy to turn the tape on and see Brock and see Jeanty. And I know Kolton got hurt, but you see some talented guys up front, offensive line-wise. It's a very talented roster, and everybody's got talented players," Kubiak said. "The main thing I just see is the opportunity to be here in Vegas for the Raiders. We're going to have some capital to go get some players. We're going to have high draft picks, and it'll be really important that we hit on those guys and we develop them."
Look, Kubiak did not settle for Las Vegas. The Silver and Black didn't put all their eggs in the wrong basket and simply hire who they feasibly could. Kubiak wanted the challenge of turning the Raiders around, and the front office got the guy that they wanted all along. That was evident on Tuesday.