Klint Kubiak was hired by the Las Vegas Raiders for a simple reason: to give this offense, which has been on life support for the past few seasons, a real shot in the arm. His history as a great play-caller, and more recently, a Super Bowl champion, was enough to swoon the team's leadership.
It certainly doesn't hurt that he brings the right demeanor, messaging and no-nonsense attitude to leading this team, which has already impressed the locker room, but Kubiak being revered as one of the NFL's best offensive minds is why Las Vegas held out so long to hire the first-time head coach.
In fact, in a recent survey conducted by The Athletic's Ted Nguyen, in which he polled several NFL defensive play-callers and veteran assistants about the best play-callers in the league, Kubiak came in at No. 9. That was a marked improvement from the year prior.
And if he cleans up his issues in the red zone, then the Raiders' new leader may soon ascend this list even more.
Raiders' Klint Kubiak ranks No. 9 on list of NFL's best play-callers
After the 2024 NFL season, Kubiak wasn't ranked on this list. But following his tremendous one-year stint with the Seattle Seahawks, Kubiak ranked as high as No. 5 on this list, and only as low as No. 10. This averaged out to him being slotted in at No. 9, but he is a consensus top-10 mind, it seems.
"The Seahawks offense was one of the biggest surprises of last season," Nguyen wrote. "They finished 10th in offensive DVOA and eighth in explosive play rate (12.1 percent). Coaches said Kubiak isn’t a one-year wonder. He’s had good offenses in Minnesota and had the Saints offense rolling before they were hit hard with the injury bug in 2024."
Perhaps even more important is the way that these opposing coaches feel about facing him. For a Raiders team with a lot of question marks throughout the offense, especially the receiving corps, fans will love to hear an AFC defensive coordinator's view on how Kubiak finds success.
“His play-action shots are to unlikely targets; it’s not always the receivers, it’s the tight ends, it can be a back,” an AFC defensive coordinator said. “And then I think he’s unaffected by what others might have in their minds of being a successful game. He’s going to play the way they need him to play to win. So it’s true team ball.”
Keep in mind that Kubiak accomplished what he did in Seattle after the team dumped their two star pass-catchers, D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. While Smith-Njigba is obviously an incredible talent, it took Kubiak taking over to realize the extent of that truth and to keep getting him open.
“Anytime you’re able to get a receiver like Smith-Njigba, who’s very talented, but anytime you’re able to get him as many touches as you do, that means that somebody’s doing a hell of a job designing plays,” a defensive coach said.
Now, it won't be any easier for Kubiak in Las Vegas; this Raiders team has a long, long way to go. But with players like Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty locked in for a few years, and a potential franchise quarterback in Fernando Mendoza, it may not take too long for Kubiak to have success again.
The Raiders have one of the best offensive minds in the NFL on the sideline and in the quarterback's headset, so optimism should be abundant.
Klint Kubiak must clean up red zone shortcomings to take Raiders to another level
For all of the good that the Seahawks did on offense last year, it should be noted that Kubiak wasn't exactly perfect. Yes, they scored the third-most points and had the eighth-most total offensive yards in the league. But in terms of redzone efficiency, Seattle was a measly 22nd.
Obviously, they won the Super Bowl with that mark. But they also had the best defense in the league on their side, and the Raiders probably won't have that in 2026. Kubiak only punching the ball into the endzone on 55.4% of their trips to the redzone was quite underwhelming, and an area for him to grow.
To put this in perspective, Seattle's redzone touchdown percentage was just ahead of the Arizona Cardinals and the Cleveland Browns. It should be noted that they were crowded in with other elite teams like the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots as well, but that doesn't make it better.
Based on stats from Football Guys, the Seahawks relied heavily on the run when they got into a tight field. Now, that is a safe play, and it probably led to more field goals than turnovers. And for a team that has struggled to merely put points on the board, like the Raiders, that is fine.
But the truly elite offenses know how to turn opportunities into six points, and although Kubiak scored more total points than almost any other team in the league, and found himself in the redzone more often than most others, his team's efficiency wasn't the highest.
Nit-picking, sure. But for Kubiak to continue ascending the list of the best play-callers in the NFL, and to help the Raiders crawl out of the league's offensive gutter even more, he needs to figure out more ways to punch the ball into the endzone when his team is in the redzone.
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