It seems like just yesterday that Klint Kubiak was introduced as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. But free agency and the NFL Draft are already both distant memories, and even OTAs and mandatory minicamp are now in the rearview mirror. Time is moving at a blistering pace.
Before training camp and the preseason, however, the team will have over a month off. During this time, Kubiak won't be contacting his players very much and will be taking a much-needed recharge, as he'll be encouraging the rest of his staff to do. This is the true NFL offseason.
What did Kubiak see from his team in the early going, though? Obviously, this roster is much better on paper. But games aren't won on paper; they're won on the field. Luckily, Kubiak seems to think that the Raiders are actually an improved group after their early offseason work.
Klint Kubiak thinks Las Vegas Raiders are "an improved team" after OTAs and mandatory minicamp
Kubiak spoke with reporters on Thursday before everyone broke for the summer, and he fielded a smattering of questions. When asked to give an assessment of the team thus far, the first-year head coach was positive, but of course, measured, and completely candid.
"We're an improved team," Kubiak said. "Our guys have taken to coaching; they're doing everything we ask them to do. I definitely see an improvement from where we started. This time of year, you can get lulled to sleep when the pads aren't on, so what team that we're going to become? We'll find out come training camp when we put pads on. ... You get what you can out of this time of year, and then the real evaluation comes with those 11 practices before we play that first preseason game."
The fact that this isn't Kubiak's first rodeo certainly helps him make an honest evaluation of the team that is rooted in experience and reality. The young leader was also asked about how that history of coming in to change the guard in other buildings has been an asset to him this offseason.
"Yeah, absolutely. Being a part of many Year 1s, you learn from your mistakes," Kubiak noted. "You learn what works, how to best bring the players along, how not to load 'em up too much, and give them things in the install piecemeal. And then there's days where you just go out there and stress the heck out of them mentally and see what they can retain. But I think it goes back to the people that you're around. And I've been lucky in those two spots to be around some other coaches, some familiarity, where you don't have to spend that much time with the offensive line, with the quarterbacks, with guys like [OL coach] Rick [Dennison] and [OC] Andrew [Janocko]. Really blessed to have them on our staff, and it allows me to go and spend time with other parts of the team."
Much was made about Kubiak's decision to take the Raiders' iconic Shield decal off the team's helmets during the early part of the offseason program and OTAs. But they finally earned them ahead of mandatory minicamp, and Kubiak revealed how that came to be.
"I just think we knew from the start that we were all just trying to do our part to make the Raiders better and to earn The Shield. Like I said before, our guys have really worked their tail off. And what we've asked them to do as coaches has been a lot this time of year. And they've bought in, and they're working their tail off, so I thought they definitely earned that thing. But that's an everyday thing, for us to earn the respect of the organization, of the Raiders that have come before us, players and coaches. And that's something that we take really seriously."
Kubiak is clearly taking his job as the head coach seriously, but he has also been a Silver and Black historian this offseason. And even better than that is the fact that Kubiak has been sharing those lessons with the staff and players. The franchise already means a great deal to him.
Between the team's improvement, Kubiak's experience in such situations, and his reverence for the organization, fans should feel confident that this Raiders team will be just fine. Things will become clearer when they put the pads on in July, but for now, improved is improved. And that's a good thing.
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