Las Vegas Raiders majority owner Mark Davis hasn't been able to get it right during his 15-year tenure at the helm of his late father's treasured franchise. As it stands now, things are at an all-time low, with the organization hiring its sixth head coach in as many years.
But with each hire, a bit of optimism bursts through, as the building and the fanbase hope that they finally figured out the complex equation that has been the Raiders winning over the last two decades. Davis, however, made it clear that he is no longer in charge of such big decisions.
"Tom [Brady] and John [Spytek] are running the football side of this building. That's been pretty clear."
Mark Davis couldn't be happier about Raiders' Klint Kubiak hire
Well, that doesn't mean that Davis can't still be optimistic himself and speak to the media about what a great hire Las Vegas just made. After the Raiders introduced hotshot coordinator Klint Kubiak as the team's next head coach, Davis fielded questions from reporters in a media scrum.
The first question was about Davis' choice to bring back legendary alumni like Howie Long, Marcus Allen, Mike Haynes, Jim Plunkett, Rich Gannon and Charles Woodson to sit on the stage with Kubiak while he introduced himself to the building and media. Was there some symbolism there?
"It's important (to have those legends up there) because I think those gentlemen represent what it means to be a Raider, and I think that support that they're giving him, and for him to see it, the reflection of it," Davis said. "[Kubiak] grew up not liking those guys too much, obviously cause he was a Bronco. And I didn't really like the Kubak family too much at that time. But now he's part of our family, and we're really excited ... Just really excited about the process that we went through to get here, and now it's moving on into the future."
Davis then admitted his shortcomings as the leader of the football operation over the years. But, as always, he provided a smidge of hope that he finally figured things out with the pairing of Kubiak and Spytek.
"Well, again, it's trying to get it right. That's what we're trying to do. I haven't done that yet. I think this time, again, I'm thinking right now, we do have it right," Davis said. "Hopefully, he'll be here for the next 10, 15 years, to work with this organization, and that's what the goal is. And the goal is to win Super Bowls. As [Kubiak] said, it's not about individuals, but it's about the team, and it's about people."
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It's hard not to get excited when Davis has that twinkle in his eye like he nailed a hire. History would indicate that he has not, but for some reason, this time feels different. Davis touched on what makes Kubiak so special.
"Well, there's a lot of impressive things about him. But, again, it's just his way of being. I think his family, everything. It's just -- he's really, really a nice young man, and he's also competitive. As I say, he's a silent assassin. So, I think we'll see that, and I think the Raider Nation is going to end up loving him."
If Kubiak is indeed the "silent assassin" that so many have billed him to be, the fanbase will fawn over him. Offseason optimism is one thing, but if Raiders fans could maintain that hope for more than just a few weeks during the regular season, then that would mean the tide is turning.
At the end of his media availability, Davis gave his impressions of why the football operation chose to go with Kubiak as the next head coach. In Davis' view, it made sense, with the No. 1 pick and a quarterback likely coming in, to go with a young, offensive-minded leader.
"It came down to where we are this year, having the first pick in the draft and everything, and understanding that there's a good chance we'll go on the offensive side of the ball," Davis admitted. "So, it might be a good chance that we would want a young offensive mind that could grow with somebody, is what started in my mind. That's the direction we wanted to go. But at the same time, he had to win the job. It's just because there were some really good candidates that we spoke to, but he definitely was the one. And it was a risk to wait 'til after the Super Bowl and see if we were the ones that were going to get him, but it ended up in our favor."