At the beginning of the 2026 NFL season, I was starting to think that Rob Leonard was not going to be the Las Vegas Raiders' defensive coordinator for long. He was enjoying tremendous success, and with his coaching background, youth and players liking him, Leonard felt like a head coach candidate.
And it still seems like Leonard may not be at the helm of the Raiders' defense for very long. Only now it is because that side of the ball has completely crumbled in Las Vegas, with the team giving up 35.8 points per game in the last five weeks. Adjustments haven't been made. Things continue to worsen.
In Week 7 against the Los Angeles Rams, the defense was once again a big reason why the Silver and Black lost so miserably. For the second time in the last three games, the Raiders' young defensive coordinator earned a D- for his efforts, which raises some serious questions about his future.
Rob Leonard's defense was core reason why Raiders lost to Rams
Starting with the fundamentals, Leonard's defense simply could not tackle against Los Angeles on Sunday. They had 11 players miss a combined 14 tackles, which means that the Raiders have a widespread issue, and that typically falls back on coaching.
It was the same story against the run yet again, as Las Vegas relinquished 199 yards on 5.2 yards per attempt, and they gave up two touchdowns on the ground. Run defense has been an issue all year, and they didn't get any better against a Rams offense that was injured and more one-dimensional.
The defensive line is not winning at the point of attack, the linebackers aren't getting downhill quickly enough and making the correct run fits, and defensive backs have been late plugging holes and are getting dragged for extra yards. The run defense really has no redeeming qualities right now.
For the Nth straight week, the pass rush was poor again. Only this time, the Raiders reached a new low, managing just six pressures on 32 dropbacks. Matthew Stafford is one of the most immobile quarterbacks in the NFL, and it took a stunt to bring him down. Las Vegas hit him just three times.
On the back end, Treydan Stukes badly misread a play and gave up a touchdown, and other miscommunications were abundant as well. The Raiders got beat by the same thing over and over again, and they couldn't keep track of Rams star Puka Nacua.
Sean McVay had the unit and coaching staff in a blender with eye candy and misdirection. He changed the whole game plan to take down the Raiders, leaning more on play-action than before. It worked beautifully.
Las Vegas wasn't ready for what was thrown its way, and worse yet, they struggled to make adjustments until it was too late. They were much better in the second half, giving up just a single score, but it took a blind punchout and a dropped pass turned interception to change the fortune.
Because they did improve as the game went along, and they ended up getting some takeaways, they avoided dropping to a dreaded "F." But they are still hovering around it because we can't act like giving up 35 points to and getting gashed in several areas by a skeleton crew is a remotely adequate outing.
Questions are being asked about Rob Leonard's future in Las Vegas following another poor performance
Leonard wasn't considered a defensive coordinator candidate by anyone outside the organization, and with the pickings slim because Klint Kubiak was hired so late in the process, perhaps Leonard was never the No. 1 choice. And that matters as Kubiak continues to build his staff in the future.
If the defense continues to give up points at the rate that they have, at a certain point, the Raiders would have to consider a change. Fans are already circling the wagons on Leonard, and while I am not there yet, I understand the sentiment. It's not even about the results right now. More so the process.
Changes haven't been made, and it seems like the creativity that fans saw early in the year is lacking now. Maybe a step up in competition just completely exposed the inexperienced coordinator, and he needs to learn more on the job. He's like a player who is going to make mistakes in his youth.
But the problem is that there aren't any flashes anymore, and the unit is moving in the wrong direction. Young groups are supposed to start in the valley and ascend to the mountain top, not begin on the summit and plummet quickly off the cliff. Things are moving in reverse.
It is not too late for Leonard to salvage this season or his career. It's not like Kubiak has been a beacon of perfection, nor have any of the team's rookies. And the personnel in Las Vegas isn't exactly top-notch, so he has somewhat of a built-in excuse. But that only lasts so long.
Results do eventually matter in this world, and if John Spytek feels like he has put together a talented enough defense to perform better than they have been, or Kubiak doesn't feel like Leonard is moving in the right direction and helping the team win, he could be toast. Now or at the end of the year.
The Raiders do have two former DCs on the roster,, Joe Woods and Al Holcomb that they could replace Leonard with now. That seems premature. A bevy of experienced defensive minds could be available next offseason, like Sean McDermott, Jim Schwartz, Aaron Glenn, Todd Bowles and Dan Quinn.
Leonard can stave off all this talk by turning things around. But Raider Nation is not wrong to start questioning him at this juncture.
Rob Leonard Report Card
Week 1 vs. Miami Dolphins: B (3.0)
Week 2 vs. Los Angeles Chargers: A- (3.7)
Week 3 vs. New Orleans Saints: B+ (3.3)
Week 4 vs. Kansas City Chiefs: C- (1.7)
Week 5 vs. New England Patriots: D- (0.7)
Week 6 vs. Buffalo Bills: C- (1.7)
Week 7 vs. Los Angeles Rams: D- (0.7)
GPA: 2.11
Cs get degrees, sure. But do they get you to the playoffs, let alone win a Super Bowl?
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