Rob Leonard's inaugural campaign as the Las Vegas Raiders' defensive coordinator is not going how he or anyone wanted it to. After looking like a head-coaching candidate next offseason through the first three games, his unit has crashed and burned, and a lot of this fanbase already wants him gone.
I'm not here to tell anyone how to feel; I've been as frustrated with the defense's effort for the last six weeks as anyone. They continue to put the Raiders behind the 8-Ball, as they did in Week 9 against the San Francisco 49ers, and they have done so all year. It is impossible to win with a defense like this.
But Klint Kubiak went to the podium on Monday and defended Leonard wholeheartedly, even in the wake of another bad performance. And while fans may not agree with Kubiak's words or believe what he said, it was absolutely the right move for him to stick up for Leonard in the way that he did.
Klint Kubiak wholly defended Rob Leonard after Raiders' loss to 49ers
Immediately following the game, Kubiak told reporters that he would evaluate the film when he had a cooler head and then let everyone know if he was going to make changes on defense. Well, with a cooler head, Kubiak has decided not to make changes, and he had strong reasoning as to why:
"No, I don't [anticipate making any changes]. In fact, I see us doing the things we said we were going to do better. I stand behind Rob. [I] stand behind our defensive staff. [I] stand behind our players. I think the world wants someone's head on a platter every time things don't go right, but the way that I see it is that we brought people here for a reason: to get a job done, and to develop players for the long haul. And that's where we're going."
Honestly, pretty powerful stuff from Kubiak.
Of course, he was challenged on that a bit by one reporter, who asked Kubiak what led him to that conclusion when the results obviously say that what the Raiders are doing on defense is not at all working. Kubiak stuck up for Leonard and his guys once again:
"Because I see it work. Just not for four quarters. I have belief. I have belief in the scheme we run. I have belief in the coaches who run it. I have belief in our play-caller. I have belief in the players to execute. As a group - as coaches and as players - putting four quarters of football together [is important]."
Well, that settles that. Leonard is not losing his job, even though he has underperformed. So, fans can give up on that dream, at least for now. Everything is a moving target in Las Vegas in this kind of year, but the Raiders don't seem too keen on making a change.
Is that the right call for a 4-5 team with the worst defense in the NFL by several metrics? Is it fair to plague the offense with such a bad complement when they are holding up their end of the bargain? Are the Silver and Black wasting a year to potentially compete by making no changes on defense?
All of these are fair questions. But whatever the answers to them may be, Kubiak may still be right to give Leonard the benefit of the doubt, or to at least not bash him to the media and give him a longer leash than many want him to have.
Why Klint Kubiak defending Rob Leonard is so important
Simply put, coaches should not be dealing with these types of issues through the media or any external outlet. It is not the time to tell Leonard what he needs to do better or to scold him when you're standing on the podium, and Kubiak, even as a first-year head coach, understands that well.
Kubiak perfectly threaded the needle, as he defended Leonard but didn't give him false or hollow praise. He still held him accountable, saying the unit needs to play better, but reinforced the idea that Leonard is the man for the job. Kubiak isn't pointing the finger; that sends the wrong message.
This is an organization where folks look in the mirror when they want to assign blame, and they look through the window when they want to give praise. That's a good culture to build, and it starts at the top with Kubiak.
Plus, from a personal standpoint, if Kubiak points the finger at Leonard and it still doesn't work out, the finger eventually gets pointed back at him as the sole reason why the Raiders are having issues. Pete Carroll did that last year, and when things didn't change, he ran out of people to blame.
He was eventually fired because all of the problems traced back to him. Carroll was left with his thumb to point when the Silver and Black still struggled after several coordinator changes. Kubiak doesn't want to have the same fate.
But if things continue to go south with Leonard and Las Vegas does need to make a change at defensive coordinator next offseason, who would want to work for the guy who dragged his fellow play-caller through the mud? Kubiak is honorable and takes blame; he doesn't dish it out.
Maybe firing Leonard isn't the right call anyway. Nine games is still a very small sample size for a first-time play-caller, and while it is not exactly the same thing, the Detroit Lions are probably thrilled that they didn't fire Dan Campbell when his team was struggling.
Do fans really think that Joe Woods taking over the call sheet would make a tangible difference this season, in terms of the win-loss column, production or player development? If the answer isn't a surefire yes, then it is probably not worth the risk when there are other improvement levers to pull.
Perhaps patience is all we need, Raider Nation. Maybe Kubiak did hire the right guy, and these are the growing pains that we were promised when a young staff took over the worst team in the NFL. It's not like that side of the ball is flooded with elite talent, although they shouldn't be as bad as they are.
Either way, Kubiak was right to have Leonard's back.
If Leonard ends up working out, fans will thank Kubiak for his patience. If Leonard doesn't work out, then fans can recognize that their coach didn't burn a bridge or throw anyone under the bus, so the Raiders would be a desirable landing spot for another bright defensive mind.
You can't go wrong with believing in people or taking the high road.
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