The Las Vegas Raiders can't make anything official until after Sunday's Super Bowl LX matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. But if all goes according to plan, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak will be the head coach of the Silver and Black this time next week.
John Spytek and Tom Brady's extensive search for the Raiders' next leader seemingly culminated in landing their top option. Patience was certainly difficult to have as teams around the NFL nabbed their head coaches, but Las Vegas held out for the crown jewel of the cycle. It was worth the wait.
Kubiak's hiring is expected to be officially announced next week, which will be a joyous occasion, but the honeymoon phase will be over quickly. The Raiders have serious work to do this offseason if they want to even compete in the AFC West and in the increasingly treacherous terrain of the AFC at large.
Richie Incognito is seemingly all aboard the Klint Kubiak train
But, in the meantime, it is nice to hear those in the media praise the move. Former Raiders offensive lineman Richie Incognito, a four-time Pro Bowler and a respected voice within Raider Nation, posted on social media about the reported hire of Kubiak, giving the move a major thumbs-up.
"Kubiak’s a ball coach. It’s in his DNA. He’ll coach guys up and make them better," Incognito wrote. "Excited to see what he can do with the #1 pick and a ton of cap space."
Incognito is right; coaching is in Kubiak's DNA. Not only is his brother, Klay, the current offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, but his father, Gary, played nine NFL seasons and coached for 10, winning a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos after a long stint with the Houston Texans.
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Having a reputation as someone who will "coach guys up and make them better" should excite Raider Nation about Kubiak to no end. One of the major issues in Las Vegas over the years has been talent acquisition, but talent development has been a major blind spot for the franchise as well.
If Kubiak is the man to correct this, as Incognito believes he is, then the Silver and Black are trending in the right direction before they even play a game. As Incognito also mentioned, having the No. 1 pick and a ton of salary cap space at your disposal is a great spot for a rookie head coach to be in.
Las Vegas drafting Fernando Mendoza feels obvious at this point, so pairing him with a young, innovative offensive mind like Kubiak, who has a quarterback-friendly offensive system, is a complete no-brainer for the organization.
However, nothing is guaranteed in this league, and while Incognito's words are valuable, Kubiak will still have to prove himself as a leader of an NFL franchise. Every sign so far indicates that he should be able to do so. Time will tell, but optimism should be sky-high within the fanbase right now.