Hiring Klint Kubiak as their next head coach was an undisputed win for the Las Vegas Raiders. After all, he was the Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator in 2025, and he comes from a strong NFL bloodline and coaching family that has enjoyed era-defining and time-defying success.
Asking him to take down his former team, who is still on the NFL mountaintop, in Year 1, though? That's a tall task. But it'll be in front of Kubiak and the Raiders when the Seattle Seahawks travel to Las Vegas for a Week 10 matchup during the 2026 NFL season.
Fans know how good the Seahawks are, especially after watching them hoist a Lombardi Trophy this past February. But will this be the same team without Kubiak? Did they do enough this offseason to replace some of the talent that they lost? These are pertinent questions to ask.
To get answers, we spoke with a respected Seattle voice, Lee Vowell, site expert at 12th Man Rising, FanSided's dedicated Seahawks page. He didn't steer us wrong last year when talking about Pete Carroll or Geno Smith, so we can trust him when he says that the Seahawks are brutal foes again.
Las Vegas Raiders still aren't likely to prevail against Klint Kubiak-less Seattle Seahawks
Q: Klint Kubiak seemed to leave Seattle on very good terms. But is there still a sentiment that Week 10 could be a revenge game or proving ground for the Seahawks that they are just fine without him?
A: Kubiak absolutely left on good terms and was invited back for the team's Super Bowl ring ceremony. There, he chatted with players, coaches, and general manager John Schneider like he was still part of the organization. As with past moves, Seattle sees a coordinator being hired elsewhere as a head coach as a good thing for the human being.
That said, Seattle simply hopes the team will be OK without Kubiak. The new Raiders coach helped the Seahawks win a title in his only season with the team. New offensive coordinator Brian Fleury hasn't called plays in his career. He has big shoes to fill.
Q: How much faith do fans have that Brian Fleury can adequately replicate what Kubiak did, or at least have similar success in a different way?
A: Hopes are high for several reasons with Fleury. While he hasn't called plays before, he has a long and versatile experience in the NFL. He's coached both the defense and offense, so he understands how to attack opponents in multiple ways because of his experience. He's also exceedingly intelligent, so that should help him replicate the offenses the San Francisco 49ers run to what Seattle hopes to do.
Fleury also has experience working with Sam Darnold when both were in San Francisco, so that should help too. Plus, the scheme that Fleury runs shouldn't be all that different than what Kubiak did. Both coaches, just like Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan, are part of the Mike Shanahan coaching tree, so the basic elements are the same.
Q: The Seahawks bled some talent this offseason. Do you feel that they reloaded enough and will be back in the thick of the Super Bowl hunt again this year?
A: Seattle lost four key free agents, but they also return the most snaps played by the previous season's Super Bowl-winning team since 2010. Of the other teams in the top five, all won more regular season games the year after they won the title. Of course, this doesn't mean that Seattle will do the same, but not because of the talent that was lost, but because the NFC West is brutal.
The Seahawks already had a built-in replacement for safety Coby Bryant (Ty Okada), while Jadarian Price should be good in place of Kenneth Walker III. Walker was great last season, but ineffective and injury-plagued in the two seasons before. Cornerback Riq Woolen was a mercurial presence on the team and an inconsistent performer who was seeing fewer snaps as the season grew old last year. Dante Fowler should be a good fit in place of Boye Mafe (and the team didn't have to pay him $20 million, as the Cincinnati Bengals did Mafe).
Q: While we have you, what can a Seahawks expert tell us about Dareke Young, Andrew Janocko, and Rick Dennison?
A: Dareke Young, if he can stay healthy, is going to find a way to help the Raiders. He's a big and surprisingly fast wide receiver. He didn't get a lot of targets with the Seahawks, but he can catch and run well when given the chance. Assuming he makes the team, his effectiveness will come from his play on special teams. Fans will like the physicality with which he plays in the third phase of the game.
Janocko is a tremendous hire. He is also best friends with Kubiak, and each will help the other acclimate to their new roles. Janocko just needed his chance to be an OC somewhere. He will make mistakes as all new coordinators do, but he will run Kubiak's system and do it very well. Dennison was probably brought along to fill the same kind of role that Leslie Frazier did for Mike Macdonald with the Seahawks. He has the job of offensive line coach, of course, but his real role will be an experienced voice of reason for the head coach in tense moments.
Q: What was the biggest or most impactful move that the Seahawks made this offseason?
A: The most impactful moves, plural, that the Seahawks have made are to make financial commitments to players that are going to help the team win for many years. When Pete Carroll was running the team (he was president of football operations and John Schneider was the general manager), Seattle wasn't aggressive in getting players to sign extensions a year ahead of time. Last offseason, the team extended right tackle Abraham Lucas, but this offseason, Seattle extended edge rusher Derick Hall and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Cornerback Devon Witherspoon is almost certainly going to be extended before the season, too.
Q: Do the Seahawks have a weakness that the Raiders can potentially exploit in Week 10?
A: That is an interesting question because the coaching staff for both teams will know each other so well. Mike Macdonald is a brilliant defensive coach, but where he truly excels is in hiding whatever deficiencies the team might have.
Defensively, a good tight end can be a problem for Seattle, though, and the Raiders clearly have one. Offensively, if a team blitzes with an interior rush, Sam Darnold will have issues. As good as Seattle was last year, the reason they beat teams like the Minnesota Vikings was that the Seahawks' defense was elite.
Q: Would you rather face Fernando Mendoza or Kirk Cousins?
A: This might come back to bite me, but Mendoza. The only reason is that he is a rookie. He likely will be great (I personally hope so because most Seahawks fans probably want Kubiak to succeed), but Cousins is a smart veteran, and those are always difficult matchups.
Other Las Vegas Raiders 2026 season previews:
Week 1 - Miami Dolphins
Weeks 2&14 -Â Los Angeles Chargers
Week 3 - New Orleans Saints
Week 4 - Kansas City Chiefs
Week 5 - New England Patriots
Week 6 - Buffalo Bills
Week 7 - Los Angeles Rams
Week 8 - New York Jets
Week 9 - San Francisco 49ers
Weeks 11&15 - Denver Broncos (Coming Soon)
Week 12 - Cleveland Browns (Coming Soon)
Week 16 - Tennessee Titans (Coming Soon)
Week 17 - Arizona Cardinals (Coming Soon)
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