-
Ryan McFadden
HENDERSON, Nev. — In the Las Vegas Raiders’ search for their 25th head coach in franchise history, they made a move that made sense. With running back Ashton Jeanty and tight end Brock Bowers in the building, and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza potentially on the way, Las Vegas’ hire of an offensive-minded coach is all about maximizing the potential of its current and future young stars.
The Raiders landed Klint Kubiak, who just led the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl LX win as offensive coordinator. The hiring of Kubiak, 38, which was made official on Monday, was a move in the direction the franchise needed for its rebuild efforts.
settled for Pete Carroll after striking out on Ben Johnson.
Raiders general manager John Spytek led the coaching search in close collaboration with minority owner and former quarterback Tom Brady. Ahead of the search that began in earnest on Jan. 5 when the Raiders fired Carroll, Spytek said the team will be open-minded in their approach. However, it was clear that people with offensive backgrounds were emphasized. Of the 15 candidates who interviewed for the position, 10 coaches focused on offense, including Davis Webb, Mike McDaniel, Brian Daboll and Kubiak.
Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero was the team’s backup option after Webb withdrew his name.
Kubiak stood out after his virtual interview on Jan. 9, and impressed the organization and Brady in-person — Brady was the FOX color commentator for Seattle’s 41-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round and its 31-27 victory against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship.
The Raiders zeroed in on Kubiak the week before the Seahawks traveled to San Francisco for the Super Bowl. They officially met with him for a second time in Seattle on Jan. 31, along with the Arizona Cardinals. The wait might’ve seemed risky due to head coaching vacancies across the league that were filling up and the team’s options began to shrink.
Denver Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, hails from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree and runs his version of the West Coast offense.
He’s heavy on player usage such as 12-personnel (one running back, two wide receivers and two tight ends) and 21-personnel (two running backs, a tight end and two wide receivers). By doing so, the Seahawks forced opponents to stop the run, allowing them to create mismatches and explosive plays in the passing game.
Download the ESPN app and enable Adam Schefter’s news alerts to receive push notifications for the latest updates first. Opt in by tapping the alerts bell in the top right corner. For more information, click here.
The Raiders’ current wide receiver room doesn’t stand up to the Seahawks. Seattle featured 2025 Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashid Shaheed and Cooper Kupp. However, Las Vegas’ Bowers — who recorded 64 catches for 680 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games — has a chance to thrive in Kubiak’s system.
The Raiders also have wide receiver Tre Tucker (57 catches, 696 yards and five touchdowns), who has the capability of stretching the field vertically. He has made strides in each of the three seasons he has been in the league and could take a bigger leap with Kubiak as the playcaller. Tucker was praised for getting open by winning his one-on-one matchups. Kubiak was good at scheming up plays that created one-on-one matchups for his pass-catchers.
The Seahawks were among the best teams in utilizing 12-personnel. During the regular season, Seattle used 12-personnel on 27.4% of its offensive plays (11th in the league, per NFL Next Gen Stats). They were first in total yards per play (7.5), first in passing yards per play (10.5), third in offensive EPA (47.01) and third in rushing yards (5.3).
Kubiak’s outside zone run scheme was effective, as Seattle was tied for 10th in rushing yards (123.3) after it ranked 28th (95.7) in 2024. He did a solid job at utilizing running backs Kenneth Walker III (221 carries, 1,027 yards and five touchdowns) and Zach Charbonnet (184 carries, 730 yards and 12 touchdowns).
Walker was named the Super Bowl MVP after he rushed for 135 yards on 27 carries against the Patriots.
The Raiders wanted to run a two-running back system under former offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, but that plan ultimately failed. Las Vegas finished last in rushing yards (77.5) per game. Jeanty ran the ball 266 times for 975 yards and five scores. And the player with the second-most carries was quarterback Geno Smith with 41.
Full offseason guide for all 32 teams
• Way-too-early Power Rankings for 2026
• Top free agents | Best draft prospects
• Early needs for every team | Draft order
• Tracking coaching hirings, firings
Jeanty, who averaged 3.7 yards per carry, should have consistent production with Kubiak’s scheme. But for him and the rest of the offense to have some form of success in Year 1, a handful of changes must be made through free agency or the draft. The Raiders are expected to invest heavily in the offensive line after the unit was the team’s biggest weakness in 2025.
Las Vegas already has the left tackle spot solidified with Kolton Miller. It will be up to the new coaching staff on whether Jackson Powers-Johnson plays right guard or center. Still, adding two interior linemen and a right tackle would be wise.
Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum, Los Angeles Chargers guard Zion Johnson and Buffalo Bills guard David Edwards are among the free agent linemen. The Raiders could bring back starting left guard Dylan Parham, who has started in 63 of 64 career games with the organization.
They will also need to add a top wide receiver who can take the attention away from Bowers. Indianapolis Colts’ Alec Pierce and Seahawks’ Rashid Shaheed are two wide receivers the Raiders could target in free agency. Shaheed has familiarity with Kubiak’s system and can provide additional value as a returner.
On top of that, the Raiders need to acquire another running back to complement Jeanty and allow Kubiak to replicate what he did with Walker and Charbonnet.
April’s draft, he and Kubiak should form a solid pairing. Kubiak has seen solid quarterback play up close. Seattle’s QB Sam Darnold earned his second Pro Bowl selection after recording 4,048 passing yards (fifth in the league), 25 touchdowns (tied for ninth), 14 interceptions (third) and 67.7% completion rate (seventh) in 2025.
When Kubiak was the offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints in 2024, QB Derek Carr recorded 2,145 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, five interceptions, 60.2 QBR and 67.7% completion rate in 10 games. San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy had 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions when Kubiak was the passing game coordinator in 2023.
During Kubiak’s three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, two as a quarterbacks coach (2019-2020) and one as an offensive coordinator (2021), Kirk Cousins threw for 12,089 yards, 94 touchdowns and a completion rate of 67.6%. Cousins was a Pro Bowl selection in 2021 after throwing for 4,221 yards, 33 touchdowns and seven picks.
Mendoza — a Heisman Trophy winner and national champion — said on the Pat McAfee show that he was a «huge fan» of Kubiak and has watched a lot of the Seahawks’ film.
«Throughout this entire season, we actually had a little bit of a Kubiak-[Sean] McVay system, not for our RPO system but our play-action,» Mendoza said in San Francisco during Super Bowl week.
«The way [Kubiak] is able to incorporate outside zone and get the edge with the run game, where the running back can collect the edge, hit the hole or cut back and do play-action off of that, and the way he has developed Sam Darnold has been phenomenal.»
«Just being a football fan, I watched a lot of breakdowns of his films.»
