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Las Vegas' Hiring Of Klint Kubiak Continues To Look Like A Home Run
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- Las Vegas' Hiring Of Klint Kubiak Continues To Look Like A Home Run
(David Brytus - Imagn Images)
When the Las Vegas Raiders completed the hiring of Seattle Seahawks Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak to replace the departing Pete Carroll as head coach for the 2026 NFL season, it was seen as something of a coup.
In fact, at the time, one unnamed NFL executive actually called Kubiak a "stud" before adding, "I think Klint will do great. Really good human, and he's going to work his butt off."
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There has been scant evidence to the contrary in the eight months since then.
From OTAs onward, Kubiak has consistently exhibited energy, exuberance, effusiveness, empathy and even a sly sense of humor as he looked to mold his first Raiders' team. He handled with aplomb the obvious questions that would come regarding the Raiders' quarterback position as No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza battled free-agent veteran Kirk Cousins for the top spot before announcing authoritatively that the job would be Cousins' when the season commenced.
But the proof would always be in the pudding and once the season did kick off, Kubiak has performed like a Master Chef.
The first course was a 27-13 defeat of the Miami Dolphins at Allegiant Stadium, with an obviously appreciative Kubiak receiving a game ball from the players after the triumph.
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"They gave me a game ball," Kubiak said at the time. "Meant a lot to me....Really appreciative of the guys. It's great to share this moment with them, but we know we've got 16 more. One at a time."
The next two games also resulted in wins, 26-14 over the Los Angeles Chargers and 35-27 over the New Orleans Saints, both on the road. And with the Raiders averaging 29.3 points per game in the first three contests after a dismal 14.2 per-game scoring average in 2025, Kubiak began to receive kudos for his play-calling capabilities .
Even the team's lone loss, a battling 30-27 defeat at the hands of the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 4, earned high marks. The thrilling contest also drew the eyes of an average 28.448 million viewers on CBS, making it not only the most-watched NFL telecast this season, but the biggest Week 4 audience in the league's broadcast history, which stretches all the way back to October 1939.
So, it's probably not all that surprising that Kubiak has received high grades for his performance early in his nascent head-coaching career.
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On Friday, Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report handed out grades for the first quarter of the season to the 10 head coaches who are in their first year with their respective teams.
In an eclectic group that includes six coaches who, like Kubiak, are in their first year helming an NFL team, and four others with a number of head-coaching seasons under their belts, Kubiak was one of four to receive a grade of A or A+ with Gagnon stressing that the grades were not solely reliant on a team's won-loss record.
Of Kubiak's Demonstrated Strengths, Gagnon wrote: "Kubiak has the rebuilding Raiders competing hard every week. His offense ranks eighth in scoring. The league's third-least-penalized team has taken a significant step forward after winning just seven games over the last two seasons."
In the area of Needs Improvement, Gagnon noted that offense has committed six turnovers in four games, while adding that "Kubiak could afford to be more creative and a little less stubborn with the run game."
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The other coaches to receive an A grade were Kevin Stefanski of the 2-2 Atlanta Falcons (A+), Jeff Hafley of the 0-4 Miami Dolphins (A) and John Harbaugh of the 3-1 New York Giants (A).
Jesse Minter of the 3-1 Baltimore Ravens received the lowest grade with a D, while Mike McCarthy of the 2-2 Pittsburgh Steelers earned a D+. Todd Monken (B+) of the 3-1 Cleveland Browns, Joe Brady (B) of the 3-1 Buffalo Bills, Robert Salah (B) of the 0-4 Tennessee Titans and Mike LaFleur (C+) of the 1-3 Arizona Cardinals rounded out Gagnon's report card.
