Why Raiders' Klint Kubiak Is Ready to Earn Everything

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Michael Canelo | Last updated Feb 12, 2026 8:00 AM ET

Everything about hiring new Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak felt different. Even the Raiders' process to get Kubiak in the building was different. The head coaching search was different.

There was no rush to get things going right away once the season came to an end for the Silver and Black. That was part of the process, and it was one that the Raiders learned from, and it paid off for them at the end of the day because they have the man they want for a long time.

Kubiak is now the man in charge on the field and is looking to bring a lot to an organization that has been waiting a long time to even get a head coach like him.

As honored and blessed said he is to be the new head coach for a historic franchise like the Raiders, he also knows there is a lot of work to do with this team and which is what is exciting for him about this process. He wants everything to be earned, and that takes being the best version each day.

Kubiak looking to put a good coaching staff together

"Yeah, to me, what happens years in advance is something I'm not thinking about right now," said Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak. "We're trying to put together a great staff of teachers. We got to get some really good teachers and coaches here, and get us all on the same page and get our players going in the same direction."

"That communication is really important. I think if we can put together a great staff here and get our players up to date on these playbooks and the things we expect of them, then the results speak for themselves after that. But in the NFL, you have to earn the second game. In this league, if you don't take care of business, then you get chewed up and spit out real quick. And every one of us up here has been through that."

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"So, I'm going to have to earn the right to coach this whole season, to coach the next season. I have got to show Mr. [Mark] Davis that our program is about the right things and that we're developing these players. So, I don't take for granted how long I'm going to be here. I know that I have to earn it every day.”

Kubiak understands the situation this franchise has been in for decades now and just wants to make it clear that he and his team are going to have to earn it every day.