Why Raiders' Staff Beyond Kubiak Is Vital

The Raiders took big swings in free agency, handing out sizeable contracts to multiple free agents. Doing so allowed Las Vegas to quickly and significantly upgrade some of the most important positions on the field, where they sorely lacked dependable talent.

Las Vegas improved on both sides of the ball over the offseason. It was more than evident in Organized Team Activities that the Raiders are all but sure to be a better team this upcoming season. As they head into mandatory minicamp, they are determined to prove as much on the field.

Underrated Moves

The Raiders' attempts to put all their new parts together on the field will undoubtedly come down to how well those players work together. However, the ability of those players to do so will heavily depend on Las Vegas' new-look coaching staff, led by first-time head coach Klint Kubiak.

The Raiders' roster moves are noteworthy simply because of the players they signed and the contracts that were handed out. The players Las Vegas recently added warrant the increased excitement and slightly increased expectations in 2026, but their success will depend on coaching.

Yet that dependence on their coaching staff will extend far beyond just Kubiak. Las Vegas will need the rest of its coaching staff to step up. So far, that seems to be the case, as the Raiders' positional coaches have already begun impacting things in their own unique ways.

“Like I said, Joe Woods, Matt Robinson and Al Holcomb have been extremely helpful. I've challenged the staff as much as anybody, like we got to be ahead of how we're going to be attacked and what our answers will be, as well as this is the teaching process, these are our rules,” Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Leonard said following OTAs.

The speed with which Kubiak assembled his coaching staff was proof of his confidence in the positional coaches he selected. Las Vegas' coaching staff was upgraded just as much, if not more, than the roster itself. The coaching staff has been tasked with a monumental rebuild.

The success of their rebuild will be determined by the coaching staff's ability to maximize the collection of talent the Raiders' front office has assembled. Although Kubiak was the catch the Raiders wanted, their positional coaches will play an extremely critical role.

It is early, but it appears the Raiders have found a solid group of coaches who should at least be better than the last coaching staff Las Vegas had. The Raiders know all too well how important competent coaching is to their success, which is why they swiftly fired Pete Carroll.

Las Vegas' new coaching staff is already having an impact on their respective units. Star defensive end Maxx Crosby recently explained what he has noticed and liked best about Kubiak and his coaching staff. Crosby has seen a few coaching staffs come and go since being drafted.

“Being here with this group, we have an extremely smart and great leader of men in Klint Kubiak, a coaching staff that is very detailed and very, I would say, attentive with everything they do," Crosby said.

"They're very intentional with everything that we're trying to accomplish. We're not just going out there checking boxes, we're trying to get things done the right way and establish a foundation."

Crosby was not the only veteran who liked what he had seen so far from Las Vegas' new coaching staff. Veteran safety Jeremy Chinn also explained how it all comes together for the Raiders' new coaching staff and roster. Chinn believes Kubiak, Leonard, and the rest of the staff are a solid bunch.

“I mean, from him to Matt Robinson, who's been in this defense, Ronnell, [Williams] who's also been in this defense. Having different perspectives from the linebacker perspective, from the DB perspective, and then Rob being a D line coach, it really kind of just meshes into kind of what we want to do,” Chinn said.

“And players who have been with those coaches, whether it be Nakobe [Dean] or Adam [Butler] up front or something like that, so really just all of us being able to kind of mesh into our own identity in a way." 

As the Raiders look to turn things around on the field, the talent on the roster, while still in need of help, is far more improved than it once was. The talent is undoubtedly there to produce a better season than 2025. The rest is on the coaching staff.