Klint Kubiak stood at the podium Tuesday at the Intermountain Health Performance Center in Henderson, introduced as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. He didn’t crack jokes or deliver a showstopping performance. That’s not his style.
The 3-14 Raiders have cycled through six head coaches (including interims) since moving to Las Vegas. Antonio Pierce and Pete Carroll each won their introductory news conferences. Neither won enough games.
Kubiak, 37, arrives with a Super Bowl ring from his season as Seattle’s offensive coordinator — the Seahawks beat New England in Super Bowl 60 — and a reputation for substance over style.
“It was so important to find the right person to move this organization forward,” general manager John Spytek said. “We learned a ton, and it ultimately led us to Coach Kubiak being the next leader. He stood out with his leadership, with his humility, with his work ethic, with his intelligence. It made what was a difficult decision easy for us.”
Kubiak will fly to Seattle on Wednesday for the Seahawks’ victory parade, then return to Las Vegas to hire a staff, study tape, and work with Spytek on the draft and free agency. The Raiders own the first overall pick in April and have roughly $90 million in cap space.
“This is the silver and black, this is the Raiders,” Kubiak said. “I want to be part of furthering that history … You have to earn a second game in this league. If you don’t take care of business, you get chewed up and spit out real quick.”
The son of former Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak, who led Denver to a Super Bowl 50 victory, Klint Kubiak grew up a Broncos fan. Now he leads one of Denver’s biggest rivals. He also hit it off with minority owner Tom Brady during the interview process, bonding over football.
“He made the mistake of giving me his cell phone number,” Kubiak said. “I’m going to be calling him a lot. We have different offensive backgrounds and how we’re going to pull ideas from (each other). He’s obviously the greatest who has ever done it and the passion he spoke with got me excited about continuing to work with him.”
Spytek emphasized humility as a key trait. Kubiak doesn’t pretend to have all the answers.
“I’m going to have to earn the credit to coach this whole season and the next season,” Kubiak said. “I don’t take for granted how long I’m going to be here. I know I have to earn it every day.”
“It’s less about scheme and more about the person,” Spytek added. “We were very thoughtful about how we approached the kind of coach and man we were looking for to lead this organization on a daily basis … He was just the right person.”
Kubiak won’t win any news conferences. The Raiders just need him to win games.
