The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to hire Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak as their new head coach, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on Sunday.
Kubiak, 38, would have to wait until the end of the Super Bowl to make the hire official, as Seattle still has to play the Patriots on Feb. 8. That said, the offensive mind is expected to head to Las Vegas.
This impending hire is of particular interest, as the Raiders have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. With the anticipation that they’ll select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the pick, their head coaching hire was crucial to get the best out of their presumed franchise quarterback.
PFSN evaluates and grades the Raiders’ decision to hire Kubiak as their next head coach.
Grading the Klint Kubiak Hire
The son of longtime NFL head coach and Super Bowl winner Gary Kubiak, Klint Kubiak has been an offensive coordinator in the league each of the last two seasons. He spent 2024 as the OC for the New Orleans Saints, then moved to Seattle at the end of the year after the Saints’ decision to fire then-head coach Dennis Allen.
In addition to the past two seasons, he was also the OC for the Minnesota Vikings in 2021, replacing his father in the role. He was not retained once the Vikings fired then-head coach Mike Zimmer.
The Seahawks had the ninth-best PFSN Offense Impact Score at 79.8 in 2025 with Kubiak calling the plays. In the regular season, Sam Darnold surpassed 4,000 passing yards, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the league with 1,793 receiving yards. Strong rushing performances from Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet added to the mix, as well.
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Counting interim coaches, the Raiders will have had six head coaches over the last six seasons by the end of 2026. They’ve been in desperate need of some stability, though the chance to finally get a long-term answer at quarterback should help.
Kubiak will be inheriting a Las Vegas offense presumably led by Mendoza, featuring the likes of Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty as offensive weapons, as well. That, in itself, gives him an incredible core of skill-position players to work with.
The rest of the Raiders’ roster is a work in progress. Their defense has several needs at each level of the field, and their offense could use some boosts to the trenches, as well. It could also benefit them to push for a bona fide No. 1 wide receiver.
Kubiak has his work cut out for him in Las Vegas because not only is the roster a work in progress, but the AFC West is one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL. Maneuvering those factors as a first-time head coach could be difficult, but that hardly means he can’t steer them in the right direction.
If the Raiders are patient with his development, Kubiak should be just fine there. The first year or two could be ugly, but he has an offense that has some tantalizing young prospects, as well as the backing of Tom Brady within the organization. This could be a productive partnership, but it might take a while.
