{"id":856630,"date":"2026-08-13T13:40:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T13:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/856630\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T13:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T13:40:08","slug":"klint-kubiak-has-brought-his-culture-and-urgency-to-raiders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/856630\/","title":{"rendered":"Klint Kubiak has brought his culture and urgency to Raiders"},"content":{"rendered":"

HENDERSON, Nev. — For Las Vegas Raiders<\/a> quarterback Kirk Cousins<\/a>, the major difference between Klint Kubiak as a first-time head coach compared to a position coach\/offensive coordinator is a greater sense of urgency.<\/p>\n

After Kubiak tasted what it\u2019s like to reach the top of the NFL, winning Super Bowl LX with the Seattle Seahawks<\/a>, he joined the Raiders to help them try to return to the pinnacle for the first time since 1984 — something previous coaches have failed to do. And he doesn\u2019t want to waste time in doing so.<\/p>\n

Cousins, 37, has noticed Kubiak being laser-focused on turning the organization around after four straight losing seasons. That\u2019s why Cousins repeatedly checks his watch whenever he is driving to the Intermountain Health Performance Center for practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m driving into work in the morning, I\u2019m kind of like, I feel it. I\u2019m like, \u2018I better be on [time] today,\u2019\u201d said Cousins, who played three of his six seasons for Kubiak with the Minnesota Vikings<\/a> when the now-39-year-old playcaller was either the team\u2019s quarterbacks coach or offensive coordinator (2019-21).<\/p>\n

\u201cI check my watch like four times to make sure I\u2019m on time or early, because I just feel like he brings that sense of urgency that the great coaches tend to bring, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kubiak understands he has a huge mountain to climb. Despite the Raiders improving certain position groups during the offseason, the overall roster resembles a group in the midst of a rebuild, not one that\u2019s fully equipped to compete in a crowded AFC West.<\/p>\n

But the Raiders can\u2019t begin paving a way to becoming a winning organization until Kubiak instills his culture and makes sure everyone is bought in. Since the spring, he has made the necessary strides with a candid attitude, strong attention to detail and a team-first approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you see is what you get. It\u2019s no nonsense,\u201d wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni said. \u201cIt\u2019s ball 24\/7 here. And if you\u2019re not a tough guy mentally and physically, if you don\u2019t like to sit through 18 hours of meetings and practice for three hours, this probably isn\u2019t the place for you. And that\u2019s the culture he\u2019s creating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Punter\u00a0AJ Cole<\/a>\u00a0is one of three players (left tackle Kolton Miller<\/a> and defensive end Maxx Crosby<\/a>) who have been with the Raiders since the organization was based in Oakland (the team\u2019s last season there was in 2019). He has been through his fair share of unsuccessful rebuilds with different coaching staffs, most recently in 2025 when former coach Pete Carroll led the Raiders to a 3-14 campaign, which led to his firing.<\/p>\n

Cole didn\u2019t want to disparage previous regimes. At the same time, he has noticed a collective buy-in to Kubiak\u2019s vision from the players to coaching staff and members of the front office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that the number of people swimming in the same direction is definitely at an all-time high,\u201d Cole said.<\/p>\n

Part of the reason Kubiak has everyone on the same page is his removal of the word \u201cI\u201d from the team\u2019s verbiage. Defensive tackle Thomas Booker IV<\/a> said Kubiak doesn\u2019t care about a player\u2019s contract or whether they are a starter; everyone is held to the same standard. For Kubiak, accountability is essential.<\/p>\n

That was true during last Saturday\u2019s practice. Kubiak held Cousins and Crosby — two team leaders — out of practice after they got into a scuffle the previous day. Kubiak issued a statement, saying the players violated team rules, which led to them being bystanders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen guys know there\u2019s a standard that everyone\u2019s being held to, there is no question, there is no gray area,\u201d Booker said. \u201cI think that when you have clarity of job description and what\u2019s asked, you have a team that can go and make real strides.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kubiak\u2019s father and former NFL head coach, Gary, said his son can be unassuming. It\u2019s to the point where someone wouldn\u2019t think he is a football coach. Even though Kliff Kubiak says very little, his words carry weight. He\u2019s not afraid to call out players whenever they make a mistake.<\/p>\n

Left tackle DJ Glaze<\/a> said Kubiak\u2019s practices are challenging. But he doesn\u2019t mind having a coach who pushes him to his limits.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s training camp; that\u2019s what it\u2019s meant for, but if you\u2019re slacking, he\u2019s going to let you know,\u201d Glaze said. \u201cHe wants it to be hard so when you get to game time it\u2019s easier for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Special teams coordinator Joe Decamillis likened Kubiak\u2019s seriousness to a lawyer — he\u2019s strictly business and gets straight to the point. Running back coach Omar Young mentioned Kubiak holds the coaching staff accountable just as much as the players.<\/p>\n

Young said Kubiak emphasized to his staff the importance of focusing on the little things and making sure they don\u2019t slip up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, that dude is like a machine,\u201d Young said. \u201cTo have a leader like him is really special, and I\u2019m fortunate to be able to be with him because he\u2019s helped me grow as a coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

The details matter for Kubiak. He doesn\u2019t want to leave any stones unturned.<\/p>\n

Rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza<\/a> said players can be torn apart in the film room because of the smallest detail.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you thought that was a great ball, it\u2019s really a 50\/50 ball because you didn\u2019t throw in the correct timing,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cBeing able to learn from that and have, honestly, frustrations with my own play has helped my growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crosby said Kubiak and the rest of the coaching staff are intentional with everything that they do. He mentioned that they are trying to get things done the right way and establish a foundation for how they want this organization to operate. \u201cWhen the season comes, we\u2019re not out there making s— up,\u201d Crosby said.<\/p>\n

Through Kubiak\u2019s coaching, safety Jeremy Chinn<\/a> has already seen improvement from last season in terms of how the Raiders look in practice. \u201cIt\u2019s almost, not embarrassing in a way, but it\u2019s like we\u2019re so much better now [when] looking at certain things from last year,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Kubiak has created an environment that is not laid back, by any means. Cousins said the team is not just going out there to have fun. Before the start of practice, he notices players focused in the locker room, going over stuff multiple times because they don\u2019t want to make a mental error.<\/p>\n

Kubiak runs a tight ship, Cousins said. The intensity has cranked up a notch. But the players believe Kubiak\u2019s coaching style is necessary for them to move in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s a really positive thing, but it\u2019s not a country club,\u201d Cousins said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HENDERSON, Nev. — For Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins, the major difference between Klint Kubiak as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":856631,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,192978,514,82],"class_list":["post-856630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-las-vegas-raiders-sports-football-team-team-statscom-341","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}