Klint Kubiak’s arrival in the desert represents a paradigm shift—in more ways than one.
First and foremost, the Las Vegas Raiders hired the former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator as their new head coach, not only showing incredible patience in waiting for the opportunity to interview Kubiak (twice), but also hiring the highly regarded play-caller to lead the team.
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There was no apparent panic.
It’s been deliberate and patient, with even general manager John Spectek noting that they want the coaching search to feel “boring.” However, because of this, Kubiak’s potential is really exciting. I know, if you’re a long-time Raiders fan, you’ve been left at the altar too many times to even have a smile on your face.
I respect that.
But with Kubiak’s arrival comes another rapid shift: a rejuvenation of the coaching staff.
As you can see above, Kubiak is 38 years old as the head coach, while his top lieutenants — offensive coordinator Andrew Janoco and defensive coordinator Rob Leonard — are 37 and 38, respectively. Despite their varying ages, these three are more than just geeks off the street. Kubiak is entering his 13th season in the NFL (17 years total coaching), while Janoko and Leonard have been coaching in the NFL for 14 and 13 years, respectively.
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That’s pretty critical compared to the Raiders’ top three coaches in the Pete Carroll era. Carroll was 74 when he coached the Silver and Black, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly was 63, and former defensive coordinator Patrick Graham (now the defensive coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers) was 48. In just one offseason, their average age increased from nearly 62 to nearly 38.
Aside from the 45-year-old Spytek, the Raiders’ two top decision-makers are young men, and we’ll see if the youth movement is indeed fruitful.
But credit goes to Kubiak here: While he’s assembled young coaches to round out his staff, it’s a mix of experienced coaches and smart youngsters.
The Raiders’ new head coach quickly named Mike McCoy (53) as his assistant head coach. Prior to becoming interim head coach, McCoy served as a senior offensive assistant with the Tennessee Titans, bringing a wealth of offensive knowledge to the team. Kubiak and McCoy worked together on the Denver Broncos in 2017, and their 2026 reunion is somewhat of a role reversal, as McCoy is Denver’s offensive coordinator and Kubiak is Denver’s offensive assistant.
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Kubiak also named 60-year-old veteran Joe DeCamillis as special teams coordinator. Interestingly, the last time Sean McVay took special teams seriously, DeCamillis was the special teams boss in 2021. Since then, the Los Angeles Rams have been a mediocre franchise. Like McCoy, the new Secret Service head coach has ties to Kubiak, having been in Denver in 2016 with Gary Kubiak as head coach and Clint Kubiak as quarterbacks coach/offensive assistant. Oh, and Spytek also worked in the Broncos’ front office during that time.
So while Raiders minority owner Tom Brady got the hype from Klint Kubiak on the team, the connections Spytek made with Gary and Klint played a role in attracting young offensive minds to become captains in Las Vegas.
Then there’s super veteran Rick Dennison, whom Clint hired to be the Raiders’ offensive line coach. Speaking of deep connections, Denison worked with Gary in three different places – Denver (1995-2005, 2015-16), Houston (2010-13) and Baltimore (2014). The 67-year-old 30-year coaching veteran worked with Clint in Minnesota (2021), New Orleans (2024) and most recently in Seattle (2025).
If there’s one coach who can install and teach Kubiak’s preferred zone-blocking scheme, it’s Denison. He sat under the Alex Gibbs study tree, soaking up all the zone knowledge from the godfather of the modern zone-blocking scheme.
While excitement and optimism are high at the moment, the proof is always in the pudding. As the offseason moves into the preseason and regular season, how Kubiak and his Desert Predators fare will deserve a lot of attention.
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The young trio of head coach and offensive and defensive coordinator will grow into their respective roles. There will no doubt be more and more paint. But they also have three experienced coaches in McCoy, DeCamillis and Dennison to help them.
Leonard has 21-year veteran Joe Woods to rely on, and Kubiak retained him as defensive passing coordinator/defensive backs coach. And Janoko can rely on Dennison and 17-year veteran Omar Young, who Kubiak hired to coach the running backs. DeCamillis, meanwhile, has a young backup in Marquice Williams (40), whom the team hired as a senior assistant on special teams.
In fact, Las Vegas appears to be competing with Georgia to replace Denison, as the Silver and Black are reportedly interested in offensive line coach Phil Rauscher.
The ability of a young coach to connect with players, while having the old-school approach of an experienced coach, should be a good combination. There are still some key positions that need to be filled on Kubiak’s staff, but the mix of young and veteran leadership is a good sign for the head coach’s first head coaching trip.
