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John Spytek and Klint Kubiak of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Now that Klint Kubiak has officially signed on to be the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, the first order of business is to build out his coaching staff. Though it’s late in the game, he’s likely had several names in mind of who he wants to work with.
As he continues to search for his offensive and defensive coordinators, Kubiak has made one key hire to the staff. The Raiders have hired former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Mike McCoy as the team’s assistant head coach, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
The Raiders are hiring Mike McCoy as assistant head coach, per sources.
McCoy, 53, spent four years as the Chargers’ head coach and finished last season as the Titans’ interim coach. An experienced addition to Klint Kubiak’s staff.
Last season, McCoy started as a senior offensive assistant for the Tennessee Titans. When head coach Brian Callahan was fired, he took over as interim head coach, leading the team to a 2-9 record to finish the season.
Raiders fans are very familiar with McCoy, as he spent four years as the head coach of the Chargers. In that time, he went 27-37 before getting fired. He’s a logical coach for the Raiders to bring on. His experience as a head coach should help Kubiak as he enters his first year in charge.
It’s worth noting that McCoy played quarterback for the Broncos in 1995 when Kubiak’s father, Gary Kubiak, was the quarterbacks coach there, so it’s possible that they go way back.
Hiring Kubiak Was ‘Easy Decision’
The Raiders had a very long head coaching search. Kubiak wasn’t able to be hired until after the Super Bowl, so the team had to wait. That was a risk as there was always a chance he could turn them down.
Now that he’s officially signed, general manager John Spytek gave some thoughts on the process and having to wait for Kubiak.
“We had to be patient,” Spytek said during Kubiak’s introductory press conference. “We had to let him go win a Super Bowl, which we were more than willing to do. So, we’re super proud of him for accomplishing that, and he stood out with his leadership, with his humility, with his work ethic, with his intelligence. We called many people around the league and got glowing reviews on him too. So, it made it a difficult but easy decision for us, and I’m really proud to welcome him to Raider Nation as a partner.
“There’s a lot of great things ahead. He can’t wait to get to work.”
Raiders Picked Person Over Scheme
Kubiak is clearly a very talented play designer and playcaller. That’s the biggest reason he was getting head coaching interest.
However, the Raiders wanted a coach who would go beyond scheme. They were happy that Kubiak also had the personality traits they were looking for.
“It’s less about scheme and more about the person,” Spytek of Kubiak. “We were very thoughtful about how we approach this and the kind of coach and man that we were looking for to lead this organization on a day-to-day basis. I mean, he talks to the players every day. The players are the most important part of this organization right now. … And the fact that he can score a lot of points is awesome too, but we were more focused on the person, the humility, the work ethic, those traits above scheme.”
Austin Boyd has covered the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com since 2019. A Los Angeles native now based in Las Vegas, his featured work at Heavy includes interviews with NFL stars Darren Waller and Joe Montana, and a behind-the-scenes look at “The Shop.” More about Austin Boyd
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