Klint Kubiak\u2019s arrival in the desert represents a paradigm shift \u2014 in more ways that one.<\/p>\n
First and foremost, by landing the former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator as the new head coach, the Las Vegas Raiders displayed not only uncanny patience to wait for the opportunity to interview Kubiak (twice), but they landed the highly-regarded play caller to lead the team.<\/p>\n
There was no apparent panic.<\/p>\n
It was deliberate and patient, so much so, that even general manager John Spytek noted they wanted the perception of the coach search to be \u201cboring\u201d. Thanks to that, though, there\u2019s tangible excitement on the potential Kubiak brings to the table. I know, if you\u2019re a longtime Raiders fan, you\u2019ve been jilted at the altar too many times to even have a smile on your face.<\/p>\n
But as quickly as Kubiak arrived, so did another swift shift: A youth movement in the coaching staff.<\/p>\n
As you can see above, Kubiak is the man in charge at age 38 while his top lieutenants \u2014 offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko and defensive coordinator Rob Leonard \u2014 are 37 and 38, respectively. Despite their respective ages though, that trio aren\u2019t just geeks off the street. Kubiak enters his 13th season in the NFL (17 years overall coaching) while Janocko and Leonard have been in the NFL coaching circuit for 14 and 13 years, respectively.<\/p>\n
Compare that to the the top-three coaches for the Raiders in the Pete Carroll era and it\u2019s quite the pivot. Carroll helmed the Silver & Black at the ripe age of 74 years old while his offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is 63 and former defensive coordinator Patrick Graham (now the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive boss) is 48. The average age went from nearly 62 years old to nearly 38 in just one offseason.<\/p>\n
Alongside 45-year-old Spytek, the Raiders top-two decision makers feature youth and we\u2019ll see if the youth movement indeed proves fruitful.<\/p>\n
But credit Kubiak here: While he\u2019s amassed younger coaches to fill out his staff, it\u2019s a mix of veteran coaches with bright-eyed youngsters.<\/p>\n
The Raiders new head coach was quick to tab Mike McCoy (53 years old) as his assistant head coach. Serving as the Tennessee Titans\u2019 senior offensive assistant before becoming interim head coach, McCoy brings a wealth of offensive knowledge to the table. Kubiak and McCoy were on the Denver Broncos staff together in 2017 and their 2026 reunion is a bit of a role reversal as McCoy was offensive coordinator and Kubiak an offensive assistant in Denver.<\/p>\n
Kubiak also added 60-year-old veteran Joe DeCamillis as special teams coordinator. Interestingly enough, DeCamillis was the special teams boss the last time Sean McVay took special teams seriously in 2021. Since then, the Los Angeles Rams\u2019 units have been lackluster. Like McCoy, the new special tams boss has Kubiak ties being on the same crew in Denver in 2016 that had Gary Kubiak as head coach, Klint Kubiak as quarterbacks coach\/offensive assistant. Oh, and Spytek was in the Broncos\u2019 front office during that time, too.<\/p>\n
So for as much hype as Raiders minority owner Tom Brady gets in the team landing Klint Kubiak, the bonds forged by Spytek with both Gary and Klint played a part in landing a young offensive mind to captain Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s super veteran Rick Dennison, whom Klint hired as his offensive line coach with the Raiders. Talk about deep ties, Dennison worked with Gary in three different places \u2014 Denver (1995-2005, 2015-16), Houston (2010-13), and Baltimore (2014). Then the 67-year-old, 30-year coaching veteran worked with Klint in Minnesota (2021), New Orleans (2024) and most recently Seattle (2025).<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s a coach apt to install and teach the zone blocking scheme Kubiak prefers, it\u2019s Dennison. He sat under the Alex Gibbs learning tree and soaked up all zone knowledge from the godfather of the modern zone blocking scheme.<\/p>\n
While excitement and optimism are high at the moment, the proof will always be in the pudding. And how Kubiak and his desert marauders shape up as the offseason progresses into preseason and the regular season bears plenty of watching.<\/p>\n
The young trio of head coach and offensive and defensive coordinators will grow into their respective roles. There\u2019ll be growing paints \u2014 without question. But there\u2019s also a good trio of veteran coaches to help them along the way in McCoy, DeCamillis, and Dennison.<\/p>\n
Leonard has 21-year veteran Joe Woods to lean on as Kubiak retained him to be the defensive pass game coordinator\/defensive backs coach. While Janocko can lean on Dennison and 17-year vet Omar Young<\/a>, who Kubiak hired to coach running backs. Meanwhile, DeCamillis has a young understudy of his own in Marquice Williams (40 years old), who the team hired as senior assistant-special teams.<\/p>\n