NFL Exec Praises Raiders' New HC Klint Kubiak 'But There Are Institutional Issues in Vegas'

An NFL executive praised the Las Vegas Raiders' head coaching hire of former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak but also warned of "institutional issues" with the Silver and Black, per comments made to Jeff Howe of The Athletic.

"From a football mind, an OC, Klint is a stud," the executive said. "I think Klint will do great. Really good human, and he's going to work his butt off. But there are institutional issues in Vegas."

The comments were part of a poll where Howe "asked a panel of nine coaches and executives to rank their top-five head-coaching hires of the cycle."

Kubiak finished in a tie for sixth on the list of 10 head coaches added in this cycle.

On paper, the Raiders made a great hire. The 38-year-old Kubiak just led the offense of a Super Bowl-winning team. Seattle finished third in scoring and fourth in yards per play. The Seahawks did this while incorporating a new quarterback, eight-year veteran Sam Darnold, who fit in great with his new squad and piloted them to their second-ever Lombardi Trophy.

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Kubiak certainly has the ability to lead the AFC West cellar-dwelling Raiders back to great heights. He'll (almost certainly) get the chance to work with a potential star quarterback in Indiana signal-caller, Heisman Trophy winner and national champion Fernando Mendoza, who looks like a lock to be the No. 1 pick to Las Vegas.

The latest B/R NFL Scouting Department mock draft (post-Super Bowl) has Mendoza headed to the Raiders.

As Howe noted, though, the Raiders aren't exactly a model of consistency.

"The Raiders have fired four head coaches since 2021. They had a new general manager in place at the start of the past three seasons. The roster has been constructed by too many people with too many different visions in too short a time — it's fair to wonder if they need a total teardown before getting into the rebuild."

So Kubiak has some work to do, but he could very well be the coach up for the task.