The Las Vegas Raiders got a win for Klint Kubiak in his coaching debut, but his coaching style is on the stoic side.
Ask most people around the NFL which coaching tree Las Vegas Raiders coach Klint Kubiak hails from, and the almost automatic answer will be “Shanahan.” Former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan passed the baton to his son Kyle, who now employs the famous motion-based offense for the San Francisco 49ers.
Most of these folks barely recognize Gary Kubiak’s contributions to this system. He also coached for the Denver Broncos, but Gary Kubiak is a quiet sort who was a backup quarterback, and when he took over in Denver he “blended Walsh’s West Coast principles with Holmgren’s play-action tendencies and Shanahan’s wide zone,” according to Zak Keefer of The Athletic.
But Klint Kubiak originally wanted no part of following in his father’s footsteps for an oft-cited reason.
“I saw the hours my dad worked,” the first-year Raiders coach said, so he formulated a back-up plan. “I was going to play in the NFL for 20 years.”
That didn’t work out due to a shoulder injury Kubiak sustained at Colorado State, so he tried working in the oil industry. That changed his mind, and the Raiders coach has since earned a reputation as one of the biggest grinders in the league.
“When you find something you’re passionate about,” he says, “you’ll spend all day and night trying to be great at it.”
Kubiak now focuses on the teaching part of coaching, according to Keefer, and he’s not colorful about it. His players have noted that in multiple comments this summer, and it came across in Sunday’s game plan, as the Raiders simply focused on playing solid, understated football in their opening 27-13 win over the Miami Dolphins.
“He’s direct, there’s no fluff,” Raiders left tackle Kolton Miller said back during OTAs and minicamp.
“He’s just straight ball,” added cornerback Eric Stokes.
Kubiak has been equally blase about major events that would have rattled a lot of rookie coaches. His reaction when the trade involving defensive end Maxx Crosby fell through, Kubiak didn’t exactly panic.
“Great, we got Maxx back,” Kubiak said to GM John Spytek. “Anything else you wanna talk about?”
The coach has been equally blunt about his interactions with minority owner Tom Brady, whose celebrity status represents a huge possible distraction.
“Give me the advice I don’t wanna hear,” Kubiak said after one of Brady’s visits. “It’s OK to hurt my feelings.”
We still haven’t seen Kubiak’s reaction to genuine adversity in or after a real game yet, but it seems safe to assume it will be on the understated side. He didn’t panic at all when he learned that tight end Brock Bowers would be out with an injury against Miami, and the result was a resounding win.
