Kubiak Learned His Coaching Approach From A Special Source

Klint Kubiak has restored order in his new job, and the new rookie coach has taken a woeful roster and somehow turned it into a 4-4 record for the Las Vegas Raiders. It hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows, especially when the Raiders are on defense, but Kubiak has shown an impressive ability to be consistent in his approach and maintain control. 

His brother will be across the field as the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, and the source of all this coaching talent isn’t hard to determine. 

Gary Kubiak played quarterback in the NFL and won four Super Bowl rings during his time in Denver as the backup, and now he has three sons who are all working in the league, with Klein Kubiak doing advance scouting for the Dallas Cowboys from the coaching booth as they prepare to play the 49ers.  

Former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan traces the family’s success to Gary Kubiak, saying he took as much pride in coaching as any coach Shanahan has ever had working for him. 

It’s a grueling job, but his college coach, David Beaty, called Klint Kubiak a “football junkie.” Kubiak was always the first to arrive in the building, and there were times when no one knew if Klint had actually left. 

His approach to coaching is surgical, according to Beaty, and he’s been like that at every level. Kubiak is doing a thorough roster overhaul, and he’s conducting it quietly, with no stone left unturned. 

Raiders GM John Spytek was a national scout for the Broncos when he stoppted Kubiak, and he saw the way the coach challenges his players and holds them accountable. We’ve seen that constantly in the personnel decisions he’s made, and it’s slowly producing results. 

But Kubiak is also blunt and doesn’t “tolerate any nonsense,” per Ryan McFadden of ESPN, who authored this revealing profile of Kubiak. We’ve seen this with defensive end Maxx Crosby when he flaunted team rules in training camp, and it just popped up again with running back Ashton Jeanty, who was demoted to receiving back after Jeanty popped off about a couple of Jets defenders and their reluctance to tackle. 

There’s still a lot of work to do, but Kubiak is halfway home in his first seaso and the Raiders are at .500. There will be more failures given the quality of the roster at this point, but it’s also very obvious that the Raiders made the right hire.