With Super Bowl 60 in the books, the Las Vegas Raiders are expected to make the hire of Klint Kubiak as their next head coach official at some point this week. That means Kubiak’s short tenure as the Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator is coming to an end, but he’s leaving Seattle with a parting present: a Lombardi Trophy.
Granted, defenses certainly dominated the big game as neither team scored a touchdown until the fourth quarter. Regardless, Kubiak’s unit did just enough by putting up 22 points in Seattle’s 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots, with a pick-six accounting for Seattle’s other score.
Quarterback Sam Darnold struggled for most of the night, completing just 19 of 38 pass attempts (50%) for 202 yards and just one touchdown. However, the Seahawks did get the ground game going, as running back Kenneth Walker II accounted for 27 carries and 135 yards (5.0 ypc), setting up a well-designed play-action pass to tight end AJ Barner for the offense’s only touchdown of the night.
That was enough for Kubiak to earn a ring, and now, his next big challenge is filling out a coaching staff in Las Vegas. The Raiders will be behind the eight-ball when it comes to hiring assistant coaches, as many other clubs started compiling their staffs over the last week. That’s the one downside of hiring a head coach candidate who is playing in the Super Bowl.
In Other Raiders’ Links
- Raiders part ways with coaches: Speaking of the staff, the Silver and Black have already lost a few members of last year’s team to other jobs around the league.
- Give Jeff Stoutland whatever: “Under Stoutland, Jason Kelce went from being a sixth-rounder to a seven-time Pro Bowler and six-time First-Team All-Pro, Evan Mathis was a third-rounder who made two Pro Bowls and one First-Team All-Pro, and Landon Dickerson was taken in the second and made three Pro Bowls, to give a few examples,” via Silver and Black Pride.
- Why Kubiak will make great head coach: “He’s going to be incredible,” Seahawks’ tight ends coach Mac Brown said, via ESPN’s Brady Henderson. “He’s a relationship person. He’s a motivator. Just like the story we were talking about [of Kubiak using his play], he allows you to grow in your role. He’s going to be a great guy to work for whether you’re on the coaching staff or you’re a player playing for him. He’s a leader.
- What they’re saying on Radio Row: The team’s website compiled quotes from the week about current players.