Silver And Black Pride
Klint Kubiak is the man charged with steering the Silver & Black ship back to relevance.
Officially hired by the Las Vegas Raiders after an impressive showing as the Super Bowl winning Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator on Feb. 9, the 39-year-old hot shot is at the forefront of a much-desired Raiders renaissance. To get there, Kubiak’s first addition to his coaching staff in Las Vegas was Mike McCoy as assistant head coach, just three days after being anointed the Raiders’ 25th head coach.
I suspect there were plenty of “why hire the failed San Diego Chargers head coach?” sentiment going around when McCoy was added to Kubiak’s coaching staff. Raider Nation saw plenty of McCoy during his tenure as the Bolts head coach from 2013-16. Against the Silver & Black, McCoy sported a 4-4 record and compiled a 27-37 overall record — including two playoff berths in the initial two years — during that timespan.
But the relationship the pair forged in a single season with the Denver Broncos in 2017 — alongside McCoy’s prior relationship as both a player for and coach against Klint’s father Gary Kubiak — made it no surprise to see McCoy join the Raiders coaching staff under the younger Kubiak. Also not shocking are the positive vibes McCoy broadcast during his time at the podium this offseason. The 54-year-old said he’s thrilled to be back with Kubiak and he’s excited about coaching prized Raiders rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
And it’s a bit of a role reversal as Kubiak served as a young offensive assistant under McCoy who was then the Broncos offensive coordinator. Now it’s Kubiak who has the elder coach as his assistant as he steps into the big shoes of Raiders head honcho.
“Well, I was coached by his father back in 1995 with the Broncos, and just understanding and knowing the type of coach Gary was and having played against Gary a number of years, different places. Then I was fortunate enough to work with Klint in Denver for a year, and I gave him a big responsibility there,” McCoy said when asked what gave him the confidence that he and Klint Kubiak would have a similar vision. “I leaned on him for a number of different things when I was the offensive coordinator there, he is like I said earlier, he has a passion for the game, and his work ethic is unbelievable. And so, we’ve talked over the years.”
That prior relationship built trust between the coaches. And when you’re a rookie head coach, it’s inevitable for you to dip into the well of connections. For Kubiak, the first order of business was to land McCoy as his assistant head coach after the latter served as the Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator then interim head coach last season.
McCoy provides Kubiak a trusted sounding board as the new head coach navigates the hurdles that come with the title. McCoy’s experience gives Kubiak a wealth of information regarding building a team, game...
