The Las Vegas Raiders can’t officially announce Klint Kubiak as their head coach yet, but he likely already has the staff he wants to put together in mind. Since he’s likely to call the offensive plays, the defensive coordinator will be his most important hire.
However, that doesn’t mean his offensive coordinator hire isn’t also important. Kubiak could look to bring in an outside voice, but it’s more likely that he’ll hire a familiar face. Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal believes that Seattle Seahawks quarterback coach Andrew Janocko would be the logical person to hire.
“This feels like an obvious choice,” Hill wrote. “Janocko came over from the New Orleans Saints with Kubiak to serve as Seattle’s quarterbacks coach and did a fine job with Sam Darnold this season.
“Kubiak and Janocko had previously worked together in Minnesota.”
Another important hire will be the offensive line coach. The Raiders had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL last season. Hill could see Kubiak also bringing Seahawks offensive line coach John Benton to Las Vegas.
“This plan, which makes a great deal of sense, would also likely call for veteran offensive line coach John Benton to assume the same role under Kubiak and Janocko with the Raiders,” Hill wrote.
Former Head Coach Also Floated as Option
If Kubiak decides to hire a coach who isn’t with him in Seattle, there are some strong options. One name that could make some sense is former Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan.
Hill explained why he could be a fit.
“It didn’t work out for Callahan as head coach of the Tennessee Titans, but he has some solid offensive credentials and some connections to Kubiak and the Raiders,” Hill wrote. “His head-coaching experience could also help Kubiak in his first time in that job, though he is also pursuing the offensive coordinator job with the New York Giants.
“Callahan worked as an assistant under Kubiak’s father Gary with the Broncos team that won the Super Bowl in the 2015 season.”
Callahan has been an offensive coordinator for a playcalling head coach before, so it’s a role that he should know well.
Raiders Offense Should Be in Good Hands
Luckily for the Raiders, the offense will be Kubiak’s brainchild, so they won’t have to worry about finding new offensive playcallers in the future. He has also worked for many different teams and has worked with a lot of coaches. He should have connections all over the NFL.
He should be able to build a very strong offensive coaching staff. The bigger question is the defense. The Seahawks have an elite defense, so he could poach some coaches from that staff. Who he hires as defensive coordinator will be very important. Patrick Graham officially signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, so he won’t be back. It’ll be interesting to see if Kubiak looks to bring in a coach he knows to run the defense, or if he’ll go with a veteran coach he might not have worked with in the past.
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