Seattle Seahawks offensive co-ordinator Klint Kubiak has emerged as Las Vegas’ target in its head-coach search, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday.
Kubiak cannot officially agree to terms with the Raiders until after the Super Bowl, when his Seahawks will take on the New England Patriots.
The 38-year-old Houston native reportedly had his second interview with the Raiders on Saturday.
Now, he’ll take over a club that struggled to a 3-14 record this season and will have the No. 1 pick in April’s draft.
Kubiak has spent the past two seasons as an offensive co-ordinator, holding the title in 2024 with the New Orleans Saints before heading to the Seahawks. Under his guidance, Seattle scored the third-most points in the NFL at 483.
The Raiders, meanwhile, had the fewest points, scoring just 241 in their lone season with Pete Carroll at the helm. Carroll was fired in January.
Carroll expressed high hopes upon taking over, saying he was used to double-digit victories and expected the same in Las Vegas. But the Raiders struggled, including a mid-season 10-game losing streak.
The Raiders are projected to have the third-most cap space at more than $100 million, according to overthecap.com.
Carroll, 74, was the NFL’s oldest head coach, and he came to Las Vegas with the intent of winning right away. He got his wish of bringing in quarterback Geno Smith, whom he coached in Seattle. Neither got the success they expected, with Smith throwing a league-high 17 interceptions as the losses piled up.
This wasn’t what Carroll was used to as a coach. He led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title and Southern California to two national championships.
The Raiders have run through coaches since appearing in the Super Bowl in the 2002 season. They have made the playoffs just twice since then, losing both wild-card games.
–with files from The Associated Press
