klint kubiak
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Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak.
Klint Kubiak has had to play catch-up putting together the Las Vegas Raiders‘ coaching staff. He was the last head coach hired in this cycle, so he’s missed out on a lot of top assistants.
However, that doesn’t mean coaches don’t want to work for him. The New York Giants were another team that had a head coach opening and landed John Harbaugh. Assistant defensive line coach Matt Robinson was somebody Harbaugh wanted to keep on staff, but that won’t be the case.
According to The Athletic’s Ian O’Connor, Robinson has decided to leave the Giants to become the secondary coach for the Raiders.
While this is a bit of a promotion for Robinson, the NFL looks at it as a lateral move, so New York technically could’ve blocked him from making the move, as he’s still under contract. Despite that, the Giants decided to allow him to go with Kubiak.
Notably, Robinson only joined the Giants this offseason after following Harbaugh from Baltimore. It’s rare for a coach to take a job and then go to another in the span of a month. Robinson spent the previous four seasons with the Ravens and worked under Mike Macdonald, who Kubiak worked under in Seattle.
John Benton Not Coming as OL Coach
Now that the defensive and offensive coordinator positions have been filled, the next most important job for Kubiak to fill is offensive line coach. The Raiders had arguably the worst offensive line in the NFL last season, so they need a strong coach in the room.
There was a lot of speculation that Kubiak would bring Seahawks offensive line coach John Benton to Las Vegas. The two also worked together on the New Orleans Saints last year.
The Seahawks only allowed 27 sacks last season, so landing Benton would’ve been huge. Unfortunately for the Raiders, it sounds like the coach plans to stay in Seattle, according to Curtis Crabtree of FOX 13 Seattle.
Kubiak likely has other names in mind, but it’s going to be difficult to find a top offensive line coach this late in the game. He might have to take a chance on a younger coach with less experience, which would fit the theme of his other coaching hires.
Raiders Add Vet Special Teams Coordinator
The Raiders fired special teams coordinator Tom McMahon during the season, so they were going to need to find a new one regardless of the head coach. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Raiders have landed on Joe DeCamillis as the next special teams coordinator.
He’s spent the last three seasons coaching special teams at the college level, but has over a decade of experience as a special coordinator in the NFL. He most recently coached the Los Angeles Rams. Kubiak worked with DeCamillis on the Denver Broncos when Gary Kubiak was still the head coach.
The Raiders had some big issues on special teams last season, so the hope is that DeCamillis can have more success than McMahon. Kubiak clearly has some trust in him from their time together in Denver.