The Las Vegas Raiders didn’t just hire a head coach.
They hired a Super Bowl champion — and handed him direct access to the greatest quarterback in NFL history.
Just two days after helping the Seattle Seahawks win Super Bowl LX, Klint Kubiak stood at the podium in Henderson, Nevada, officially introduced as the new head coach of the Raiders. But amid the optimism, cap space projections, and draft hype, one name kept surfacing: Tom Brady.
And Kubiak made it clear — Brady was a major reason he said yes.
“Really excited to work with Tom,” Kubiak said. “He made the mistake of giving me his cell phone number, so he might wish he never did that because I’m going to be calling him a lot.”
That line drew laughs. But the message behind it was serious.
For a franchise desperate to restore credibility after years of instability, the pairing of Kubiak and Brady represents something rare in Vegas lately: alignment.
The Raiders enter 2026 with the No. 1 overall draft pick and roughly $90 million in projected cap space. They also have a minority owner who won seven Super Bowls and understands championship standards better than anyone alive.
For Kubiak, that combination was irresistible.
“In the interview process, just the passion that he spoke with on all things football got me excited,” Kubiak explained. “That’s one of the main draws to come here — to get to work with him.”
This isn’t just about star power. It’s about football philosophy.
Kubiak comes from a West Coast offensive lineage shaped by his father, Gary Kubiak, and refined through his recent success in Seattle. Brady, meanwhile, built his legacy within the Erhardt-Perkins system in New England and later adapted in Tampa Bay.
Two different backgrounds. Two different evolutions of offensive football.
And that’s exactly what excites the new Raiders head coach.
“What I’m excited about is that we really have different offensive backgrounds — how we can pull ideas from each other,” Kubiak said. “Obviously, he’s the greatest that’s ever done it.”
Translation: collaboration over ego.
For a franchise that has cycled through coaches and quarterbacks for more than two decades, that’s refreshing.
Kubiak isn’t stepping into a quiet rebuild. He’s stepping into the Silver and Black — a brand that still carries echoes of Al Davis, of intimidation, of Super Bowl trophies gathering dust since 1984.
“This is no ordinary job,” Kubiak said. “This is the Silver and Black. This is the Raiders. This is a historic franchise.”
That history was visible at his introductory press conference. Hall of Famers Marcus Allen, Howie Long, Mike Haynes and Charles Woodson were in attendance. So were Raiders legends Rich Gannon and Jim Plunkett.
For Kubiak, their presence wasn’t pressure. It was motivation.
“It’s not daunting at all. It’s a blessing,” he said. “That’s what I want our players to want to achieve. Win Super Bowls. The rest takes care of itself.”
Of course, optimism in February is easy. Execution in September is harder.
The Raiders still need to hit on the No. 1 pick — widely expected to be Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. They must rebuild the offensive line. They need a legitimate No. 1 receiver. And there are ongoing questions about defensive star Maxx Crosby’s long-term future.
But for the first time in years, the organizational structure appears aligned.
A Super Bowl-winning play-caller.
A general manager with cap flexibility.
And Tom Brady — not in uniform, but in the building.
The Raiders have spent much of the last two decades chasing relevance.
Now they’re chasing standards.
And if Klint Kubiak really does plan on calling Brady “a lot,” the Raiders might finally be dialing in the right direction.
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