Klint Kubiak had barely stepped off the Super Bowl parade bus before he was asked about Tom Brady.
It wasn’t subtle.
The Raiders’ new head coach smiled and joked that Brady had “made the mistake” of giving him his cell phone number.
“I’m going to be calling him a lot,” Kubiak said.
The line drew laughs.
But beneath it sat a more serious implication: how much influence will Tom Brady really have in Las Vegas?
Long before the Raiders made Kubiak’s hiring official, rumors swirled about Brady’s growing presence within the organization. As a minority owner and active voice around the franchise, Brady’s shadow looms larger than a ceremonial role.
And according to Chris Simms, that partnership could reshape the Raiders’ offense in unexpected ways.
“I do think Klint Kubiak could steal some drop-back pass thoughts from the New England offense,” Simms suggested. “He’s gonna go, ‘Damn. Working with Kyle Shanahan, we didn’t have this play. We didn’t coach it this way.’ There is some nuance there to be learned.”
That sentence may have revealed more than intended.
Kubiak comes from the Shanahan coaching tree — a system rooted in motion, play-action, and layered run concepts. Brady’s legacy, however, was built in New England’s precision-based drop-back passing game, heavy on timing, option routes, and situational mastery.
Different philosophies.
Different rhythms.
If blended correctly, the combination could modernize Las Vegas’ offense.
If blended poorly, it could blur authority.
And that’s where the conversation shifts from X’s and O’s to optics.
Brady still holds a broadcasting role with Fox Sports. During the 2025 season, questions surfaced about potential conflicts of interest — particularly when Brady was spotted wearing a headset inside the Raiders’ coaches’ box during a Monday night matchup.
Was he observing?
Advising?
Influencing?
The league hasn’t publicly clarified the boundaries in detail.
Mike Florio pointed out the underlying tension: “Tom has that Fox gig. How involved will he be?”
In today’s NFL ecosystem, access equals advantage. If Brady is offering schematic input to Kubiak while also preparing to call games involving rival teams, perception alone becomes combustible.
Simms added another layer: Brady’s impact depends on involvement. If he’s engaged on a daily basis — not just philosophically but practically — the Raiders could gain an edge.
But engagement demands structure.
Kubiak must remain the head coach. The voice in the meeting room. The authority in play-calling decisions.
Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, carries gravitational pull. Even subtle suggestions can shift momentum inside a building.
So when Kubiak says he’s excited to “pull ideas from each other,” it sounds collaborative.
It also sounds powerful.
The Raiders hold the No. 1 overall pick. They’re rebuilding identity and offense simultaneously. Injecting Brady’s experience into that process could accelerate growth — especially if the team drafts a young quarterback.
But football history shows that too many voices at the top can fracture clarity.
The partnership between Brady and Kubiak could revolutionize Las Vegas’ offensive blueprint.
Or it could quietly complicate it.
For now, the image is simple:
A 38-year-old Super Bowl-winning coordinator stepping into his first head coaching job.
A seven-time champion quarterback-owner on speed dial.
Different offensive backgrounds. Shared ambition.
The real question isn’t whether Brady will offer ideas.
It’s whether the Raiders can balance influence with hierarchy.
Because sometimes, the most powerful partnerships don’t fail loudly.
They shift quietly — one play at a time.
And as Simms suggested, there may be plays Kubiak has never called before.
The only question is who truly calls them now.
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