The Raiders have a second interview scheduled with Klint Kubiak for Saturday and the popular opinion right now is that Kubiak is the front runner to get the job.
Davis Webb took his name out of contention for the Raiders’ job on Thursday and there’s a good chance he made that decision understanding Kubiak is the candidate the Raiders are targeting.
As of Friday afternoon, it looks like the job in Vegas is Kubiak’s to lose, and flagship radio host ‘JT the Brick’ made a strong statement on his candidacy on Wednesday. Reading between the lines a little, it sounds like the Raiders are about as committed to Kubiak as they can be going into his second interview.
“I’ve interviewed a bunch of people over the last week or two. Everybody believes [Kubiak] is the guy. It’s his offer to accept or deny,” JT said on his Raider Nation Radio show on Thursday.
“Nobody knows what he’s going to do because he’s embedded in preparation for the Super Bowl, but he’s having his second interview and someone told me off the record that he doesn’t even need a second interview. He’s one of the only candidates that you really don’t need a second interview with. He had an interview. If you like him, you can hire him.”
“You don’t need a second interview. And we all think that everybody needs a second interview. No, not him. He doesn’t need a second interview. There’s nothing that they’re going to look at in the second interview that’s going to say ‘No, man, we were thinking you as our number one choice, and now you’re out.’ I would doubt that very much. I think he’s going to be fine, but he’s going to give the Raiders a second interview that I’ve been made aware of from inside the building,” JT continued.
“If he nails it and he does a great job, and maybe this interview is going to be even more in-depth with Tom Brady, because when Tom Brady is calling all these Seahawk games, he really can’t sit down one-on-one with Kubiak.”
It has been rumored that Kubiak might want clarification on how the power structure is going to work with Brady in the building, so maybe that dynamic is something the sides want to get together and discuss in person.
The Raiders have had access to Kubiak’s agent all week, so the sides should know enough about each other on the contract end if they want to get a deal done. The biggest concern on the Raiders’ end of a potential agreement might be that Kubiak could be talked into returning to Seattle between now and the day after the Super Bowl.
Kubiak can’t officially accept a head coaching job until after the Super Bowl.
x: @raidersbeat
Cardinals plotting right now to scoop Kubiak from the Raiders
If we lose a coaching candidate to f’n Cardinals, yet another new low for the Raiders.
The Raiders need, in addition to a competent offensive line, competent veteran quarterback depth, namely mobile Malik Willis as the starter, who would cost much less than and, is younger than Lamar Jackson and is on the rise. Seek out a trade for mobile, battle tested and cerebral Joshua Dobbs, from the Patriots, as the backup and then draft Fernando Mendoza, on a rookie contract. That way Mendoza won’t be under pressure to start immediately and can do what Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love did, sit for three years and learn. That’s how you add competent depth at this position. Thereby, by the time Mendoza is ready to start, hopefully, the Raiders will have built up the team in other areas. Additionally, go get Philiph Rivers to mentor all three quarterbacks. In my opinion, there is NO better person to mentor young quarterbacks than Rivers.
Also, it wouldn’t hurt to address the (not so) Special teams. The offensive line and Special Teams coaches could use a serious upgrade. Look at how Seattle has revamped it’s special team. Systemic, systematic rebuilding is the road to return to respectability. What everyone can agree on is the past few attempts at short term fixes have not produced effective results. It seems that we are stuck with the guys who call themselves “Raiders Management,” so let’s see how they, this year, address last year’s “team” and debacle that they put on the field.
Kolton Miller, Stone Forsythe, Zamir White, Dillon Laube, Tyree Wilson, Alex Cappa, Kenny Pickett, Geno Smith and lead footed, immobile Adian O’Connell all need to be let go. Their contracts could be used on inexpensive youthful players with tremendous upsides and, to a lesser degree, injury histories. Additionally, get a couple of fullbacks who are tight end body types and USE them on third and short instead of putting additional pressure on Ashton Genty. That’s called being innovative and pragmatic. The Ravens “sometimes” use Derrick Henry as a battering ram on third and short. At the very least, the Raiders should consider, if not incorporate, this tactic.
Round 1, Pick 1: Mendoza QB Indiana
Round 2, Pick 36: Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon Ducks G
Round 3, Pick 67: Akheem Mesidor, DE, Miami
Round 4, Pick 102: J.C. Davis, Illinois OT
Round 5, Pick 174: Kage Casey OL Boise State
Round 6, Pick 181: Gracen Halton, Oklahoma Sooners DT
Nice strawman from JT. “WE” all think he needed a second interview? Who’s we, kemosabe? It obviously happened, whether it was the Raiders interviewing Kubiak, or maybe it was Kubiak’s turn to use his leverage to interview the decision makers, and negotiate some organizational structure and compensation issues. Either way, assuming it holds, they got their guy. I think he’s the right guy. And for the first time since Carr got hurt in 2016, I’m legitimately excited about the Raiders chances of turning things around!