Finalist for Raiders HC job off to a terrible start in ’26
The Klint Kubiak era is off to a great start, and it doesn’t seem like the Raiders will be having any buyer’s remorse on the decision to hire their 39-year-old head coach anytime soon.
Kubiak was widely considered the front runner for the Raiders’ HC job in January, but some of his stiffest competition for the job came from within his own (current) division.
Broncos’ offensive coordinator Davis Webb reportedly blew away the Raiders in his interview process, but the decision makers in Las Vegas chose to wait for Kubiak to finish his Super Bowl run with the Seahawks and make him the 25th head coach in franchise history.
Webb ultimately returned to the Broncos and was granted play-calling duties by Denver head coach Sean Payton. A promotion of sorts made sense for Payton and the Broncos considering how popular of a head coaching candidate Webb had become, but four games into the 2026 season, the decision isn’t looking like a good one.
Play calling duties could soon be stripped from Davis
Through two games, the Broncos are 2-2 with wins over the Jaguars and Rams, but they have one of the lowest-scoring offenses in the league (18.5 PPG) and third-year quarterback Bo Nix has shown signs of regression.
Nix’s 46.1 QBR ranks 22nd in the league among starting quarterbacks and ESPN’s Dan Graziano said this week that people around the league think Payton’s patience might be running out with Webb calling plays.
“A lot of people around the league seem to think Broncos coach Sean Payton won’t wait too much longer to take playcalling back from Davis Webb, though I have to believe it won’t be an impulse decision if it happens,” Graziano wrote on Wednesday.
In the next four weeks, the Broncos face the Chargers, Seahawks, Cardinals and Chiefs. If the offense in Denver doesn’t improve in that stretch, it will be interesting to see how Payton responds.
Meanwhile in Las Vegas…
The Raiders have had a favorable schedule through the first four weeks, but as Tom Brady said this week, you can only beat the teams you play.
Kubiak and the Raiders narrowly lost to the Chiefs on Sunday and anyone who has witnessed the Raiders the last few years can see the team is different under Kubiak.
Aside from the improved offense and defense, the Raiders are suddenly a team not beating themselves each week. In one offseason, they morphed into one of the most disciplined teams in the league.
This graphic from Gridiron Stats and Info is one no one would have predicted going into the season, but through four weeks the Raiders have the second-fewest penalty yards against them in the NFL.
