Each day until the kickoff of the 2026 NFL season, TeamFB7 will dive into a team with analysis, critiques, breakout player picks and overall predictions. We’re working backwards on our early preseason power rankings, meaning we continue with No. 31, the Las Vegas Raiders.
The rundown of Raiders coaching hires over the last quarter century is an incredible feat of futility and quite a referendum on the franchise.
Since Jon Gruden’s first stint with the team, the Raiders have now hired 13 head coaches in 25 years (not counting two unretained interim coaches), including newest hire Klint Kubiak.
Of those previous 12 …
– 8 lasted two seasons or less: Bill Callahan (2), Norv Turner (2), Art Shell (1), Lane Kiffin (1 + 4 games), Hue Jackson (1), Josh McDaniels (1 + 8 games), Antonio Pierce (1 + 9 games initially as interim) and 74-year-old Pete Carroll (1).
– None lasted longer than Gruden 2.0, who made it five games into his fourth season before resigning in controversy over leaked insensitive emails. Jack Del Rio got just three seasons despite leading the Raiders to one of their two playoff appearances since 2002. Dennis Allen made it two seasons plus four games. And Tom Cable got two full seasons after a 12-game interim stint.
– Ironically, the best coaching job in that whole 25-year run might well have been one of the interim coaches who wasn’t retained — Rich Bisaccia, who went 7-5 after Gruden’s unceremonious separation from the franchise early in the 2021 season and got the Raiders to their other playoff berth in this otherwise interminable stretch of stinkitude.
All of that is to say, any optimism for the Las Vegas Raiders moving forward hinges first on whether they finally made the right decision this time in hiring Kubiak, a first-time head coach after just three seasons as an offensive coordinator (one year each with the Vikings in 2021, the Saints in 2024 and last season in helping the Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship).
The 39-year-old son of a Super Bowl-winning head coach, Gary Kubiak, at least has the pedigree for the job and was going to be in demand after his work in Seattle. So this was a legitimate hire that other teams would have made.
Unlike …
– Shell, approaching his 60th birthday, after being out of the league entirely for six years.
– Kiffin, just 31 years old, after two seasons as USC’s offensive coordinator, with no notable NFL experience.
– Cable, with barely more than two seasons of NFL experience as an offensive line coach, after earlier going 11-35 as head coach at Idaho, retained after a 4-8 stint as interim head coach of the Raiders replacing Kiffin.
– Jackson, another first-time head coach promoted from within after one season as Cable’s offensive coordinator.
– Allen, hired after just one season as an NFL defensive coordinator for the Broncos.
– Pierce, the former NFL linebacker, who was a high school head coach in California, then an assistant coach-turned-defensive coordinator at Arizona State who was hired by McDaniels as linebackers coach, named interim head coach eight games into the next season and then retained with a new contract.
(We’ll give the Carroll hire a pass here because he had a legendary career overall, even though by this point he’d been out of the game for two years and had just announced he was returning to USC … to teach a class when suddenly he was back on a NFL sideline as the oldest head coach in league history at 74 while naming his son Brennan Carroll offensive line coach and run game coordinator for what would be the worst offensive line and rushing attack in the league by far. But we digress …)
It’s truly an impressive commitment to curious decision-making — let’s make it into a chart to drive the point home further, shall we?
Raiders Head Coaches Last 25 Years
| Head Coach | Prior Position | Raiders HC Tenure | Record |
| Bill Callahan | Raiders’ OC/OL coach | 2002-03 | 15-17, Super Bowl appearance** |
| Norv Turner | Dolphins’ OC (but former Redskins HC and Cowboys OC for two Super Bowl title teams) | 2004-05 | 9-23 |
| Art Shell | Retired since 2000, former Raiders HC from 1989-2004. | 2006 | 2-14 |
| Lane Kiffin | USC OC, no notable NFL experience | 2007-2008* | 5-15 |
| Tom Cable | Raiders OL coach then interim HC | 2008-10 | 17-27 |
| Hue Jackson | Raiders OC | 2011 | 8-8 |
| Dennis Allen | Broncos DC, 1 season as NFL coordinator | 2012-14* | 8-28 |
| Tony Sparano | Raiders OL coach, named interim HC (former Dolphins HC) | 2014 | 3-9 |
| Jack Del Rio | Broncos DC (former Jaguars HC) | 2015-17 | 25-23, 1 playoff appearance (0-1) |
| Jon Gruden | Retired for 9 seasons (former Raiders and Buccaneers HC) | 2018-21* | 22-31 |
| Rich Bisaccia | Raiders special teams coordinator, named interim HC | 2021 | 7-5, playoff appearance (0-1) |
| Josh McDaniels | Patriots OC and QBs coach, 6 Super Bowl titles with Patriots, former Broncos HC | 2022-23* | 9-16 |
| Antonio Pierce | Raiders LBs coach, named interim HC | 2023-24 | 9-17 |
| Pete Carroll | Retired for 2 seasons, former Seahawks, USC and Patriots HC, Super Bowl champion | 2025 | 3-14 |
| Klint Kubiak | Seahawks OC for Super Bowl champion | 2026- | TBD |
**Callahan took over a well-built contender when Gruden was traded to Tampa Bay, promptly beating Callahan and the Raiders in the Super Bowl the next season. Callahan has since been scrutinized for his team’s preparation for that game (such as not changing offensive signals or verbal calls that Gruden himself had installed) and then went 4-12 the next season to get fired.
*Indicates coach was fired or resigned during the season
Raiders At The QB Position
Enough about that …
Because we also need to talk about the Raiders’ failures in finding a franchise quarterback over that same stretch.
We won’t belabor this point quite as much beyond rattling off the Raiders’ passing leaders since Rich Gannon, who led the team to its last Super Bowl appearance.
– 2004-05: Kerry Collins on his fourth NFL team and last legs.
– 2006: Andrew Walter in his only NFL season of note splitting the job with Aaron Brooks in his final NFL season.
– 2007: Daunte Culpepper on one leg, filling in for middling veteran Josh McCown with No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell making 1 start.
– 2008-09: Russell flaming out as one of the biggest busts in NFL draft history.
– 2010: Washington castoff Jason Campbell in his final season as a full-time starter.
– 2011: Campbell until a season-ending injury replaced by disgruntled Bengals star QB Carson Palmer in a mid-season trade.
– 2012: Palmer, before being shipped off to Arizona after the season for a minimal return and rejuvenating his career with the Cardinals.
– 2013: A mix of Terrelle Pryor (a third-round pick in 2011) and undrafted rookie Matt McGloin.
– 2014-22: Derek Carr, the 36th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, who went 63-79 in 142 career starts for the Raiders with some highs, including finishing third in MVP voting in 2016.
– 2023: Veteran free agent Jimmy Garoppolo in his final season as a starter for six games before an injury, giving way to fourth-round rookie Aidan O’Connell.
– 2024: Free agent Gardner Minshew in his final shot as a starter (for now) before being benched for O’Connell until he got hurt, then back to Minshew, then back to O’Connell.
– 2025: Geno Smith, acquired via trade from the Seahawks for a third-round pick and promptly given away to the Jets for a late-round pick swap after the season.
The point again being, the Raiders have mostly botched the two most important decisions any franchise has to make — head coach and quarterback — for most of the last two-plus decades.
No offense to Carr, but when he’s the gold standard of QB decision-making for a franchise while delivering 0 playoff wins in nine years, well … we said we wouldn’t belabor the point.
The New Era
So now the Raiders start anew — again.
Heisman Tropy-winning Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza was a consensus choice as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, so however his career plays out from here at least the Raiders made the right choice in the moment.
And they’re intent on being careful with his development, signing 14-year NFL veteran Kirk Cousins to open the season as the starter and give Mendoza both a mentor but also a longer runway to acclimate to the NFL.
It’s a new era for the Raiders with NFL legend Tom Brady an involved minority owner of the team now.
Las Vegas is very much in a rebuild but an exciting one with true renewed optimism that maybe, just maybe, the team finally got it right at head coach and quarterback for the long-term.
Time will tell.
Already Covered In Our “32 Teams In 32 Days” Series: Miami Dolphins
Las Vegas Raiders Reset
2025 Finish: 3-14
Head Coach: Klint Kubiak, first season (first as NFL HC)
Hot Seat Meter (0-10): 0
Offensive Coordinator: Andrew Janocko, first season (first as NFL OC)
Defensive Coordinator: Rob Leonard, first season (first as NFL DC)
Best Offseason Move: After allowing the most sacks (64) in the NFL last season while generating the league’s worst rushing offense (77.5 yards per game — 15.6 worse than any other team), the Raiders absolutely had to invest in upgrading their offensive line. Especially if they are going to eventually trot out the (hopeful) future of the franchise behind it.
So credit the Raiders for at least taking the first steps in rebuilding the unit. Understanding that the team isn’t exactly the top draw for free agents at the moment, Las Vegas reset the market to sign free agent center Tyler Linderbaum, a Pro Bowl selection three straight years for the Baltimore Ravens, to a three-year, $81-million contract (an NFL record for the position).
That upgrade can’t be overstated after the Raiders split the center position last season between Jordan Meredith (who graded out 32nd out of 40 qualifying centers by PFF) and Alex Cappa (38th out of 40).
They also signed a new left guard in Spencer Burford, who made 38 starts the last four years for the San Francisco 49ers, on a cheap one-year deal.
Meanwhile, Kolton Miller, the Raiders’ starting left tackle the last eight seasons, is back to full strength after being limited to four games last year by an ankle injury.
Jackson Powers-Johnson, who split time at right guard with Meredith, and right tackle D.J. Glaze (graded 65th out of 89 OTs, per PFF) are back. But the team also drafted Trey Zuhn III, a first-team All-SEC performer for Texas A&M, in the third round. He’s presently listed as the second-team right tackle on the Raiders’ first official depth chart, but he can also play guard.
It’s not a total overhaul, but considering Miller’s injury absence last season, the 2026 Raiders offensive line absolutely looks better than the 2025 version.
And Kubiak and new offensive line coach Rick Dennison, who also came over from Seattle, are installing a new zone blocking system that will further change the dynamics of the unit.
Honorable mention needs to also go to the investments made on the defensive side as well after giving up the eight-most points in the league last year (25.4 per game). The Raiders certainly aren’t approaching 2026 as a sacrificed season to the rebuild.
Most notably, they revamped the middle of their defense in free agency with former Packers LB Quay Walker (three years, $40.5 million) and former Eagles LB Nakobe Dean (three years, $36.03 million).
Worst Offseason Move: The Raiders also greatly overpaid for former Colts edge rusher Kwity Paye (three years, $48 million), coming off a season in which he had 4 sacks and 39 tackles in 17 games in his fifth year. But that was before they realized the trade sending star EDGE Maxx Crosby to the Ravens was going to fall through, landing Crosby back on the roster.
So we’ll excuse that as a desperation move to fill what was expected at the time to be a major void.
The real disappointment is that the Raiders didn’t do more to upgrade at wide receiver.
Sure, they have all-world tight end Brock Bowers as the focal point of the passing game, but it would be nice to have some better pass-catching talent on the outside as well.
The Raiders did throw some money at the position, but it was in the form of overpaying for former Vikings WR3 Jalen Nailor on a three-year, $35.03-million contract. That’s a lot of confidence in a receiver who set career-highs last year with 29 catches for 444 yards in his fourth NFL season.
Otherwise, the top of the depth chart at wideout is Tre Tucker (career-high 57-696-5 for the Raiders last year) and Jack Bech (20-224-0 as a second-round rookie).
Las Vegas Raiders Roster Breakdown
Biggest Strength: Bowers is arguably the best tight end in football, which is quite an asset to have in place at the onset of a rebuild.
After posting 112 receptions (fourth-most all-time by a TE) for 1,194 yards and 5 TDs to earn first-team All-Pro honors as a rookie, Bowers was limited to 12 games by a knee injury last year but still managed a 64-680-7 line. Fully healthy again, he should lead the team in receiving in 2026.
Let’s also take a minute to spotlight the running backs …
Yes, the Raiders had the NFL’s worst rushing offense by a wide margin last year, but we’re giving running back Ashton Jeanty a pass due to the offensive line struggles and general discombobulation of that team.
The No. 6 overall pick in the draft last year out of Boise State, Jeanty rushed for 975 yards and 5 touchdowns on just 3.7 yards per carry as a rookie. Let’s see what he can do this year in Kubiak’s zone-blocking system.
Meanwhile, one of the best value picks in the entire draft this year was the Raiders snagging Arkansas RB Mike Washington Jr. late in the fourth round (122nd overall). Washington averaged 6.4 YPC while putting up a 1,000-yard season in the SEC and then ran the fastest 40-yard dash time (4.33 seconds) by a running back at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.
Defensively, we’d be remiss to not mention the edge rushers.
Crosby is fully cleared after offseason surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee — the injury that caused the Ravens to back out of the teams’ offseason trade after bringing the five-time Pro Bowl pass rusher in for his physical evaluation. He has 69.5 sacks and 133 tackles for loss in seven seasons with the Raiders and will be highly motivated to prove he’s still the same player, especially after the Ravens fiasco.
Meanwhile, fourth-year DE Malcolm Koonce has 12.5 sacks over the last two seasons, Paye may be overpaid but he has 30.5 sacks in five NFL seasons, and the Raiders added Auburn DE Keyron Crawford in the third round of the draft.
That’s absolutely better depth and top-end talent at edge rusher than most teams in the NFL can claim.
Biggest Weakness: The receivers. It’s a little confounding why the Raiders would invest so heavily in this roster, go to great lengths to make Mendoza’s introduction to the NFL (whenever it comes) as smooth as possible and then not do more to upgrade the WR unit.
Sixth-rounder Malik Benson (Oregon) was the only receiver the team drafted.
There are still veteran free agents available who could make an impact on that group.
On the defensive side, the interior of the defensive line is lacking with second-year DT Tonka Hemingway (just 195 snaps as a rookie) and serviceable veteran Adam Butler (graded out 82nd out of 134 DTs by PFF last year) atop the depth chart.
Most Intriguing Rookie: Obviously, it’s Mendoza.
It remains to be seen when or how the quarterback will make his debut and get eased in behind Cousins, whether there is a transition plan expected at some point or he’s going to be the No. 2 QB all season.
It’s a smart approach by the Raiders, though, even if Mendoza’s perceived strengths as a QB — poise, fundamentals, intelligence, accuracy — would seemingly make him more ready than most for the transition to the NFL.
Mendoza was a machine in leading Indiana to an unbeaten national championship season, completing 72% of his passes for 3,535 yards, 41 TDs and 6 INTs (with 7 rushing TDs).
His time will come soon enough.
In the meantime, the Raiders also have four rookie defensive backs of high intrigue in safeties Treydan Stukes (second-round, No. 38 overall out of Arizona) and Dalton Johnson (fifth round, also out of Arizona), and cornerbacks Jermod McCoy (fourth-round out of Tennessee) and Hezekiah Masses (fifth round out of Cal).
Stukes and Johnson are listed second-team on the Raiders’ depth chart behind Isaiah Pola-Mao and Jeremy Chinn, Masses is also second-team behind Darien Porter (and top corner Eric Stokes on the other side) and McCoy is third-team presently.
But McCoy has the chance to be the steal of the draft. Considered a first-round talent, he fell well further than analysts expected after missing all of 2025 with a torn ACL. He’s on a managed workload with scheduled off days in training camp, but he’s not limiting his own expectations one bit.
The buzz out of camp, though, is that Masses (seen in highlight below) and Stukes could be pushing to the top of that young DB group with a chance to make an early impact.
Breakout Player: Jeanty.
He was simply too good at Boise State — yes, even in the Mountain West Conference — with 2,601 rushing yards on 7.0 YPC and 30 total TDs as a junior in 2024 to give up on after one middling season behind the worst offensive line in football.
Whether it’s well-past-his-prime Cousins or Mendoza, the Raiders are going to want to take as much pressure as possible off the QBs and lean on the rushing attack. Same as Kubiak did for Sam Darnold in Seattle last year.
If the line is indeed improved, as it should be, Jeanty should get every chance to show his full potential in 2026.
MVP: Bowers/Crosby
Even in a run-heavy offense, Bowers should remain a high-volume target for the soon-to-be 38-year-old Cousins, who has lost some zip on his fastball and is less eager to attack downfield, and a trusted safety net for Mendoza as he learns to process defenses at NFL speed.
Crosby, meanwhile, has to be supremely motivated to show the Ravens they were wrong in backing out of that trade over concerns about his knee and future potential.
The Raiders defense has a chance to be spunky all-around but especially if Crosby is setting the tone off the edge and reasserting himself as one of the best pass rushers in the game.
Las Vegas Raiders 2026 Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time (ET) |
| Week 1, Sept. 13 | vs. Miami Dolphins | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 2, Sept. 20 | at Los Angeles Chargers | 4:05 p.m. |
| Week 3, Sept. 27 | at New Orleans Saints | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 4, Oct. 4 | vs. Kansas City Chiefs | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 5, Oct. 11 | at New England Patriots | 1 p.m. |
| Week 6, Oct. 18 | vs. Buffalo Bills | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 7, Oct. 25 | vs. Los Angeles Rams | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 8, Nov. 1 | at New York Jets | 1 p.m. |
| Week 9, Nov. 8 | at San Francisco 49ers | 4:05 p.m. |
| Week 10, Nov. 15 | vs. Seattle Seahawks | 4:05 p.m. |
| Week 11, Nov. 22 | at Denver Broncos | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 12, Nov. 29 | at Cleveland Browns | 1 p.m. |
| Week 13 | BYE WEEK | |
| Week 14, Dec. 13 | vs. Los Angeles Chargers | 4:05 p.m. |
| Week 15, Dec. 20 | vs. Denver Broncos | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 16, Dec. 27 | vs. Tennessee Titans | 4:05 p.m. |
| Week 17, Jan. 3 | at Arizona Cardinals | 4:05 p.m. |
| Week 18, TBD (Flex Game) | at Kansas City Chiefs | TBD |
Las Vegas Raiders Season Prediction And Parting Thoughts
Season Prediction: 4-13
The Raiders should absolutely be better than last year. More to the point, they should absolutely be much more competitive, regardless of final record.
The roster is still an unfinished product and another high draft pick next spring will help further the rebuild, but since Las Vegas doesn’t need to worry about drafting a QB (in a draft that will be heavy on first-round QBs), the exact draft slot isn’t so important.
The Raiders will try to win football games in 2026, but let’s remember it’s still going to be a 38-year-old Cousins or a rookie Mendoza throwing to one of the two least inspiring wide receiver groups in the league (along with the Dolphins).
And then the schedule does Las Vegas no favors.
Already stuck in the stacked AFC West with two games each against the Chiefs, Broncos and Chargers — all legit Super Bowl contenders — the division also matches up against the AFC East and fellow top contenders the Bills and Patriots (along with more favorable opportunities against the rebuilding Dolphins and Jets). And then tack on two more top Super Bowl contenders in the Rams and 49ers.
Yeesh.
But for Raiders fans, it’s about the future, and for the first time in quite a while there is real reason to believe better days are ahead.
