Las Vegas Raiders caput manager Klint Kubiak watches players during the archetypal signifier of grooming campy astatine Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters/Intermountain Health Performance Center successful Henderson Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Photo by: Steve Marcus
By Mark Anderson, Associated Press
Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026 | 2 a.m.
Antonio Pierce and Pete Carroll brought oversized personalities to the Raiders ' installation the past 2 years, and whether the beingness of each manager would found a winning civilization was a large talking constituent entering each season.
So overmuch truthful that players were routinely asked and agreed astatine the clip that they fed disconnected their coaches.
Given Las Vegas won 7 full games those 2 seasons, it would beryllium casual to disregard immoderate specified speech this clip nether yet different caller coach. But Klint Kubiak says it's the players who acceptable the culture.
“I deliberation it’s truly important that it’s those guys that specify it,” the Raiders' caller manager said. "There’s things we speech astir successful squad meetings, but words are truly conscionable words. So I deliberation the astir important happening is we spell ticker our portion and past we speech astir what is acceptable and what is not. What effort looks like, what it doesn’t look like, and past we fto the players spell acceptable that standard. It’s their game, not ours.”
That remark fits Kubiak's all-business style, notable during his introductory quality league successful February erstwhile helium didn't effort to airy up the media country successful ways that Pierce and Carroll did.
At times, civilization seemed to beryllium the main storyline nether those erstwhile coaches.
“We spot AP due to the fact that AP trusts us," then-cornerback Nate Hobbs said of the Pierce-coached squad successful 2024. "As a player, that’s 1 of the biggest things you could you person from a manager is that spot and that credibility and belief. He believes successful you and that astir makes you much acceptable to go. I consciousness similar that breeds eventual buy-in and confidence. You got those 2 connected the squad on with the hard enactment facet of it, sky’s the limit.”
The Raiders went 4-13 and Pierce was fired after the season.
“I emotion Pete, and you tin conscionable look astatine his resume,” wide receiver Tre Tucker said past year. "It speaks for itself. He had america each fired up successful a squad meeting. We privation we tin warrant it all, but that’s the mentality and the expectations. You person to acceptable the expectations precocious truthful you tin conscionable that, truthful he’s great. His resume speaks for (itself), and we’re airy years amended than what we’ve been.”
Las Vegas went 3-14 and Carroll was fired after the season.
The Raiders, of course, aren't unsocial successful taking an optimistic attack into a season. All teams routinely effort to instrumentality the sunniest presumption earlier the games statesman to count. Kubiak maintained it's “just words.”
Because helium isn't trying to merchantability a rosy future, it could adhd credence to the thought that possibly this clip is antithetic for an enactment that hasn't won a playoff crippled since appearing successful the Super Bowl 24 years ago.
Plus, having Fernando Mendoza, the apical prime successful this year's NFL draft, on the roster provides anticipation the Raiders mightiness yet person their long-desired franchise quarterback.
“I don’t privation to disparage anybody that’s antecedently been present oregon immoderate different cultures oregon unit that we’ve had, but it does look to consciousness antithetic this time,” punter AJ Cole said. "It does look to consciousness similar we person a truly cohesive vision, a truly corporate buy-in, and I deliberation that the fig of radical swimming successful the aforesaid absorption is decidedly astatine an all-time high.”
Offensive enactment holds dependable — for now
The violative enactment figured to diagnostic immoderate cardinal presumption battles, but it hasn't played retired that way.
Las Vegas has gone with the aforesaid starting 5 each time of campy — near tackle Kolton Miller, near defender Spencer Burford, halfway Tyler Linderbaum, close defender Jackson Powers-Johnson and close tackle DJ Glaze.
Offensive enactment manager Rick Dennison, however, cautioned against speechmaking excessively overmuch into that.
“We’re not adjacent done our instal yet," Dennison said Tuesday. "We’ve inactive got a mates much days of putting our basal worldly in, and past we’ll propulsion and support moving guys around.”
Former Raiders stars successful attendance
Tuesday's signifier was not lone unfastened to fans, but a fig of erstwhile Raiders besides were there.
Fred Biletnikoff, Greg Townsend, Richie Incognito, Steve Wisniewski, Napoleon McCallum and Jay Schroeder were among the ex-players astatine the squad facility.
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