Want to a crystal clear example of the kind of football team Klint Kubiak wants his Las Vegas Raiders to become?
Eye the San Francisco 49ers very closely this Sunday.
Because when Kubiak’s Raiders head to Santa Clara to go toe-to-to with Shanahan’s Niners, you’ll get a bird’s eye view a San Francisco team that plays complementary football and is 6-1 overall because of it. There have been fleeting moments of this for Las Vegas, however, the inability to harness consistency is a big reason why the team is 4-4
overall.
Curious as to why Shanahan’s football team is one to model for Kubiak?
The pair of head coaches are steeped in the game, thanks to the coaching connection between their fathers Mike Shanahan and Gary Kubiak. The Kyle and Klint dynamic goes back to 1994 when Mike was the offensive coordinator and Gary the quarterbacks coach of the 49ers Super Bowl-winning coaching staff. The elder Shanahan and Kubiak continued to be tied at the hip with the Denver Broncos.
“Not a first one. Just really fortunate to grow up in that environment,” Klint Kubiak said on a first memory he had with Kyle Shanahan with their dads coaching together. “I didn’t know it at the time, but I got to be exposed to a lot of football at a young age, and I’m very grateful for that, myself and my brothers.”
When Gary became the Houston Texans head coach, he gave Kyle his start as an offensive coordinator. And, in 2023, Kyle and Klint joined forces where the Kubiak was the passing game coordinator with the Shanahan dialing up the offense as head coach.
There’s mutual respect and trust between the two families. And with a storied history together, similarities were bound to happen.
Foundationally, Shanahan’s and Kubiak’s respective offenses are deeply rooted in the same coaching tree. It’s a philosophy designed to scheme play makers open with pre-snap motions and a balanced attack that showcases a physical and productive ground game. Specializing in the outside/wide-zone run scheme, the 49ers and Raiders eat off play action and the pre-snap motions both play callers habitually use not only identify and stress coverage schemes, but get pass catchers open.
Shanahan and Kubiak know to use running backs and tight ends in a variety of ways, so much so, that pass catching tailbacks and tight ends are often primary targets when the aerial attack is dialed up.
As the longstanding relationship between the two is undeniable, what’s also without question is the two having their own distinct twist of the Shanahan-Kubiak offense.
Klint, for example, blended modern, rhythm-based passing concepts into the time-tested zone play-action tenets the system offers.
Taking into account the history between the two and the inherent competitiveness between them, beating Shanahan’s 49ers this Sunday would be quite the feather in Kubiak’s cap. Even now, there’s another branch in the Shanahan-Kubiak dynamic as Klint’s brother Klay is the 49ers offensive coordinator.
Like Shanahan, Kubiak won’t be alone in his endeavor to coach his team past the 49ers and get his Raiders to back-to-back wins and a 5-4 record instead of a 4-5 mark.
Kubiak’s chosen defensive coordinator — Rob Leonard — and special teams coordinator — Joe DeCamillis — must hold up their ends of the bargain in order to play complementary football against a really good 49ers team coming off its bye week. San Francisco is eyeing winning it’s seventh game of the year as a proper bounce back from getting beat by the Atlanta Falcons 29-20 two Sunday’s ago.
Las Vegas’ defense will have its hand full stopping Shanahan and the fact Leonard’s group is a cellar dweller statistically league-wise. Playing with much more discipline and urgency, alongside Leonard dialing up blitzes, is a must as the Raiders defense has allowed 30 or more points in the last five games.
“Well, I think if you’ve worked in the NFL long enough, then that’s the reality of our business. It’s a production business,” Kubiak said of the confidence he has in Leonard. “It’s the most competitive industry that I know of, and any time that you start to feel comfortable, then you will be quickly humbled. And so, whether you’re having success or you’re working to get better, if your mindset stays the same and you continue to push and push through the hard times, you come out on the other end. So, that’s the NFL. The NFL brings adversity and makes you answer to it every day.”
Offensively, Kubiak has veteran Kirk Cousins at quarterback producing 19 touchdown passes (second most int he league) to just five interceptions. Brock Bowers remains a reliable target for Cousins and is a difficult cover for cornerbacks and safeties, alike.
Cousins speaks highly of the 49ers defense led by Raheem Morris, a defensive coach that left an impression on the Raiders quarterback during their time together with the Washington Commanders.
“It’s a great group. They’re well coached. Fred Warner is one of the best linebackers in the league. (Nick) Bosa, Buck (DeForest Buckner), several of these guys are some of the best D-linemen in the league, and I think the secondary is also a very good group,” Cousins said about Morris’ 49ers defense. “They’ve made a lot of plays, so it’s all three levels. You see the safeties really play hard, play fast. They’ll strike you.
“So, it’s a defense that played really well last year, playing really well this year. I feel like I’ve seen a lot of these same players and even somewhat the same scheme going back to when Kyle [Shanahan] first got there, and they’ve got a lot of continuity, and it shows in the tape.”
