Klint Kubiak is about to run a football game as a head coach for the first time in his career. Thanks to his many years as an assistant, the Las Vegas Raiders have some idea of what to expect from him, but it’s always different being the man in charge.
Former quarterback Derek Carr is one of the few players who has been coached by Jon Gruden and Kubiak. Gruden was known for his complex playbook, but he also gave the quarterback a lot of freedom to change things at the line of scrimmage.
According to Carr, Kubiak is the opposite.
“In this system, it’s not like a freedom thing. It’s pure progression. This is the play. This is the read. Here’s this. Here’s that. They try and build it all in,” Carr said of Kubiak’s offense on the “Home Grown” podcast. “What we grew into a little bit with Klint. I was like ‘Hey, man. This is what I’m used to’ and he was interested. We started incorporating some of that. I don’t know Kirk’s background. I don’t know what he’s been asked to do. Fernando is obviously not going to have free rein as a rookie. We started building some of that in, so did Klint keep that with Sam [Darnold]? Did he keep it through Seattle?
“Now Kirk’s a smart guy, so do they keep that kind of stuff? But it’s not a lot of at the line I’m handling stuff. There’s alerts like I’m calling this play, alerting with this play. But it’s not like, ‘You see something, this is the moment, man. …’ It’s not like that.”
Kubiak Will Likely Learn to Trust QB
Now, it’s easy to understand why Kubiak would be a bit more rigid about changing plays. He has never stuck with a team as an offensive playcaller for more than one season.
He hasn’t had a chance to really develop and work with a quarterback. That should change with Fernando Mendoza. Though the rookie isn’t starting right away, he is the future at quarterback for the Raiders.
If things go well, Kubiak and Mendoza will be paired together for a long time. Over the course of their partnership, it’s easier for Kubiak to give Mendoza more control over the offense. For now, he’ll likely want the quarterbacks to run the plays that he calls.
Mendoza Confirmed as QB2
After the Raiders named Kirk Cousins as the starter, there was speculation that the team would name Aidan O’Connell as his backup so that they didn’t run the risk of having to play Mendoza.
That won’t be the case. Kubiak confirmed that Mendoza is QB2 for the Raiders.
“I am encouraging him to know his reads and progressions, to know the game plan,” Kubiak told reporters. “What the guys take off of each other comes through osmosis. So he’s just gotta get his butt ready to roll. The people in front of them are there to produce as well. And if he learned something from their preparation, I think that’s a good thing. That’s why we have [Cousins] there. But most importantly, we have [Cousins] there to go play and go win the game.”
Derek Carr Reveals Biggest Difference Between Jon Gruden & Klint Kubiak