Klint Kubiak is the early favorite for coach of the year

In the battle of the offensive coordinators of the last two Super Bowl winners, Raiders coach Klint Kubiak got the better of Saints coach Kellen Moore.

The 35-27 victory moved the Raiders to 3-0. To no surprise, Kubiak is the early favorite for coach of the year.

One big reason for that is “coach of the year” typically means “coach whose team most exceeded the generally accepted preseason expectations.” Under that test, it could be no one (for now) other than Kubiak.

The Raiders were 3-14 in 2025. They’re now 3-0. And they’ve played well enough to show it’s not a fluke.

Meanwhile, Kubiak has become only the third Raiders coach to launch his career with three straight wins. The others were Bill Callahan in 2002 and John Madden in 1969.

Callahan took the Raiders to the Super Bowl. Madden, in his first year, took the Raiders to the AFL Championship. If Kubiak simply takes the Raiders to the 7th seed, he’ll likely be getting a trophy that his father, Gary, never won. While pursuing the possibility of having the first father-son picnic that consists of both guys showing up with a Super Bowl trophy.