When former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll took the head coaching job with the Las Vegas Raiders last offseason, the team was in need of a culture shift. Carroll might have been the guy to provide that positively, but he wasn't given much help. After Vegas agreed to terms with center Tyler Linderbaum on Monday, new head coach Klint Kubiak is already getting more love.
Kubiak, of course, was Seattle's offensive coordinator in 2025 and helped lead the team to a Super Bowl title. He was the kind of OC who mixed the run close to equally with the pass that head coach Mike Macdonald wanted. It is also the kind of scheme that would help a rookie quarterback.
That is what the Raiders are expected to have in 2026, too. The team got rid of former Seattle quarterback Geno Smith after he spent just one season with the Raiders, and Vegas is expected to replace him with the top pick in the 2026 draft, Fernando Mendoza.
Former Seattle Seahawks coordinator Klint Kubiak is getting the chance Pete Carroll never did with the Raiders
Having a rookie as QB1 should buy Kubiak more time than what Carroll got, but adding Linderbaum is a massive upgrade to an offensive line that was atrocious this past season. That wasn't Carroll's fault, as the line was bad before he got there. The Raiders are already doing Kubiak favors; it never did Carroll.
Linderbaum is a three-time Pro Bowler at center who has missed just two games in his career. He is a big step toward setting Kubiak up for success.
Or, maybe, Tom Brady and the rest of the Las Vegas ownership group understand better what they are doing this offseason than last. In Carroll's first and only season with the team, Brady and his mates allowed Pete Carroll to fall into the same pit he did with Seattle. That included having far too many people Carroll thought he could trust than the team did.
Adding Geno Smith was one, but adding former Seattle Seahawks such as Tyler Lockett and Jamal Adams were two others. Carroll and his team would have been better off without so many Seattle players.
Kubiak won't have the same luxury to bring so many of his former players with him, and that's a good thing. Instead, his organization is making the team better by adding pieces, like Linderbaum, who will instantly upgrade the roster. Klint Kubiak will probably turn out to be the winner that Pete Carroll never had a chance to be with the Raiders.