Klint Kubiak is standing behind Rob Leonard despite the Las Vegas Raiders‘ defensive collapse. His latest comments raise serious questions about accountability and progress.
Kubiak’s Monday comments sketched a team he believes is close to working. The numbers he cited sketch something else.
Start with the first half. Kubiak said the plays ran roughly 38 to 16 or 17 in San Francisco’s favor, “the exact opposite” of what a coach wants. He attributed the early deficit to missed opportunities, beginning with a failed third-and-3 on the opening drive. That is a specific, honest diagnosis of the offense. It is a less complete diagnosis of the defense, which he addressed only in general terms about “mental toughness on long drives.”
Then there is the second half. Kubiak noted that the game stood at 21-11 with the ball coming back to the Raiders and that the offense turned it over five times. He also pointed to the late sequence of an interception and a fourth-down stop that offered two chances to make it 28-24. Both were squandered. The coach framed it plainly: “Shot ourselves in the foot.”
The most consequential answer concerned Rob Leonard…
Asked about changes on defense, Kubiak said he does not anticipate any. He said the team will “stand behind” Leonard and the defensive staff, adding that “the world wants someone’s head on a platter every time things don’t go right.” The framing is worth noting. It casts criticism as impatience rather than as a response to results, among them 30-plus points allowed in six consecutive games.
Related: Raiders keep acknowledging their problems but where are the answers?
Kubiak’s defense of the plan rests on one claim: that he sees it work, “just not for four quarters.” That is a testable assertion, and it cuts both ways. If the scheme functions for two quarters, it is not failing outright. But a team that cannot sustain it across a game has a problem that belief alone does not solve. Consistency is the product, and so far it has not been delivered.
He also invoked development “for the long haul.” That is a reasonable standard for a first-year staff, but it carries an obligation. Patience requires visible progress, and Kubiak himself conceded that the gap between the first and second halves has no happy medium. Nine weeks into the season, fans are entitled to ask what measurable improvement the staff can point to.
None of this means Kubiak is wrong to resist a midseason purge. Abrupt changes can destabilize a young roster. But conviction is not evidence. The coach has told fans what he believes. The next several games will show whether the team does.
*Top Photo: Ramble Illustration/Getty Images