For Kubiak, changing the Raiders' culture is a daily endeavor

HENDERSON, Nev. — In the short time Klint Kubiak has been with the Raiders — and seven months constitutes a short time in NFL terms — he has tried to change the culture one day at a time.

And as the Raiders prepare to host the Miami Dolphins Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, that process continues.

“It’s a daily thing,” Kubiak said Wednesday before practice at the Intermountain Health Performance Center. “We never stop trying to get better. "We'll never be satisfied. We're always trying to get better.

“The culture is about the people in the building. Obviously, it can start with us as coaches, but ultimately the culture is set by the players on the field. We're going to find out Sunday what we're all about. I really like the guys that we have, but the players set the culture.”

Which is all well and good. But a foundation needed to be laid during the months prior to training camp and the players seem to have noticed.

“It’s more businesslike,” guard Jackson Powers-Johnson said of life under Kubiak. “There’s competition within. We just come in trying to get better. The main focus is football. It’s not the other things.”

Safety Jeremy Chin who was part of a fierce competition in the secondary, an area that definitely needs to show improvement, said h sees a difference,

“It’s the way we come to practice every day, the way we work,” Chinn said of life under Kubiak. “We get in early. We do our work. We want to win now. That’s why we play this game.”

Chinn said Kubiak made a lasting impression early on.

“My first impression was he doesn’t talk a lot but when he does, it’s intentional and you want to hear every word he has to say,” Chinn said. “I think the focus here is to be a disciplined team and you can see that with everybody.”

Chinn also noticed the level of competition for playing time everywhere — offense, defense and special teams.

“Yeah, it was definitely competitive in every spot on the field,” he said.

Of course Pete Carroll preached competition from within. So did Antonio Pierce, Josh McDaniels and Jon Gruden. But for some reason, it feels different this time around. Kubiak seems to have left his mark with this group and they appear to be responding. At least early on.

“We’re trying to move forward,” Kubiak said of the message he sends to his team daily. “Trying to get better.”

Kirk Cousins, who will start at quarterback Sunday for the raiders against the Dolphins, said Kubiak is ready to be an NFL head coach.

"I think Klint is committed to continuous improvement.” Cousins said. “I don't think he's ever felt like he's arrived or that he can just put it to bed and just let the system be what it is. I think he's always trying to evolve it.

“I think he's a great listener. I think he can adapt, I think details matter to him, situations and there's urgency with Klint. So, there's a lot of traits that you want to feel and see from your head coach and from your coaching staff. And I think Klint has so many of them in spades, and I think it helps him lead us as a team."

So regardless of the outcome Sunday, you can expect Kubiak’s postgame remarks to include that phrase in some form.

"We're still growing offensively and defensively, special teams,” he said. “We're a growing team, and you find out about yourself in games. We're going to find out a lot about ourselves on Sunday.

"It's a long season. You just want to put your best foot forward at 17 sprints in a row, so we get our first opportunity on Sunday."  

He’s waited a long time for this opportunity. He’s tried to prepare his team to be ready to go from the opening bell. We’ll see how Kubiak’s ultimate body of work pans out. For now, Raider Nation will be happy with a win on Sunday. That would be an acceptable start.