The Las Vegas Raiders finished bottom of a stacked AFC West in 2025.A 3-14 record was good enough for the No. 1 pick in a division that also includes the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, and Kansas City Chiefs.Klint Kubiak is an offensive mastermind leading a team for the first timeGettyAt first glance, Klint Kubiak faces a tough debut season as a head coach, but Raiders icon Marshall Newhouse thinks he is the man for the job, despite not appearing to be a typical leader of the Silver and Black on paper.“That might end up being sneakily the best hire of this season,” he told talkSPORT ahead of the Super Bowl. “Klint Kubiak is not a guy who you hear about being boisterous in his personality or anything like that. “There are a lot of old Raiders coaches who you might think he doesn’t fit the archetype, but everything you hear about out of Seattle and even the time before him in Denver and his time in San Francisco is just like such a cerebral guy, but such a trustworthy guy. “He earns the trust of the players with authenticity and then he calls a hell of a game. I think he’ll blend right in.” The Broncos looked to be Super Bowl contenders before Bo Nix‘s injury, Jim Harbaugh has made the Chargers competitive and a six-win campaign in 2025 is probably the Chiefs’ floor if Patrick Mahomes returns to fitness.But Newhouse — a Super Bowl champion with the Green Bay Packers — thinks Las Vegas could take advantage of any sign of weakness and quickly turn the tables.“The Raiders have a really good foundation,” he explained. “They’ve got to figure out some things on the offensive line and the defense but they are set up better than people realize…“If you’re the Raiders, you should not fear anyone. You should go and attack this division as if we can go and quickly be a contender. “You got to do the work. You got to draft well. You got to sign guys off free agency well. But to me, this division is there to be won.”Owner Mark Davis is leaning heavily on minority owner Tom Brady to turn around a franchise that has been mediocre at best for some time.The Raiders have gambled on Brady replicating his on-field successGettyLas Vegas fans have seen a glimmer of hopeGettyHe will be assisted by Kubiak and general manager John Spytek in a team that Woodhouse thinks is capable of restoring the glory days.While he thinks immediate success is obtainable, he warned that a long-term view was needed if Kubiak takes time to right the ship.“I think Mark Davis bringing in John Spytek and him and working with Tom Brady, I think speaks to that [ambition],” he added. “But now you got to put it into practice, which means maybe not thinking, ‘If we don’t have immediate success, it’s somehow a failure.’ “It’s like, ‘We’re building for something greater’. I think the Raiders are in a really good position, though.”Fernando Mendoza needs all the help he can getThe No. 1 pick is a powerful tool for a rebuilding franchise but Cam Ward‘s struggles in Tennessee show that it is not a cure-all.If Fernando Mendoza is indeed the pick as expected, Brady & Co will have plenty of work to do to set him up for success.NFL Stadium StatusChicago Bears – $5bn efforts to keep Bears in Chicago fall through as team announce plans to build new stadium across stateCM Punk accuses Bears owners of ‘straight greed’ and calls for team to be sold over Indiana relocationKansas City Chiefs – $4bn Arrowhead move hits ‘high stakes’ snag with radical soccer-style stadium proposedKansas City announce major update on new $3 billion stadium designJacksonville Jaguars – Jags set for 150-mile relocation to 90-year-old arena as $1.4bn stadium project beginsJaguars have Super Bowl ambition to replace cruise ships with Shad Khan’s state-of-art $1.4bn stadium makeoverCleveland Browns – Pat McAfee raves at Browns’ NFL-first design masterpiece in new $2.4bn stadiumCavaliers and Guardians stadium plans in trouble as Browns $2.4bn relocation causes Cleveland chaosTennessee Titans – New $2.1bn NFL stadium splits opinion ahead of Titans moving out of 27-year home$25m piece falls into place for Titans’ new $2.2bn stadium ahead of grand unveilingThe hope is that Kubiak, who played a huge role in Sam Darnold‘s renaissance, can be a big part of that.“They wanted someone who’d embrace the challenge and the history of the team, rather than looking at this as the, ‘Yeah, I’ll take it, I guess’ assignment,” wrote Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer of the appointment.“Klint Kubiak, the eventual choice, definitely gave them that, as a 38-year-old who quite literally grew up in the AFC West with his dad, first a Broncos player, then a coach. “He told them he wanted to be a part of turning a storied franchise around, and that he loved the idea of taking the first pick and making that selection a turning point for the team.”Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for news, exclusive interviews and more.