In June, Klint Kubiak was already four months into his new job as head coach of the Raiders when he returned to Seattle to celebrate with his former team when the Seahawks received their Super Bowl rings.
As the offensive coordinator of the Seahawks in 2025, Kubiak played a big role in helping the team win a title, so it was only fitting he came back to be a part of that celebration. But now, five months later, he and Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald will be trying to beat each other's team when the Seahawks face the Raiders on Sunday in Las Vegas.
It's an interesting wrinkle in Sunday's matchup, albeit not an entirely unique one -- coordinators for top teams often end up leaving to become head coaches -- and the matchup is made all the more intriguing because Macdonald and Kubiak will be calling plays against each other after spending a year working side by side to help build the Seahawks into a championship-winning team.
"There are a lot of parallels," Macdonald said this week when asked about the Raiders' offense under Kubiak. "To their credit, they've evolved. They're building it around the people that they have and they're doing it at a high level. I respect how they operate obviously and they have great people and good players. They're moving the ball and putting up a lot of points."
Having spent a season working with Kubiak, Macdonald wasn't surprised to see his former offensive coordinator get this opportunity after the 2025 season.
"I really loved working with Klint," Macdonald said. "He was a great team player. I think that mentality is an underrated part of being a head coach like being able to see everything in a 360-degree viewpoint. Unselfishly, he was able to remove himself from a lot of situations and do things for the benefit of the team consistently, which coming from my perspective, you definitely appreciate. He has a way about him where he can tell you the truth and go through not around without sugarcoating it but also keeping the personal emotions out of it as well, which gathered respect from both the rest of our coaches and our team. He's got a lot of great characteristics."
Receiver Cooper Kupp, when asked what made Kubiak a good coach, said, "It's the guy that he is. The ball knowledge is a paramount thing. Character, how he goes about his day-to-day life with. The work ethic. A lot of the foundational traits that you look for in terms of a person you'd want leading an organization, he lives all that stuff out. You get the chance to sit down and talk with Klint, you have to love the guy. That's where it started."
Not surprisingly for anyone who knows Kubiak or is just familiar with his calm demeanor, he isn't interested in making this week about him facing his former team, but rather about his players getting ready for this week's opponent.
"The most important thing, like every week, is that you spend a lot of time worrying about you," Kubiak told reporters in Las Vegas. "Worrying about your technique, worrying about studying, worrying about watching tape. Yes, we got to prepare them as coaches for what they're going to see on the practice field, but as a player, you got to make sure you don't overlook yourself first."
Kubiak did, however, have plenty of good things to say about his former bosses when asked how his year in Seattle prepared him to become a head coach.
"I could answer that for a long time," he said. "Number one, I think it's just organizationally, just an all-football building, and from John Schneider to Coach [Mike] Macdonald, just extremely intelligent people that treat people the right way and get the most out of their people because they're genuinely good people."
As for how matchups will play out when coaches have so much familiarity with each other, Macdonald likened it to facing an early-season divisional opponent in that there is familiarity but also enough change to keep everyone on their toes.
"It feels like a divisional game," Macdonald said. "It feels like the first divisional game of the season. We know each other, but we also know that we are different. It's not the same, but there's also a familiarity, but you also don't have the foundational understanding of what they already decided to do, so that you have the opportunity to react. That's the best comparison that I can make."
And while the coaching matchup between Macdonald and Kubiak is all about familiarity thanks to Kubiak's time in Seattle, the matchup between Seattle's defense and Las Vegas' offense also comes with an intriguing bit of newness thanks to a big move made by the Raiders this week. Las Vegas, which has had a pretty strong passing attack led by quarterback Kirk Cousins, decided to trade Cousins to the Vikings this week, opening the door for No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza to make his first career start.
"It's a bit challenging because you have no tape on him," defensive tackle Byron Murphy II said. "You don't have too many tendencies or some of his weaknesses. As far as what I've seen on tape, the guy, number one draft pick, he can make all the throws. As a unit, as a defense, especially as a defensive line, we can get after this guy, especially in the passing game. We have to rush as one, be on one accord and our communication has to be at a high level. We can get after him."
The Seahawks have plenty of respect for Mendoza -- he was the No. 1 pick and Heisman Trophy winner for a reason -- but given the lack of tape available on him, the focus for Seattle's defense will be on what the Raiders have done on offense as a team, then adjust as needed during the game.
"I think we have to do a great job of understanding how they operate and by situation probably at their core," Macdonald said. "It's one of things that you talk about at the beginning of the season too where you want to use the information available to you, but you can't put all your eggs in one basket on what's going to happen or how you think the quarterback is going to play. It wouldn't be wise. Obviously, we are going to watch his plays and lean on our information we had from coming out of the draft process and put our best foot forward. We're focusing on our details and making sure that we are aligned and on the same page, executing at a high level and then go into the game and make the best adjustments that we can as the game starts to unfold."
The Seahawks practiced on Wednesday, November 11 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks nose tackle Deven Eastern (97) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Rylie Mills (98) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence (0) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall (58) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock (2), quarterback Adrian Martinez (9) and quarterback Jalen Milroe (6) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock (2) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Adrian Martinez (9) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock (2) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tackle Abraham Lucas (72) and guard Beau Stephens (70) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks guard Beau Stephens (70) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Jadarian Price (8) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks center Olu Oluwatimi (55) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Michael Dansby (37) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end Ben Sims (49) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Emanuel Wilson (23) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Trevon Diggs (16) and punter Michael Dickson (4) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Adrian Martinez (9) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end AJ Barner (88) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Jadarian Price (8) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Jadarian Price (8) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr. (87) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Ricky White III (86) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end Nick Kallerup (89) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end Ben Sims (49) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Velus Jones Jr. (33) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back George Holani (36) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Rylie Mills (98) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks nose tackle Deven Eastern (97) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Cole Brevard (69) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Adrian Martinez (9) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence (0) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe (6) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II (91) and defensive tackle Rylie Mills (98) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (7) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks safety AJ Finley (30) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe (29) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks safety Rodney Thomas II (24) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Ricky White III (86) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Jadarian Price (8) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Emanuel Wilson (23) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Emanuel Wilson (23) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Velus Jones Jr. (33) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Velus Jones Jr. (33) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Jadarian Price (8) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Jadarian Price (8) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Cole Brevard (69) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II (91) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence (0) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr. (87) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) with Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald at practice on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Tory Horton (15) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
The Seahawks practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks safety Julian Love (20) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tackle Abraham Lucas (72) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Jadarian Price (8) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end AJ Barner (88) practiced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
