Raiders' Klint Kubiak and Dolphins' Jeff Hafley make NFL head coaching debuts in season opener

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Since becoming the Las Vegas Raiders ' coach in February, Klint Kubiak has never made it about himself. And he wasn't about to change on the verge of his debut as the leader of an NFL team.

“It’s our first game as a staff, our first game as a team,” Kubiak said. “That’s what I’m excited about.”

The season opener Sunday between Miami and Las Vegas will be a matchup of first-time NFL head coaches with Jeff Hafley on the Dolphins ' sideline.

“I’ll be anxious for it, but I’ll have put in the work,” Hafley said. "So I’ll make my calls fast and I’ll be decisive. You can’t have any regrets on game day. You just got to go out there and coach free and do everything that you can and respond. I’ll be more excited than anything else to coach this team.”

There's a reason both teams have new coaches, though for the Raiders this is a more familiar feeling. They open their fourth season in a row with someone different leading them.

They hope Kubiak is finally the answer, but it's unlikely there will be a quick turnaround in either Southern Nevada or South Florida. The Raiders won a combined seven games the past two years and have gone without a playoff victory since the 2002 season when they made the Super Bowl. Miami comes off back-to-back losing years and doesn't have a postseason win since the 2000 season.

Hafley was Green Bay's defensive coordinator the past two seasons and the Packers' defense finished in the top 10 in a number of categories in 2025. Hafley also went 22-26 from 2020-23 as Boston College's head coach.

This is Kubiak's first head coaching job at any level, and he hopes to transfer his success as the offensive coordinator for Seattle's Super Bowl-championship team .

He has been all business since arriving in Las Vegas.

“It's all about football at the end of the day,” Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby said. "We're not here to just have fun. Of course, it's playing a sport, but we're here to win. I think Klint does a great job of balancing that. He has a very serious element to him. He'll tell you himself. He's not the biggest personality in the world, but he knows that.

“I think his ability to hold people accountable is extremely important. I think it's something that we haven't had in a long time.”

Miami (7-10) at Las Vegas (3-14)

When/where to watch: Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, Fox.

Latest odds: Raiders by 3 1/2.

Against the spread: Dolphins 8-9; Raiders 7-10.

Last meeting: Dolphins beat Raiders 34-19 on Nov. 17, 2024, in Miami.

Series record: Dolphins lead 20-18-1.

Dolphins RT Austin Jackson vs. Crosby. Crosby's 462 quarterback pressures since 2019 are third highest during that stretch, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Jackson's ability to keep Crosby out of the backfield will be vital for the Dolphins working under new QB Malik Willis.

— The Dolphins have won four of the past five meetings and nine of 11.

— The Dolphins have 13 rookies on their active roster — most in the NFL — and five are expected to start on Sunday. Miami's average age is 25.5, which is the youngest in the NFL. Ten of Miami's projected starters are first- or second-year players.

— A victory would make Hafley the fifth coach in Dolphins history to win his debut.

— Hafley will call Miami's defensive plays. He led the Packers to a top-five total defense in 2024.

— The Raiders are the second team since 1950 to enter a season with a different head coach and starting quarterback in four consecutive years. Houston was the other, from 2020 through 2023. Las Vegas' run includes coach Josh McDaniels and QB Jimmy Garoppolo in 2023, Antonio Pierce and Gardner Minshew in 2024, Pete Carroll and Geno Smith in 2025 and Kubiak and Cousins this season.

— Cousins is two touchdown passes from 300. That would tie Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway for 14th.

— Crosby, since entering the NFL in 2019, is first among defensive linemen in tackles for loss with 133 and fourth in sacks with 69 1/2. Only two Raiders have 70 sacks.

— The Raiders hope to turn around an offense that was last in 2025 in yardage (245.2 yards per game) and scoring (14.2 points). Las Vegas also was last in rushing offense with a 77.5-yard average.

AP Sports Writer Alanis Thames in Miami Gardens, Florida, contributed to this report.

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