Andrew Janocko is the “fixer” for Klint Kubiak.
While he won’t be calling plays — that responsibility will be in Kubiak’s capable hands, even as a first-time head coach — Janocko is a key element of the Las Vegas Raiders coaching staff. That may seem detrimental to Janocko’s title of offensive coordinator, however, the relationship between the Silver & Black’s head coach and OC is longstanding and there’s already well-built heavy synergy.
Hence the fixer role.
Janocko is Kubiak’s vital right-hand man and primary offensive problem-solver. Kubiak has the ultimate responsibility of reshaping a Raiders offense that struggled mightily the last two seasons. Designing the offensive playbook, coordinating game plans, spearheading player development, and installing the Kubiak system are all in Janocko’s wheelhouse.
The Andrew Janocko/Klint Kubiak Dynamic
Time Spent Together
- Minnesota Vikings (2019-21): Kubiak’s ascension to offensive coordinator in 2021 led to Janocko becoming quarterbacks coach
- New Orleans Saints (2024): With Kubiak as offensive coordinator, Janocko served as quarterbacks coach
- Seattle Seahawks (2025): With Kubiak as offensive coordinator, Janocko served as quarterbacks coach
- Las Vegas Raiders (Current): Kubiak hired as head coach and Janocko tabbed as offensive coordinator
The built-in dynamic Janocko has with Kubiak was a major reason they linked up again, this time in Las Vegas.
“I think sitting there with my wife, and we were making the decision, the best decision for our family, this was something that we wanted to be a part of. We want to be a part of this organization, want to be a part of building this culture, bringing the shield back, and then getting to work with unbelievable people, getting to work with really good people,” Janocko said during a post-OTA media session last week. “That’s something in this business that really goes underrated is when you can work with good people, it makes the job, the stresses of the job, the good parts even better and the bad parts, you want to fight through those things with the people that you’re around.”
Problem Solver
The Raiders are the fourth franchise where the pairing continues to develop and grow and being tied closely at the hip gives Janocko the right-hand man moniker for Kubiak.
With mutual trust and an aligned vision for game planning, it’s not difficult to envision exactly what Janocko meant when he said you want to fight through the bad with people you have built a relationship with. That’s the Janocko-Kubiak dynamic in a nutshell.
Just how aligned are the two coaches? Look no further than the “listen to your feet” mantra both wholeheartedly believe in. It initially began with the quarterback spot but has since evolved into a way of keeping the entire offense on time with progressions.
“That goes back a long way, that something we believe in whether it started with the quarterback position, but it really is everything about our offense that we build ourselves, we build our brains, and then we build ourselves from the ground up,” Janocko said. “So, if you’re listening to your feet, whether you’re a quarterback and you’re progressing on time within your footwork, or you’re an offensive lineman and you’re gaining ground on your first step, or you’re a receiver, and how are my feet helping to contribute to my route depth. All those things, are we gaining ground on our first step in the wide zone? So everything, our building blocks start there.”
The amplification of a unified message should help Las Vegas correct the wrongs from previous coaching staffs.
While Kubiak’s focus gamedays will be calling plays, Janocko’s role of the logistics of the offense, resolve scheme issues, and give Kubiak clarity and real-time data and insight in-game is something the offensive coordinator is comfortable with.
Throughout his coaching career, Janocko coached wide receivers, the offensive line, and quarterbacks which gives the 38-year-old coach unique insights at integral offensive position groups. An example of this having the micro view of each position group at his various stops and being able to zoom out and provide a macro view on pass protection, run blocking, route concepts, and the like to figure how to fix or improve play calls that didn’t work.
By being a sounding board for Kubiak, Janocko filters the real-time data of the course of a game to ensure the head coach and play caller has the pertinent information to send the plays into the quarterback for the offense to execute on the field.
Quarterback Qualified
There was a notion early on that the Raiders could forgo hiring an official quarterbacks coach with Janocko hired as Kubiak’s offensive coordinator on February 15. Especially considering the former’s background as a QB position coach under Kubiak’s wing.
Las Vegas didn’t go that route though and brought in highly respected veteran Mike Sullivan to be the team’s quarterbacks coach on March 24. This affords the Raiders a trio of coaches on offense — Kubiak, Janocko, and Sullivan — who are renowned for developing all-important signal callers.
Sullivan’s military background (West Point graduate and U.S. Army infantry officer) is a the core of his teaching and the chaos management portion of that aligns well with both Kubiak and Janocko. Sullivan teaches quarterbacks to “complete the mission” by staying clear headed, not panic when plays break down, and persevering by adapting and overcoming situations. Think of “listen to your feet” as mentioned above.
Also, it likely won’t surprise you to hear that Janocko worked with Sullivan — the 2012 and 2013 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where Sullivan was Greg Schiano’s offensive coordinator and Janocko was an offensive quality control assistant to Sullivan.
So naturally, with Kubiak, Janocko, and Sullivan on staff alongside veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins in the room, too, how Las Vegas ensures it’s unified and not crossing wires for prized rookie and 2026 NFL Draft top overall pick quarterback Fernando Mendoza is a logical question.
“Yeah, I think it’s just about having one singular voice, and us being all together on it, whether it’s Klint, myself, Sully (Mike Sullivan), any of the guys that step in that position room, making sure that we have our wires together, that we’re making sure that we give one singular voice, whether it be to Kirk, whether it be to Aidan (O’Connell), or whether it be to Fernando (Mendoza), that when those guys hear that, they understand that there’s a clear message, and if it’s not clear, we get it fixed right away.”
