The Raiders’ defense is getting harder to defend by the week, and Rob Leonard is feeling the heat that comes with it.
Sunday’s 38-17 loss to the 49ers marked the sixth straight game in which Las Vegas has allowed at least 30 points, a stretch that has pushed Leonard from early-season buzz into the kind of scrutiny that follows every bad result. He’s not the lone target just yet, but the conversation around him is getting louder as the losses pile up.
Raider Nation Radio host Q Myers said on the Locked on Raiders podcast Monday that it’s still too soon to talk about moving on from Leonard, even if the questions are starting to surface.
“Whether it’s fair or not… there’s going to be a question about Robbie Leonard. Is this too much for him?” Myers said on the Locked on Raiders podcast on Monday.
“I would say that it’s probably way too early to have the pull the plug conversation on Robbie Leonard as the DC. But when you are in a production-based business and you don’t produce, I say it all the time, you’re not going to be in business.
The Raiders defense has not been in business. They haven’t been producing six straight games with they’re giving up 30 plus points.
So something has got to give. Truthful conversations are going to have to be had and that’s just the reality of where they are, especially with the fact that they have talent on defense.”
That’s the tension hanging over this defense right now: the results are ugly, but the verdict on Leonard is still incomplete. One thing worth noting is that he didn’t come into the job with a preexisting working relationship with head coach Klint Kubiak, which could matter when it comes to how long the leash really is.
The two had not worked together before this season, and that leaves open the question of whether Leonard is operating with the same margin for error as coaches Kubiak already knew.
The roster hasn’t exactly helped him, either. The Raiders made offseason moves to shore up the defense, but the only veteran impact additions that really stand out are Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean. Kwity Paye has not been very good, while Eric Stokes and Malcolm Koonce have mostly vanished since re-signing.
Former Raiders offensive lineman Marshall Newhouse said Monday that Leonard deserves some grace in his first year calling the defense, though he also said he hasn’t loved everything he’s seen.
“This is his first time doing this, and so I understood that there’s probably going to be a learning curve,” Newhouse said on the Just Win podcast.
“I think Klint Kubiak understood there was going to be a learning curve, and you add on to that the complete lack of talent and depth that the Raiders were dealing with, and that wasn’t literally maybe the only position that wasn’t addressed in the Raiders from a draft or free edge standpoint was the interior defensive line.”
“So you give him that benefit of the doubt… but how is it obvious that the defense is being elevated by your presence as a coordinator, as the defensive play caller? To me, it’s the defensive backfield, the development of Treydan Stukes, Hezekiah Masses, even though he’s had ups and downs.
But those guys, to me, are more of a positive sign of Rob Leonard’s influence. But the front seven, I struggle to find where his play calling or his situational awareness is helping them.”
Leonard does have a chance to steady things, and the back half of the schedule gives him a softer landing spot. After games against the Seahawks and Broncos, the Raiders will see the Browns, Chargers, Broncos, Titans, Cardinals and Chiefs.
That stretch doesn’t bring much offensive firepower, which means the Raiders can’t afford to keep bleeding points the way they have lately. If this defense is still giving up 30 a game down the stretch, it won’t just be Leonard under the microscope.
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Kubiaks comments fit the broader reality in Las Vegas, where every new game seems to bring a fresh layer of urgency to the roster conversation. The Raiders are trying to sort out what they have, what they need and how aggressively they should act, all while the quarterback situation and the defensive issues remain front and center. For a team already searching for stability, the next move may be just as important as the last one. [Read more 🡒]