The Seattle Seahawks have found their guy. After a three-week search following the firing of offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, the team has hired Klint Kubiak to fill the position. Ian Rapoport at NFL Network was the first to report the news on Sunday afternoon and the team confirmed it with a press release later in the day.
Kubiak beat out several other candidates for the job. The list of interviewees included Detroit Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, Minnesota Vikings assistant Grant Udinski and former Chicago Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown. Here are a few things for Seahawks fans to know about Kubiak.
Klint Kubiak experience
The son of former Super Bowl winning head coach Gary Kubiak, Klint got his start as a coach in 2010 with Texas A&M, where he served as an Offensive Quality Control coach for two years before being promoted to Graduate Assistant. From there Kubiak moved on to spend two years with the Minnesota Vikings, again as an Offensive Quality Control coach, then one season at Kansas as a wide receivers coach. Kubiak has also put in time with the Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers in a variety of offensive roles. His experience as an offensive coordinator includes one year with the Vikings in addition to last season with the Saints.
More balanced offense
The big selling point for Kubiak is that he’s run a far more-balanced offensive attack in the past compared with Grubb. The Seahawks passed the ball on 61.2% of their plays this season, the fifth-highest mark in the NFL. By comparison, New Orleans only threw the ball on 54.5% of their offensive snaps. In 2021 the Vikings aired it out 57.4% of the time. Assuming Kubiak intends to continue the trend, it should take a lot of the pressure off of Geno Smith – or whoever winds up playing quarterback. Kubiak has also utilized more play action – a major missing component of Grubb’s scheme in 2024.
Recent results
While it was a more-balanced attack, the results for the Saints this year were disappointing. New Orleans ended the season ranked 24th in points per game (19.9) and 21st in total yardage. However, the context is important, and Kubiak didn’t have much to work with at the quarterback position. The Saints’ conservative veteran starter Derek Carr only started 10 games due to injuries. In his place, rookie Spencer Rattler threw more interceptions than touchdown passes and went 0-6 as the team’s starter. In Seattle Kubiak will have a far better option in the backfield with Geno Smith, in addition to a much stronger skill group than the Saints.
Another hire may be coming
While Kubiak has the offensive coordinator job locked down, the Seahawks may not be done with this particular search. Beat reporters for the team have suggested that the front office may pursue a two-pronged approach, with one assistant being in charge of the passing attack and another serving as the run game coordinator.
More Seahawks stories
Pete Carroll takes head coaching job for the Las Vegas Raiders
$51 million lineman named Seahawks’ most likely cap casualty
