Matt Calkins: How Seahawks became an impressive resume for OC Klint Kubiak
Published in Football
SAN JOSE, Calif. — When he says he's just focused on the Super Bowl, you believe him. When he emphasizes that he's been waiting his whole life to coach in this game, you're confident he is not distracted.
But Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has almost certainly coached his last game in Seattle for the foreseeable future. Reports of his being set to fill the head-coaching vacancy with the Raiders have permeated the internet.
Kubiak didn't comment on that situation directly during his Super Bowl opening night availability Monday. It would be foolish of him to do so at this point.
But he did answer a question about his second round of interviews with Las Vegas — essentially saying he wasn't worried about the interview at all.
It was really easy because I didn't spend any extra time on it," said Kubiak, whose Seahawks are set to take on the Patriots in the Super Bowl on Sunday. "Your resume is always on your film. That's something my dad (former Super Bowl-winning Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak) always taught me — that you better not be sitting in your office thinking about interview questions, you better be thinking about how to win the game. That's what it comes down to is what the silent tape says."
So what does the tape say? What is the 19-game message it sends in Kubiak's sole season as the Seahawks' OC?
For starters, it will display how the Seahawks set a franchise record for points in a season with 483 — a mark it broke before the 17th game of the regular season. It will illustrate how a team ranked third in the NFL in scoring with one of the better pass/run balances in the league.
The Seahawks were eighth in yards in the air and 11th in yards on the ground in 2025. The offense featured the NFL's top receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, whose 1,793 yards were 663 more than he had last year. It showcased quarterback Sam Darnold, whose 8.5 yards per attempt were second in the league and the most in his career.
Anybody worried about the new-look offense that lost Geno Smith and DK Metcalf was quickly relieved of their stress. And though names such as Jaxon's or Sam's or head coach Mike Macdonald's have been getting ink all season long, the Kubiak hype has been mostly minimal.
It shouldn't have been.
"There's so many times throughout the year where, it's pretty sweet — he has something drawn up or he's doing something to exploit something, and it's like 'I don't know how you thought of that, but I never would have thought of that if you locked me in film room for 2000 hours,'" Seahawks guard Grey Zabel said.
You have to get others to talk about Klint if you're writing a story on him. Put a mic or a tape recorder in front of the 38-year-old Houston native, and he's about as colorful as a Charlie Chaplin flick.
But tell him to design a play or a scheme and he goes from vanilla to virtuoso. Some might have seen the Seahawks' defense — which led the NFL in points allowed — hitting its zenith this season. The way Macdonald turned that side of the ball around in his first season last year indicated as much.
Few, if anyone, would have predicted this offensive ascent. The man calling the plays deserves his share of credit for it — to the point where his players knew he was a short-timer.
"He's a maniac. And yeah, he's gonna be a head coach, and that's unfortunate for us and this organization, but that is what it is," said Seahawks receiver Jake Bobo last week, two days before the Raiders reports emerged. "It's incredibly easy to get open in this offense because he's getting you open."
It isn't uncommon for successful coordinators to interview for head coaching jobs during the postseason. It isn't terribly uncommon for them to land gigs while their team is still playing, either.
And though it might be fair to wonder if Kubiak has the gravitas to handle head coaching duties — you're as much of a CEO as you are a teacher or strategist in that role — one need not wonder about his creativity.
Macdonald said that what he appreciates about Kubiak is how, "He's a team player — that it's all about what's best for the team. Perhaps that's why Klint deflected any questions about Las Vegas on Monday to focus on the task at hand.
No doubt the Seahawks will miss Kubiak once he goes. He has been integral to their success this season.
But he's still enjoying his time with this team. Sunday, players and fans will get one last game to enjoy him.
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