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Klay Kubiak

Klay Kubiak Withdraws From HC Searches

By | at January 24, 2026 3:35 pm

Although he has been a candidate in multiple head coaching searches this month, 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak has removed himself from consideration, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. Kubiak will remain in San Francisco in 2026.

The 37-year-old Kubiak drew attention from the Steelers and Raiders in this winter’s hiring cycle. The news of Kubiak’s withdrawal came shortly before the Steelers agreed to hire Mike McCarthy as their head coach. Meanwhile, the Raiders haven’t found Pete Carroll’s replacement yet, but we know it won’t be Kubiak.

There’s still a possibility Klay’s brother, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, will land the Las Vegas job. Both Kubiaks have interviewed for the position. The Bills, Browns and Cardinals are the only other teams with vacancies.

A former Colorado State quarterback, Klay Kubiak has garnered all of his NFL coaching experience with the 49ers. He joined the organization as a defensive quality control coach in 2021. Kubiak spent the next two years as the 49ers’ assistant quarterbacks coach before working as their offensive passing game specialist in 2024.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan promoted Kubiak to offensive coordinator in 2025, a year in which the 49ers overcame a rash of key injuries to finish seventh in yards and 10th in scoring. Backup quarterback Mac Jones started in place of an injured Brock Purdy eight times, tight end George Kittle missed six games, wide receiver Ricky Pearsall sat out eight, and fellow wideout Brandon Aiyuk didn’t play at all.

Shanahan continued as the 49ers’ primary play-caller during their injury-ravaged 2025. Nevertheless, Kubiak is important enough to the coaching staff that Shanahan would block other teams from hiring him as an offensive coordinator.

“He’s our offensive coordinator, so I don’t know, why would you let him be somebody else’s offensive coordinator,” Shanahan said last week.

For his part, Kubiak prefers to continue working with Shanahan, according to Russini. Shanahan has been the 49ers’ head coach since 2017, but he has only given the OC title to Kubiak and Mike McDaniel. While McDaniel held the role for just one season before he left to become the Dolphins’ head coach in 2022, Kubiak is now poised for a multiyear stint. With another productive season in 2026, Kubiak may reemerge as a name to watch during next winter’s hiring cycle.

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Kyle Shanahan: 49ers Will Not Allow Lateral Move For OC Klay Kubiak

By | at January 18, 2026 10:21 pm

Like his brother Klint, 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak has received interest from multiple teams regarding their head coaching vacancy.

However, if another team comes calling after Kubiak for their offensive coordinator job, San Francisco intends to block such a move, even if it comes with play-calling duties.

“He’s our offensive coordinator, so I don’t know, why would you let him be somebody else’s offensive coordinator,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Saturday (via The Athletic’s Matt Barrows). He added that Kubiak “calls a lot of plays here,” suggesting that an offensive coordinator gig elsewhere may not offer him much more than his current role in San Francisco.

That may not be entirely accurate. Kubiak is only the second coach to hold the 49ers’ OC title in Shanahan’s tenure, and the head coach is still considered the team’s main play-caller. Getting out from under Shanahan’s shadow would allow Kubiak to be the primary architect of his own offense. He could demonstrate his ability to bring one of the league’s signature offensive schemes and even add his own wrinkles to further establish his own identity. Success in that role, particularly as a full-time play-caller, would boost Kubiak’s resume for potential future head coaching opportunities.

It seems, though, that he will not get that chance. Kubiak could petition the 49ers to let him out of his contract for a lateral move to another offensive coordinator gig, but the team does not have to oblige him. If that remains their stance, Kubiak may have to wait out his current deal or wait for an offer for a head coaching job to land with a different team. Shanahan’s only other offensive coordinator in the past nine years, Mike McDaniel, was able to vault directly into the Dolphins’ head coaching job without a stint elsewhere, so the potential is certainly there for Kubiak, too.

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Raiders Schedule Interviews With Joe Brady, Klay Kubiak

By | at January 16, 2026 7:57 pm

The Raiders continue to move forward with their first round of head coaching interviews, scheduling time this Sunday for Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady and 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. After the team finishes interviewing the Rams’ coordinators today, they will have conducted 10 head coaching interviews, making Brady and Kubiak the 11th and 12th interviewees of their extensive search.

Brady has been a bit busier than Kubiak so far in this year’s coaching cycle. Including Las Vegas, Brady has been tied to five of the nine open coaching positions since Black Monday, though he hasn’t interviewed anywhere yet. He had been tied to the Giants job that has now gone to John Harbaugh, pending signed agreements, and the Dolphins requested an interview. He has his first interviews also scheduled for Sunday, when he will somehow fit in time with the Falcons and Ravens, in addition to Vegas.

Brady’s rise has been fairly meteoric from his humble beginnings. A Miami-area-native, Brady somehow found himself playing college wide receiver in Virginia at William & Mary, only catching three balls in four years. Following his graduation, he remained with his alma mater to coach the linebackers, staying two seasons before taking up a graduate assistant role for two years at Penn State. Following his time with the Nittany Lions, Brady made his NFL coaching debut as an offensive assistant for the Saints.

After two years in that role, Brady made his way up I-10 to Baton Rouge, where his role as passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach helped Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and the rest of the 2019 LSU Tigers win their first national championship in 12 years. His single-year success with the Tigers led to his first offensive coordinator opportunity at any level when he landed with the Panthers. Though he showed promise early in his first season as a coordinator, landing five head coaching interviews in its wake, regression in Year 2 led a desperate Matt Rhule to fire his offensive coordinator midseason.

Brady rebounded by landing a job as the quarterbacks coach in Buffalo, eventually stepping up into a role as the Bills’ offensive coordinator, following the dismissal of Ken Dorsey. The Brady/Josh Allen offense has proven to be incredibly successful. Last year, a balanced attack helped Allen win his first MVP award. This past season, a middling passing attack was bolstered by the NFL’s No. 1 rushing offense. Brady had gotten a bit of head coaching interest after his first year as OC in Buffalo, interviewing with the Bears and Jaguars and planning to interview with the Saints and Jets before they named their head coaching hires.

Kubiak’s rise has been meteoric in its own right. The same year Brady went from playing college ball to coaching it, Kubiak went from English master’s graduate to high school offensive coordinator. He would eventually be promoted to high school head coach, before making his NFL debut — following in the footsteps of his father and two brothers — as a defensive quality control coach for the 49ers in 2021. Since then, Kubiak has gradually worked his way up the ranks in San Francisco, becoming assistant quarterbacks coach the next year, offensive passing game specialist in 2024, and offensive coordinator for this season.

That Kubiak is getting head coaching interest after only his first year of coordinator experience at the NFL-level is impressive, but given the number of candidates in the field, his first offseason in the head coaching cycle is likely to end like Brady’s did. The Steelers were the first team to bring Kubiak’s name into the cycle with an interview request. Nothing has been announced as scheduled for Pittsburgh, though, so unless they get him in before Sunday, Vegas will be hosting Kubiak’s first interview.

Here’s a look at how the Raiders’ search is shaping up so far:

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Steelers Request HC Interview With 49ers OC Klay Kubiak

By | at January 15, 2026 5:19 pm

Klint Kubiak is one of the most popular names in this year’s hiring cycle. Now, his brother is starting to generate some interest. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the Steelers have requested an interview with 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak for their head coaching vacancy.

Kubiak started his NFL coaching career in 2021, when he joined Kyle Shanahan‘s 49ers staff as a defensive quality control coach. He quickly earned a promotion to assistant quarterbacks coach, and after two years in that role, he was named the team’s offensive passing game specialist.

The 49ers operated without an offensive coordinator after Mike McDaniel left for the Dolphins in 2022. But with Shanahan deciding to shake up his staff last offseason, Kubiak earned a promotion to offensive coordinator.

The 49ers offense improved their points total in 2025 despite dealing with a number of injuries on offense. The team had to turn to backup QB Mac Jones for nearly half their games, with the signal-caller guiding the squad to a 5-3 record. Former first-round receiver Ricky Pearsall found himself in and out of the lineup, and tight end George Kittle missed a handful of games. Plus, the 49ers navigated the entire season without one of their highest-paid offensive weapons in Brandon Aiyuk.

Thanks to the surprising showing from the depleted 49ers offense, Kubiak is now generating interest from the Steelers for their head coaching vacancy. His father, Gary Kubiak, had multiple stints as an NFL head coach, while his brother, Klint Kubiak, has been connected to nearly every vacancy after guiding the Seahawks offense to one of the league’s top performances in 2025.

Now, Klay will garner his first HC interview, and he joins a growing list of candidates to replace Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh. While Kubiak doesn’t have the same resume as some of his competitors for the job, the Steelers haven’t been afraid of hiring inexperienced coaches in the past. Tomlin only served one season as a defensive coordinator before earning Pittsburgh’s HC job.

Kubiak is now the eighth coach to garner an interview request from the Steelers:

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2026 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

By | at January 7, 2026 9:50 pm

The Browns, Cardinals, Falcons and Raiders followed the Giants and Titans in firing head coaches, making those calls between the Week 18 conclusion and Black Monday. The Ravens then moved on from John Harbaugh after 18 seasons; two days later, the Dolphins canned Mike McDaniel. Following a wild-card loss, the Steelers and Mike Tomlin are separating after 19 years. Now, after an overtime divisional-round loss in Denver, Sean McDermott is out in Buffalo.

The 10 HC openings are tied with 1978, 1997, 2006 and 2022 for the most in one year. Here are the candidates connected to all those searches. If more teams make changes, they will be added to the list.

Updated 2-1-26 (4:00pm CT)

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

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49ers To Promote Klay Kubiak To OC; Brian Griese No Longer On Staff

By | at February 26, 2025 8:05 am

FEBRUARY 26: Griese has decided to leave coaching after three seasons, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch reports. The former NFL starter, 49, had weighed leaving after his first season with the 49ers but opted to keep going. Two years later, Purdy’s position coach is leaving the profession.

FEBRUARY 25: The 49ers are following through with their expected OC plan. They will promote Klay Kubiak to the post, according to a team announcement. That will give the NFC West two second-generation Kubiaks as OCs.

Klint‘s Seattle role will differ from Klay’s San Francisco description, as Kyle Shanahan will remain the 49ers’ play-caller. However, the 49ers are making a notable change just south of the OC level. Mick Lombardi is moving up to QBs coach, replacing Brian Griese.

To comply with the Rooney Rule, the 49ers interviewed Iowa State wide receivers coach Noah Pauley for the job. They also met with Oregon assistant Junior Adams, The Athletic’s Matt Barrows tweets. Adams has since taken over as the Cowboys’ wide receivers coach. This non-play-calling post was always expected to go to Klay Kubiak, who has been with the team since 2021.

This will mark a climb for the younger Kubiak brother, who was the team’s assistant QBs coach in 2023 and a pass-game specialist last season. Shanahan has not always filled his OC position, last using the title before Mike McDaniel‘s exit in 2021. While Shanahan will still run the show, Kubiak moving up a rung is somewhat consequential. He will be in place as the accomplished HC’s right-hand man on offense. That role has produced HC and play-calling opportunities in the recent past.

The Lombardi-for-Griese move changes out second-generation NFL personnel. This brings about an interesting development for Griese, who turned down the chance to interview for the Jets’ HC position earlier this offseason. The former QB-turned-announcer-turned-assistant was with the 49ers for three seasons, moving straight from the Monday Night Football booth to Shanahan’s staff. Griese was in place when Brock Purdy made a stunning surge from Mr. Irrelevant to late-season injury replacement to Super Bowl starter who went toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes. It will be interesting to see where Griese lands next.

After Michael Lombardi followed Bill Belichick to North Carolina, his son will reemerge in a prominent NFL role. Fired after 1 1/2 seasons as Raiders OC under Josh McDaniels, Mick Lombardi landed as a senior offensive assistant for the 49ers last season. The ex-Patriots staffer will work more closely with Purdy in 2025. This will be Lombardi’s first QBs coaching role at any level.

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2025 NFL Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker

By | at January 26, 2025 9:57 pm

Last year, half the league changed up at offensive and defensive coordinator. As most HC-needy teams have now filled their open positions, the coordinator carousel has accelerated. Here is how the market looks now. When other teams make changes, they will be added to the list.

Updated 2-21-25 (1:59pm CT)

Offensive coordinators

Chicago Bears (Out: Chris Beatty)

Cleveland Browns (Out: Ken Dorsey)

Dallas Cowboys (Out: Brian Schottenheimer)

Detroit Lions (Out: Ben Johnson)

  • John Morton, pass-game coordinator (Broncos): Hired

Houston Texans (Out: Bobby Slowik)

Jacksonville Jaguars (Out: Press Taylor)

Las Vegas Raiders 

New England Patriots (Out: Alex Van Pelt)

New Orleans Saints (Out: Klint Kubiak)

New York Jets (Out: Nathaniel Hackett)

Philadelphia Eagles (Out: Kellen Moore)

  • Kevin Patullo, pass-game coordinator (Eagles): Promoted

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks (Out: Ryan Grubb)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Out: Liam Coen)

Defensive coordinators

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Jimmy Lake)

Chicago Bears (Out: Eric Washington)

Cincinnati Bengals (Out: Lou Anarumo)

Dallas Cowboys (Out: Mike Zimmer)

Detroit Lions (Out: Aaron Glenn)

  • Larry Foote, inside linebackers coach (Buccaneers): Interviewed
  • Kelvin Sheppard, linebackers coach (Lions): Promoted

Indianapolis Colts (Out: Gus Bradley)

Jacksonville Jaguars (Out: Ryan Nielsen)

  • Anthony Campanile, linebackers coach/running game coordinator (Packers): Hired
  • Jonathan Cooley, pass-game coordinator (Panthers): Interview requested
  • Patrick Graham, former defensive coordinator (Raiders): Interviewed 1/27
  • Daronte Jones, defensive pass-game coordinator (Vikings): Interviewed 1/27
  • Aubrey Pleasant, defensive pass-game coordinator (Rams): Interviewed 1/28

Las Vegas Raiders 

New England Patriots (Out: DeMarcus Covington)

  • Ryan Crow, outside linebackers coach (Dolphins): Interviewed 1/21
  • Terrell Williams, defensive line coach (Lions): Hired

New Orleans Saints (Out: Joe Woods)

New York Jets (Out: Jeff Ulbrich)

  • Chris Harris, former defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator (Titans): Interviewed 1/29
  • Steve Wilks, former defensive coordinator (49ers): To be hired

San Francisco 49ers (Out: Nick Sorensen)

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49ers Interview Noah Pauley For OC Job

By | at January 13, 2025 8:19 pm

The 49ers “search” for a new offensive coordinator appears to be a formality before the team inevitably promotes Klay Kubiak to the role. However, as the team complies with the NFL’s required process (which includes the Rooney Rule), they’re taking a look at some outside options. The team announced that they interviewed Noah Pauley for the job today.

Pauley made a name for himself during his time at North Dakota State. He served as the team’s pass game coordinator while helping coach eventual third-overall pick Trey Lance and All-American wide receiver (and eventual second-round pick) Christian Watson.

He most recently coached wide receivers and served as pass game coordinator at Iowa State. Jaylin Noel (80 catches, 1,194 yards, eight touchdowns) and Jayden Higgins (87 catches, 1,183 yards, nine touchdowns) both had standout seasons under Pauley’s tutelage. The coach also briefly worked with the Packers through the NFL’s Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan revealed the other day that Kubiak, who most recently served as the team’s offensive passing game specialist (and de facto OC), would earn a promotion to the full-time coordinator role this offseason. However, the NFL quickly stepped in, informing the organization that they had to comply to the open-search process before naming someone in the role. This also meant the 49ers had to include at least two minority candidates in accordance with the NFL’s Rooney Rule.

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49ers Seeking New OC; Shanahan Still Calling Plays

By | at January 8, 2025 3:15 pm

JANUARY 10: NFL rules will not permit the 49ers to promote passing game specialist Klint Kubiak to offensive coordinator, per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. Since the position was previously closed, San Francisco will have to conduct an open search process. Shanahan previously said that Kubiak has been the 49ers’ de facto OC for the last two years, but that will not allow the team to skirt league rules regarding hire processes.

Kubiak will certainly be the team’s top candidate for the job, but they will have to interview outside candidates in the coming weeks. That will have to include at least two minority candidates in accordance with the NFL’s Rooney Rule.

JANUARY 8: The 49ers are planning to promote Klay Kubiak to offensive coordinator, per NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco, though head coach Kyle Shanahan said that he will retain play-calling duties.

Kubiak, who was the offensive passing game specialist in 2024, will become the 49ers’ first coach since Mike McDaniel to hold the title.

There could be several reasons for Kubiak’s promotion. The title bump, which likely comes with a pay increase, may be an attempt to keep Kubiak from considering offensive coordinator jobs with other teams. Despite a myriad of injuries, the 49ers still finished with the fourth-most passing yards in the league this year, despite ranking 22nd in total passing attempts.

The 49ers could be trying to help their young coach’s career. A year of OC experience could increase Kubiak’s chances of drawing head coaching interest in next year’s hiring cycle. McDaniel was San Francisco’s offensive coordinator during the 2021 season before he was hired as the head coach in Miami.

Shanahan could also want to spend more time with the defense after falling to 29th in points allowed this season after three straight finishes in the top 10. He mentioned Brandon Staley – currently the 49ers’ assistant head coach – as an option to replace defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen, per the Bay Area News Group’s Cam Inman. Sorensen will not have a second year as DC, but could return to the team as special teams coordinator.

Since the 49ers missed the playoffs for the first time since 2020, they will have more time to interview coaching candidates in the coming weeks.

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49ers Makes Additions, Promotions To Coaching Staff

By | at May 24, 2024 9:58 pm

The 49ers were spared much of the poaching that occurred to other coaching staffs around the league this offseason, but that doesn’t mean there were no changes to be made in San Francisco. Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area noted some changes to the team’s coaching staff this week.

In 2023, the offensive line was guided by offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Foerster and assistant offensive line coaches James Cregg and Joe Graves. While Foerster and Graves remain in their roles from last season, Cregg departed to take the offensive line coaching job in Las Vegas. Filling Cregg’s role as the second assistant offensive line coach in 2024 will be Cameron Clemmons. Clemmons most recently served as assistant offensive line coach for the Raiders, so he’ll be swapping places with Cregg.

Another staffer who departed this offseason was offensive passing game specialist Klint Kubiak, who accepted the new offensive coordinator gig in New Orleans. Taking Klint’s spot as offensive passing game specialist will be his younger brother, Klay Kubiak. Klay joined the 49ers staff in 2021 as a defensive quality control coach before spending the past two seasons as assistant quarterbacks coach. The two brothers are sons to former NFL head coach Gary Kubiak, who has three sons working in the NFL today. Kubiak’s third son, Klein Kubiak, is a national scout for the Cowboys.

Lastly on offense, we had reported the team’s addition of former Raiders offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi back in March. While a title at the time had not been divulged, Maiocco now informs us that Lombardi will serve as senior offensive assistant in 2024.

On defense, the only update provided by Maiocco concerned K.J. Wright, who was announced to be joining the 49ers staff for his first coaching gig after serving as a member of the rival Seahawks defense for 10 years as a linebacker. The initial report listed Wright as the team’s new assistant linebackers coach. Instead, it appears that Wright’s title will officially be defensive quality control coach, though he will almost certainly be focused on San Francisco’s linebacking corps.

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