Incoming Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak reflected on what he called an ‘eye-opening experience’ working with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan:
It’s a brand new day for the New Orleans Saints: Klint Kubiak is expected to be introduced as the team’s new offensive coordinator soon, having agreed to terms with the team after two weeks of negotiations. A former play caller for the Minnesota Vikings (in 2021) and Denver Broncos (briefly, in 2022), he’s spent the last year learning from one of the best as San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s pass game specialist.
“Just being here a year, my experience is, Kyle really lets you into his brain in his game plan meetings,” Kubiak told the MMQB’s Albert Breer. While Shanahan has the final say on play calling and game planning, he uses a collaborative process to allow assistants like Kubiak the opportunity to share their input.
Kubiak continued: “He’s thinking out loud in what he’s looking for and what he wants to attack, the players he wants to attack certain coverages with. He’s such a bright coach. Just to be around him, you soak in things that are important to him and things he uses to make decisions. I would say he’s very forthcoming with his assistants, and he also is very challenging with us. He demands a lot out of us and gets the most out of us.”
Shanahan asks a lot of his assistants, which Kubiak says can get intense. But it’s a process that everyone in the room can learn from. And when you’re competing on a team with Super Bowl aspirations, there’s going to be tension. High expectations bring heightened pressure.
“There’s pressure, but what I’ve found is it’s good pressure,” Kubiak added. “You better have a Plan A, a Plan B and a Plan C, and you better know why you’re bringing up what you’re bringing up. It’s all for the right reasons.”
And one of the most critical lessons Kubiak learned from Shanahan: make life easy for y our quarterback. Just like Shanahan made things easy for Brock Purdy to lead an advanced offense, Kubiak understands the importance of putting Derek Carr into a position to succeed, where his quarterback should never feel boxed-in by the defense. There should always be an open receiver, a blocker picking up the blitz, and an opportunity to keep the play alive.
“It’s all for the quarterback to get the most successful play you can give him with the most answers. It’s been a really eye-opening experience, a really positive experience. I’m just lucky to be a part of it.” Kubiak finished.
The Saints are betting big on Kubiak. Head coach Dennis Allen is putting his job on the line with this hire. If Kubiak can sustain the progress Carr found late last season and build on it, while Allen continues to field a tough defense, there’s no reason the team should fall short of the playoffs. But if they can’t reach the postseason after having Allen and general manager Mickey Loomis tell anyone who will listen that this is a team ready for the playoffs (three years in a row), well: bigger changes will be needed in 2025.
And that’s the pressure everyone should be feeling going into the 2024 season. But as Kubiak said, that can be good pressure. This Saints team has underachieved for far too long. They’re holding themselves to higher standards than second- and third-place finishes in the NFL’s worst division. It’s past time they start meeting those expectations. Bringing in an innovative play caller like Kubiak should be the first step in the long journey towards that goal.
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