Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald and general manager John Schneider finally have their man. According to the NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the team hired former New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to fill the same role in Seattle. This will be Kubiak's third stop as an OC.
Kubiak's previous stints as an OC were with the Minnesota Vikings in 2021 and the Saints in 2024. Both times, his teams suffered numerous injuries, which limited what Kubiak could do. He has the varied experience to allow him to know how to adjust, such as when he worked with Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers in 2023 as the team's passing game coordinator.
Kubiak is 37 years old and comes from a football family. He has spent his life in the sport. Plus, Kubiak's understanding of how to run the ball should mesh better with what Mike Macdonald wants to do.
Who won and who lost by the Seattle Seahawks hiring Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator
Winner - Running back Zach Charbonnet
It would be to add Kenneth Walker III here, too, but Walker's main issue has been staying healthy. There is a good chance that both Charbonnet and Walker see their production go up quite a bit. Assuming the offensive line (more on that in a second) stays healthy, Kubiak's scheme and experience working with coaches such as Shanahan should pay off big.
Charbonnet might not get 1,000 yards rushing as he will still likely have the second-most carries on the team behind Walker, but Charbonnet has shown the kind of versatility and power running game that should be highly effective in the offensive coordinator's pro-style scheme.
Winner - Quarterback Geno Smith
While the Vikings' offense was not top ten in the NFL when Kubiak was the OC in 2021, quarterback Kirk Cousins enjoyed some of his best seasons while Kubiak was the quarterbacks coach and then the offensive coordinator between 2019 and 2021. Under the tutelage of Kubiak, Cousins limited his turnovers while also throwing for at least 33 touchdowns twice. He made the Pro Bowl twice, too.
Kubiak knows how to help quarterbacks, especially ones who are getting older. Derek Carr was fine for the Saints in 2024 until injuries caused the offense to be a shell of itself. Smith is just the kind of quarterback that Kubiak will get to make smarter decisions and not be afraid to run when needed. The new OC might just be able to get Smith to play well enough to earn that extension he wants.
Loser - The offensive line
While Kubiak should know how to work well with the toys given to him, he has not been a position coach for tight ends or the offensive line. In other words, he hasn't dealt directly with the trenches, and this is where Seattle struggled the most in the last decade. Kubiak has not yet proven as an offensive coordinator that he can build an offensive line because he hasn't been an OC in any one place very long.
His lines also tend to underproduce. Though, to be fair, this could be due to the amount of injuries they suffered. This is especially true of the 2024 Saints team. Let's hope if Kubiak and Mike Macdonald hire a new O-line coach (assuming Scott Huff is not retained) that the new hire is a veteran line coach who knows how to adjust when injuries mount.
Winner - Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings was always going to succeed because of his talent, but Kubiak also knew the best situations to put Jefferson in. As Minnesota's OC in 2021, Jefferson had 1,616 yards receiving and a career-high 10 touchdown catches. Smith-Njigba is not at the same level as Jefferson, but he is not far off either.
The reason JSN is on this list and not DK Metcalf is that Smith-Njigba is a bit more versatile and can be moved from the slot to the outside in different sets. Plus, in 2024, JSN appears to have become the alpha in the Seahawks' receiving room, and that should only continue into the future. Smith-Njigba getting to 1,300 yards in 2025 under Kubiak would not be a surprise.