Originally appeared at Steelers Now: Fast-Rising 49ers Mind Could be Perfect Fit for Steelers OC
The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to work along with their offensive coordinator interviews. They interviewed Thomas Brown on Wednesday in their first confirmed actual interview. But there are candidates from the 49ers, Lions, Ravens, and Chiefs that they can not talk to at least this week. So, that leaves out a few key names, but the biggest of note is Klint Kubiak.
Kubiak comes from a football-rich family as he is the son of Super Bowl 50-winning head coach Gary Kubiak. Currently serving as the 49ers passing game coordinator, Kubiak has offensive playcalling experience as he served that role for the Minnesota Vikings in 2021. During his lone season as an offensive coordinator, Kubiak guided the Vikings to the 12th-ranked offense in regards to total yardage and the 14th-ranked unit in terms of points scored.
He is someone that people have thrown out there multiple times before the search even started, with Peter King theorizing that Kubiak could make sense months ago.
“Think about the quarterback coach who’s really young or even the assistant quarterback coach or think about whatever, who’s got a commanding presence, who can command a room,” King said while appearing as a guest on The Cook & Joe Show on December 12. “Find a guy, and also find the guy who Sean McVay doesn’t want to lose. Find the guy who Kyle Shanahan doesn’t wanna lose. I am a fan of Klint Kubiak. I think he’s really smart, I think he has a lot of his father in him, and I think he’s got a lot of cutting edge in him as well.”
Kubiak holds the title of Passing Game Coordinator for the 49ers, who have created one of the most explosive passing games in the entire NFL. But they have done so through different means than most offenses. Like most teams, it is primarily oriented in the middle of the field attack. They utilize a ton of under-center play-action paired off wide zone. Like Sean McVay, the Shanahan scheme has also started incorporating more gap runs, so the continuity is all there.
The Shanahan tree has produced coaches like Mike McDaniel, Bobby Slowik, and others, lighting the NFL world on fire. Tomlin has a connection with Shanahan if he needs a reference, too. The 49ers head coach worked on the same Buccaneers staff as Tomlin in the mid-2000s. So, these guys know each other, which could be a connection that gets Tomlin to dip into that tree. Kubiak fits all the boxes Tomlin wants with a trendy scheme, too.
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