There is some pressure on New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen in 2024. He has been at the helm for the last two seasons, taking over for Sean Payton. The team has not made the playoffs yet and has gone 16-18 over that span.
Another playoff-less season and Allen could be looking for a new job during the 2025 offseason. One of the things the Saints need to do better this upcoming season is play more consistently on offense.
The man tasked with that job will be new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Allen is excited to see what he brings to the table and believes that the system Kubiak is going to run is among the best in the NFL.
“I felt like Klint Kubiak was obviously the person of choice,” Allen said. “I’ve known Klint for a long time. I feel like I’ve known the family for probably over 20, 30 years. I remember watching Klint’s dad, Gary, play quarterback back at Texas A&M growing up. I feel like I’ve known this family. I feel like I’ve known this scheme for a long time. And I feel like this is the best scheme that gives your players the best chance to have success that’s going in the National Football League right now.”
His name will be familiar to a lot of people as he is the son of Gary Kubiak. Only 37 years old, Klint has plenty of experience coaching in the NFL.
He began his journey in 2016 as an offensive assistant with the Denver Broncos, where he was for three seasons. He moved on to the Minnesota Vikings in 2019 as quarterbacks coach. In 2021, he was elevated to offensive coordinator following the retirement of Gary.
In 2022, he returned to the Broncos, taking over the as the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Nathaniel Hackett. Midway through the season, he was calling plays once again on that sinking ship with Hackett having one of the worst head coach tenures in NFL history.
Last season, Kubiak was the passing game coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers and now he is taking over the Saints offense. His biggest takes in New Orleans will be getting the most out of Derek Carr and Allen is confident he and his staff will make the most of it.
“I think Derek is going to do exceptionally well,” Allen said. “I thought there was a point in time this past season where we started incorporating a little more of the play-action passing game, and I really felt like that’s where our offense started to take off. I thought that’s where Derek really kind of started to take off. I’ve had communication with Derek throughout this process and talked to him about some of the different candidates that we were bringing in.
“His brother David had played for Gary in Houston, and that was David’s last year in Houston. I was a little bit concerned that maybe that wouldn’t go over that great, and David had some really good things to say about the offensive scheme and about how he really appreciated the scheme and the things that they were doing. And really enjoyed playing for Gary and felt like if there’s some similarities, which I think there’s a ton between Gary and Klint, that it was gonna be a great fit. So I’m really kind of excited about that.”
There is a lot of pressure on Kubiak to succeed, as he doesn’t want this to be a one-and-done job. If he produces, the Saints should win plenty of games in 2024, leading to some job security for him and Allen moving forward.
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