The 49ers officially announced Klay Kubiak's promotion to offensive coordinator for 2025, meaning he'll have a chance to speak up.
During his end-of-season presser, head coach Kyle Shanahan dropped the news he was planning on promoting his offensive pass-game specialist, Klay Kubiak, to offensive coordinator in 2025.
Of course, the Niners had to go through the required steps of the Rooney Rule, interviewing minority candidates. But, the job offer was there in everything but official announcement.
Once San Francisco announced its coaching staff changes for the upcoming season, Kubiak's promotion went official.
It's not unlike what Shanahan did with another former assistant not too long ago, now-Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who served on the 49ers head coach's staff from 2017 through 2020 as the offensive run-game coordinator before taking on an offensive coordinator title in 2021.
Without question, McDaniel's lone season as coordinator helped land him his current gig in South Florida.
For Kubiak and the Niners, though, his promotion checks off a couple of boxes, including one very simple one that'll be easily noticeable this upcoming season.
Klay Kubiak is the 49ers' new voice in the room
To what degree Kubiak will call plays this upcoming season isn't known. What is known, however, is Shanahan handed over play-calling duties to Kubiak during the 2024 preseason and regular-season finale.
Previously, Shanahan handled all offensive calls (including when McDaniel was offensive coordinator), although it's not clear whether or not that trend will continue this season. It does, however, suggest the head coach is at least modestly comfortable with someone else running his offense.
But the bigger change will be one fans and and analysts can clearly see.
Once training camp rolls around, then into and throughout the regular season, Kubiak will partake in weekly interviews with the press. As McDaniel offered up his own insight and takes (plus a unique personality) back in 2021, it'll now be Kubiak's turn to share his thoughts on a weekly basis once football kicks back into full swing.
Now, it's fair to wonder whether or not Kubiak will be as entertaining as McDaniel was.
Either way, it'll no longer just be Kubiak bending Shanahan's ear behind closed doors. The former's perspective will be available for everyone to hear this upcoming season.
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