49ers to lose key offensive assistant to Saints after Super Bowl
By Peter Panacy
49ers offensive assistant Klint Kubiak is expected to join the Saints staff as their new offensive coordinator this offseason.
One of the side effects of boasting a perennial Super Bowl contender that regularly has both offenses and defenses in the top 10 on a yearly basis is that other teams love to purge talent.
With the San Francisco 49ers back in the Super Bowl, and being on the tail of three consecutive NFC Championship game appearances, it's understandable why other teams want to pluck away assistants from head coach Kyle Shanahan's staff.
The Niners already watched a number of their coaches and executives interview elsewhere, and assistant general manager Adam Peters is off to the Washington Commanders to become their new general manager.
Now, it appears as if Shanahan will lose another assistant from his offensive staff.
Klint Kubiak to depart 49ers for Saints' offensive coordinator role
Shanahan has remained San Francisco's offensive play-caller after Mike McDaniel vacated the role for the Miami Dolphins' head coaching vacancy in 2022.
However, one of Shanahan's assistants, passing game coordinator Klint Kubiak, became a rising name in NFL circles over the course of 2023. While Shanahan gets a lot of the credit for the 49ers boasting the league's third-best scoring offense, Kubiak also got some publicity with quarterback Brock Purdy and the pass game making serious headway, too.
Kubiak joined Shanahan's staff in 2023 after stints with the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings, two squads that were running Shanahan-like offenses.
According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Kubiak will be ending his Niners tenure after just one season, and he'll take over the vacant offensive coordinator job with the New Orleans Saints under head coach Dennis Allen:
The #Saints are expected to finalize a deal soon after Super Bowl LVIII to hire Klint Kubiak as their offensive coordinator, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 11, 2024
Kubiak — the 36-year-old son of former NFL coach Gary Kubiak — is currently the #49ers passing game coordinator. Next stop: New Orleans. pic.twitter.com/VlUtRyXqyB
With Kubiak's assistance, San Francisco's pass game averaged fourth best in total yards (4,384) and had a net average of 8.4 yards per attempt, which was best in the NFL.
Shanahan's tree has been able to overcome such losses of key assistants over the years, and it looks as if he and the 49ers will have to deal with yet another departure.
After the Super Bowl, of course.
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