The offensive coordinator search might continue for a while yet but the thought occured to me — maybe the Seahawks have identified their key target?

Klint Kubiak was granted permission to interview with them today, as the Saints continue their search for a new Head Coach. He interviewed with the Browns yesterday.

There aren’t many obvious candidates out there in this hiring cycle. The ‘under pressure’ offensive-minded Head Coaches — Brian Daboll, Mike McDaniel — kept their jobs. Doug Pederson doesn’t feel like someone who wants to rush into a coordinator gig, especially after discussing the possibility of retirement recently.

Brian Schottenheimer isn’t returning after leaving the Cowboys. Brock Huard revealed on 710 Seattle Sports this morning that his family refused to move to Seattle during his time with the Seahawks and built a house in Tennessee as a base instead. It was suggested it was highly unlikely he would return to the PNW.

A lot of the touted names have no existing NFL play-calling experience. That’s a risky proposition, given the Seahawks are already 0/1 with offensive coordinators lacking such experience.

Kubiak has done it, with the Broncos and the Saints. It will not be a new experience for him to come in and call plays for the Seahawks.

His father Gary Kubiak was the Ravens offensive coordinator in 2014. That happened to be Mike Macdonald’s first year in the NFL, acting as a coaching intern in Baltimore. The season was a roaring success — the Ravens had their best offensive performance for 19 years with quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Justin Forsett achieving career single-season highs in yards and touchdowns.

Off the back of that season, Gary was appointed Head Coach of the Broncos and won a Super Bowl the following year.

I’ve no idea what exposure Macdonald had to Kubiak Sr in 2014 but he’ll be well aware of the success he had in Baltimore.

I found this interview with Kubiak Jr at draft time a year ago after joining the Saints. He took on the job running the offense for a defensive-minded Head Coach — an identical situation to Seattle’s.

A couple of quotes stood out. Firstly, a comment on how he’ll approach the job:

“We’re going to be really detailed in our process with the guys and be good teachers.”

I think this is very similar to the answer Mike Macdonald gave when he became the Seahawks Head Coach. Also, being detail-driven is so important as an offensive coordinator. Hearing Kubiak note that was interesting.

Next, here’s a quote on his philosophy:

“That’s going to be determined on our players. We have a base system we’ll put in, we have some strong feelings on how we want to run the ball and how we want to use play-action but at the end of the day it’s going to be getting a good feel for what our guys do well and then carrying that into the game-plan on Sunday.”

The glaring comment is how he immediately goes to the running game and play-action. However, did you also note how he mentioned their plan will be dictated by their players? That is exactly what Macdonald said about Seattle’s defense when he took over a year ago.

The point I’m getting at here is they sound like they’ll chime in a way Macdonald didn’t with Grubb.

Kubiak has worked within the Mike Shanahan-scheme and directly coached for the 49ers under Kyle before moving to New Orleans. Jason Puckett made a good point recently that Macdonald should probably hire from the scheme that he feels challenges him the most. That could easily be the Mike Shanahan system, developed and evolved by the likes of Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay.

It’s also worth mentioning Kubiak’s previous jobs. In New Orleans he worked with a veteran quarterback in Derek Carr. It might’ve been an injury-hit year for Carr but when he played he typically played well. He ranked 8th among quarterbacks per PFF grading, had a quarterback rating of 101 and threw 15 touchdowns compared to five interceptions.

When Carr was unavailable, Kubiak was able to help rookie Spencer Rattler have some degree of success given he was thrown into the fire playing for a team ravaged by injury.

He was also the passing game coordinator during a strong 2023 season for Brock Purdy and worked with pending free agent Sam Darnold that year too. So whether the Seahawks want him to work with the experienced Geno Smith, a rookie, or an alternative veteran like Darnold, he can lean on past experience.

Maybe he’s the one they’ve got their heart set on for the job? Mike Garafolo more or less wrote-off Thomas Brown as a candidate last week on Puck Sports. It’s always difficult to frame it this way but the Seahawks were obliged to interview a minority candidate to comply with the Rooney Rule. Hank Fraley is a great candidate to speak to and you might be wowed by him. Part of me wonders though if it was a fact-finding mission about Detroit’s approach to the offensive line, while also giving a good candidate a shot to impress. The problem is — if Detroit makes it to the Super Bowl (a fair bet) — are you willing to wait until after that game to appoint a new offensive coordinator? That’s weeks away.

We may learn about further candidates this week, especially with other teams exiting the playoffs. However, I think the Seahawks might prefer to sort something out quickly. It makes sense — to get their ducks in a row, plan ahead for the off-season, establish their schemes and not sit around waiting for ages. It’s only worth waiting if you’re waiting for a great candidate. Does anyone fit the bill who you currently can’t speak to? I’m not convinced.

Kubiak interviewed with Cleveland yesterday, having worked with Kevin Stefanski previously in Minnesota. Today, the Browns promoted Tommy Rees to offensive coordinator instead. It could be indicative of where this is heading. Kubiak could still choose to wait and see what happens with the Saints. If they appoint Aaron Glenn as Head Coach, they might try to keep Kubiak as offensive coordiantor (although Glenn might have his own man in mind).

It’s also possible he might prefer to stay in the South. His family is based in Houston given his dad’s considerable time with the Texans. He talked about the benefit of that recently — but it was almost in a reflective ‘that was a positive while it lasted’ tone.

For what it’s worth I think it would be a good hire. Having someone who has called plays before would be a positive. He seems like someone who will mesh with Macdonald. Kyle Shanahan really rates him and the Saints got off to a great start in 2024 before injuries derailed everything.

My only hope is they adjust their approach to the offensive line. I like what McVay has done with the Rams, pivoting to bigger people-movers up front. That’s the kind of line I want. Big, aggressive, physical blockers who get off the ball and finish. I don’t want finesse. If McVay can pivot, why can’t anyone running that type of offense?

EDIT — The Seahawks have now requested an interview with Grant Udinski from the Vikings. I was reading about him last night, after studying this list of top-40 NFL coaches under 40. I found this very interesting article about him which is worth checking out. It seems like he’s destined for big things.

A final point today. I mentioned above the possibility of the Seahawks signing Darnold. Many will shudder at the thought after the playoff game against the Rams. Here’s what I’d say about that. It was admittedly a horrific performance. However, it likely tanked his earning potential. Bizarrely, he might now be reasonably priced — especially for a quarterback who just led his team to a 14-win season, throwing 35 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions.

If Geno Smith is minded to push for commitment from the Seahawks in the way of a big salary and term, Darnold — who for me is a similar standard of player — could provide a cheaper, younger alternative. It’s not ideal and he might not be the long-term answer. I’ll say it again though — younger and potentially cheaper.

It’s also worth remembering that two years ago, Geno Smith himself had a disappointing playoff defeat against the 49ers. The Seahawks lost 41-23. He threw an interception and finished 25/35 for 253 yards (two touchdowns). Darnold’s performance was worse against LA but he finished 25/40 for 245 yards, a touchdown and a pick. These are similar passing numbers. The big difference between the two was the sacks — Darnold took far too many avoidable ones including a fumble-scoop-and-score for a defensive touchdown.

No doubt if the Seahawks sign him, they’ll need to improve their offensive line. But they need to do that anyway.

Today two things are true — Darnold is far more likely to reach the market and he’ll be cheaper than many expected a few weeks ago. His last act for the Vikings was a bitterly disappointing performance but the fact is, he is an alternative to Smith for the Seahawks.