In 2021, Klint Kubiak was hired as the Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator and was fired the following offseason.
In 2022, Kubiak became a midseason play-caller for the Denver Broncos and was fired the following offseason.
In 2024, Kubiak was hired to be the New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator and...
He’ll have to wait to see if the Rule of Three applies.
“I know one thing,” Kubiak said. “That I want to be a Saint.”
If the pattern holds, though, Kubiak will be out of a job after getting a chance to call plays for only one year. While Kubiak is under contract for 2025, the Saints will conduct a head coaching search after the season concludes with Sunday’s road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — which means Kubiak’s fate could come down to whether the next coach wants to retain him.
Holdovers from staff to staff are rare, but they do happen. Dave Canales elected to keep defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero when he took the Carolina Panthers’ job in 2024, and the Colts held onto defensive coordinator Gus Bradley when Shane Steichen was hired in 2023. And in New Orleans, following Sean Payton’s exit in 2022, former coach Dennis Allen initially kept Pete Carmichael as his offensive coordinator and Darren Rizzi as his special-teams coordinator.
Whoever the Saints hire next will have to determine whether Kubiak has done enough to stick around.
“Listen, there might not be a coach in the building more affected than him by the circumstances,” said Rizzi, now the Saints’ interim coach after taking over for Allen.
Those circumstances include a rash of injuries. This season, the Saints offense was decimated — starting quarterback Derek Carr was available for only 10 games, and top players like center Erik McCoy (seven games), wide receiver Chris Olave (eight games) and tight end Taysom Hill (eight games) also missed extended stretches. Week after week, Kubiak had to draw up plays and formulate game plans without his best players available.
The injuries are why it can be difficult to read too much into the Saints’ final stats. When compared to last year, New Orleans has actually averaged fewer points per game (from 23.6 to 19.9) and yards (337.2 to 321.9). But the 2023 Saints were healthier than this year’s group, and those stats improve in the games Carr was available.
In the 10 contests the Saints had their normal starting quarterback, the Saints averaged 24.5 points and 350.1 yards per game — which would be good for ninth and 13th in the NFL over a full season. There was no better way to show what Kubiak’s unit could be capable of than the first two weeks — when the offense put up 40-plus points in back-to-back weeks.
But even without those explosive outings, New Orleans’ rushing attack significantly improved and incorporated play action and motion at higher rates than under Carmichael.
Rizzi said Kubiak has done a “great job” working with the pieces that he’s had, noting his creativity from game to game. This season, the Saints have successfully executed trick plays like Cedrick Wilson’s 21-yard touchdown pass and a double pass that hit Foster Moreau for a score.
And as creative as Kubiak can be, the coach has connected with players by stressing the finer details of the game, too.
“The thing about Klint I like the most is he expects a lot out of his players because he trusts them,” tight end Juwan Johnson said. “I know (against the Las Vegas Raiders), he’s expecting a lot out of me because he knows the player I can be, and the kind of player that I am.”
On Thursday, Kubiak declined to discuss how he’d approach the offseason other than to say he hopes he sticks around. In theory, his chances to do so could improve if the Saints elect to retain Rizzi or hire someone with a defensive-minded background.
Hiring someone like Detroit’s Ben Johnson or Buffalo’s Joe Brady — both offensive coordinators who would likely come with their own offensive schemes — would diminish the chance Kubiak returns.
If Kubiak is fired and lands another job elsewhere, that’ll mark the fourth straight offseason he’ll have moved with his family. In between his stint in Denver and New Orleans, the 37-year-old spent a year in San Francisco as the 49ers’ pass-game coordinator under Kyle Shanahan. Unlike his stints as an offensive coordinator, Kubiak did not call plays with the 49ers.
Kubiak said it’s been a “blessing” to lead an offense — no matter how many games he gets. And he said he’s appreciative for every chance he’s received, given the uncertainty involved.
“Quite frankly, as a dad, it’s tough,” Kubiak said. “It’s not fun as a dad to move your family around. I can’t thank my wife enough and my kids enough for being so awesome and being there with me. ... It gets me emotional just thinking about it.
“Your family puts up with some tough stuff, but everybody’s got tough parts of their job, and that’s the tough part of ours.”
