Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak speaks to the media ahead of Super Bowl LX.
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Despite coming in with a stronger financial offer, the Arizona Cardinals never had much of a chance to hire Klint Kubiak.
Following an extensive coaching search, the Arizona Cardinals will move forward with Mike LaFleur as their next head coach. But the Cardinals had a different NFC West offensive coordinator as their top candidate.
NFL insider Jason LaCanfora reported more on Arizona’s attempts to lure in Klint Kubiak.
La Canfora wrote, “The franchise, notorious for being beyond frugal when it comes to coaching expenditures, were also willing to make a significant allotment to his salary and his assistants, but Kubiak chose the Raiders instead, a decision that was not particularly difficult, according to some involved in the process.”
Ultimately, Kubiak chose the Las Vegas Raiders. The Cardinals immediately pivoted to LaFleur. But perhaps the most stinging remark for Arizona was that the decision was not particularly difficult.
But it also sounds like the Cardinals put a full-court press. One NFL general manager who also looked into hiring Kubiak told La Canfora, “They would have done whatever they could to get him, but it wasn’t going to happen. They would have waited as long as it took. And then they had to scramble.”
Cardinals Link to Klint Kubiak
Both Kubiak and LaFleur were among the early candidates to replace Jonathan Gannon. The Cardinals zeroed in on the two NFC West coordinators as their search heated up.
At the conclusion of the NFC Championship Game, it appeared that the Cardinals were going to hire LaFleur. They had brought him in for a second interview, which included dining with the team’s brass. But even after that, he left Arizona without a deal.
That was because the Cardinals wanted to interview Kubiak a second time. They interviewed him the weekend before the Super Bowl before making their final decision on head coach. Within 24 hours of Arizona’s interview, news broke about his head coach decision. Not too long after, the Cardinals’ decision was announced.
It was pretty clear throughout the process that the Cardinals were long shots to land the former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator. For Kubiak, this is his first shot at a head coaching job. The Cardinals don’t offer a first-time head coach an easy path to winning.
“If you had a top guy – one of the hot, young coordinators – you weren’t going to Arizona or Cleveland,” one coaching agent told La Canfora. “They literally couldn’t get people to take their jobs. The top guys didn’t want their jobs.”
Plus, Arizona coaches typically don’t get a second chance. The last time a former Cardinals coach got a head coaching opportunity was Bruce Arians, who won Super Bowl LV with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Steve Wilks likely won’t get another shot, and Kliff Kingsbury is hoping to follow the same path as LaFleur to his next head coach opportunity.
Why Klint Kubiak Turned Down the Cardinals
Despite the Cardinals being more willing to pay Kubiak and his assistants more than the Raiders, they never had much of a chance. Arizona was viewed as the worst destination for any potential head coach of the 10 vacancies.
Arizona is embarking on another rebuild after a failed attempt to win under Jonathan Gannon. That rebuild will also include a change at quarterback, as the team is likely to move on from Kyler Murray. The former No. 1 overall pick has spent seven seasons with the Cardinals, with very little team success to show for it.
The Raiders have issues with their own, but they seem closer to solving theirs. Las Vegas carries the No. 1 overall pick, which will likely select Indiana quarterback Fernado Mendoza. Plus, general manager John Spytek already has an established relationship with the Kubiak family. Those connections led to their head coaching hire.
Another factor in that decision is that a move to the AFC West also keeps him from competing against his former team twice a year. Mike Macdonald and Arlen Durde’s defense stifled the New England Patriots offense in a 29-13 victory in Super Bowl LX.
While the two teams are ready to begin a new era with new coaches, the success of Kubiak and LaFleur will always be intertwined. The hope for the Cardinals is that in a couple of years, they will not be thinking “What if…” with their current coaching decision.