PHOENIX — New Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak was a welcome talking point by NFC coaches at the NFL’s league meetings on Monday.
Coaches were tasked with 7:45 a.m. sessions with reporters. As they filtered into a packed ballroom at the Arizona Biltmore and sat at their respective tables, hearing Kubiak’s name seemed like a shot of caffeine for those who have worked with him.
There was one commonality in all of their answers: Kubiak strikes people as authentic in every sense of the word. It’s a trait his peers think will breed success in Las Vegas.
Here’s everything NFC coaches had to say about Kubiak:
Mike Macdonald, Seattle Seahawks
Kubiak and Macdonald needed just one season together to win a Super Bowl.
With Kubiak calling plays as offensive coordinator, the Seahawks beat the New England Patriots for the championship in February. Kubiak confirmed his plans to take the Raiders’ gig in a postgame interview on thefield.
Macdonald emphasized Monday that Kubiak’s reputation had made it easy to hire him.
“Just having conversations with people backed up what you heard behind the scenes, and what he did every day with his actions followed through with those things. He’s such a great team player,” Macdonald said. “He’s never looking at things just through the lens of what’s best for the offensive stats. It’s always what’s best for the team and what’s best for us to win. It’s just day-in-and-day out.”
Macdonald will miss working with Kubiak, and it was easy for him to provide an endorsement.
“The mentality he has, the messaging he has, how he treats the rest of our staff. All those things are really important. Excited for him,” Macdonald said. “We’re going to miss him. It was a great partnership for a year. Wish it would have lasted longer.
“Klint is going to do a phenomenal job. He has been around the game so long and understands how things work and what doesn’t. I don’t think he’s afraid to be himself and understand the way he wants to do it if it’s something he believes in and stays true to it. There are different ways to do it. What’s going to take him and the Raiders to that level, in my opinion, is just him being him and doing the things he believes in and hiring great people and sticking with the process. There are going to be things he needs to work through, but he’ll do a great job.”
Kevin Stefanski, Atlanta Falcons
Before taking the helm of the Falcons, Stefanski worked with both Kubiak and new Raiders offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko in Minnesota.
“Those are my guys. I’m very, very happy for them, in both winning a Super Bowl and then going to get the job in Las Vegas,” Stefanski said. “They’re both wired very similarly. They’re grinders. Both are sons of coaches, and I think that’s evident in their work ethic. But there’s nobody better than those two guys.”
Stefanski praised Kubiak with another mention of how he stays true to himself.
“For us as coaches, what we are striving for is authenticity and being genuine. I learned a long time ago that you just have to be yourself every single day and you can’t be someone different. You can’t try to be this coach or that coach. You just try to be who you are, and I think players respond to that. Klint is a great example of that,” Stefanski said. “He’s the same guy every single day and he’s going to grind and do everything in his power to get that team ready to go.”
Klint’s father, Gary Kubiak, worked as an NFL head coach for 10 seasons between the Houston Texans and Denver Broncos. Klint’s brothers, Klay and Klein, also work in the NFL.
“Gary’s three boys are all very similar,” Stefanski said. “They’re all a bit different in their own ways, but not a surprise they all understand the idea of hard work.”
Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
Shanahan arguably knows the Kubiak family better than anyone else in the league.
He worked under Gary Kubiak as wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator for the Texans from 2006 until 2009, then hired Klint Kubiak as the 49ers’ offensive passing game coordinator for the 2023 season. Klay Kubiak has worked with Shanahan for the 49ers since 2021.
“It’s been great. I’ve known Gary for the longest. His sons were so much younger than me growing up,” Shanahan said.
Shanahan famously babysat Klint Kubiak and said Monday that he’s been “fortunate” to be so close with the family.
“Klint is just Klint. He’s always himself. He’s not going to change. He’s the same as the first day I met him. He loves football, he works his tail off,” Shanahan said. “Anybody who has been coached by Klint truly appreciates the type of person he is… He’s an asset to any player that he works with.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.