re: Saints working to hire Klint Kubiak as OC, per Schefter

quote:

---

That, on paper, is a great hire.

---

Why is it a great hire?

"Hiring Kubiak (if that’s the direction the Saints are leaning) may not be a slam dunk. Two different teams have let him call plays and they both chose to move on from him. He was jettisoned with the rest of the Vikings staff after Mike Zimmer was fired in Minnesota. When Hackett was dismissed in Denver, interim head coach Jerry Rosburg reassigned play calling duties from Kubiak and gave them to offensive coordinator Justin Outten. All three of them were let go once Sean Payton entered the building. If someone were being uncharitable, they’d suggest Kubiak would not have gotten this far if his father wasn’t an influential former head coach.

When he was calling plays for the Vikings in 2021, Kubiak’s offense ranked in the middle of the back in most areas: 14th in points scored, 12th in yards gained, 11th in passing yards and 9th in touchdown passes with the 17th-most rushing yards. Minnesota’s 25 points per game was a respectable scoring output. In 2022, though, the Broncos averaged 14.5 points per game before giving Kubiak the headset; he managed 16.8 points per game before they switched again. Denver scored 24 and 31 points in their final two games with Outten calling plays instead.

Which means the Saints have to ask themselves an important question: is it worth waiting on Kubiak (or Griese, if they’re looking at him instead)? They aren’t the only team trying to hire a new play caller. If there are other candidates they value highly, waiting another week and a half to sit down with one of the 49ers assistants again could be costly."

LINK