Why Bills must wait to interview Seahawks' Klint Kubiak until after Super Bowl

The Buffalo Bills’ head coaching search is well underway as the team has interviewed several prime candidates in the running for the job.

However, if the Bills want to cast as wide a net as they proposed during Team Owner Terry Pegula and President of Football Operations/General Manager Brandon Beane’s end-of-season press conference, they will have to wait until after the Super Bowl, as one of the hottest names rumored to be sought after by teams with openings at the head-coach position is still helping his team chase the ultimate goal.

Red-hot candidate

Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is one of the brightest young, up-and-coming coaches in the NFL, as was proven during the Seahawks’ 31-point performance in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. During Seattle’s win over the Los Angeles Rams, Kubiak consistently schemed pass catchers open with which quarterback Sam Darnold connected. Darnold finished the game 25 of 36 passing for 346 yards and three touchdowns.

However, due to an odd NFL rule, the Bills will not be permitted to contact Kubiak until after the Super Bowl.

As NFL rules state, unless a team has previously completed a virtual meeting with a given candidate, that candidate is not permitted to participate in in-person interviews with that team during the bye week between the conference championship game and the Super Bowl.

MORE: Bills eliminate potential Hall of Fame candidate from head coaching search

What a call from Klint Kubiak 😳

RB Scissors with JSN in the Backfield pic.twitter.com/Ge0U318QTW
— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) January 26, 2026

The Bills were not able to complete a previous interview with Kubiak, as the only time that would have been possible would have been during Seattle’s bye week in the opening round of the playoffs, when the Bills were competing in the Wild Card Round, still under the leadership of former head coach Sean McDermott.

Thus, Buffalo would now have to wait until the season is officially complete before it can interview the full complement of candidates available to it at what is a most critical juncture for the organization.

And it remains unclear if they would have the patience to do so, given that it is still two weeks away and most teams are already moving forward with their 2026 program. If the Bills were to wait it out and swing and miss on Kubiak, not only might a few other prime candidates be signed by other teams, but they would be behind the eight ball in terms of their on-field pursuit for the upcoming campaign.

His history

Kubiak is the son of longtime coach Gary Kubiak and is a 14-year NFL coaching veteran. He has been with five different organizations over the past five seasons, including the Seahawks this past season and the New Orleans Saints the year before. The Seahawks finished the 2025 campaign as third in the NFL in points per game (28.4), just ahead of the Bills, who finished tied for fourth (28.3). Kubiak is 38 years old.

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