Early candidates for Seahawks offensive coordinator if Klint Kubiak leaves

Let’s just go ahead and start working towards accepting the reality of the situation now. Klint Kubiak is probably gone this offseason, and there’s not much that can happen to prevent it. Five teams have already shown concrete interest, and there are likely a couple more who are only being held back by the fact that they’re in the playoffs for the moment.

Yes, he could decide that he doesn’t want to be a head coach yet later in the offseason (unlikely, given that he’s taking interviews). It’s possible he has a bad round of interviews and no one makes him an offer. And I suppose there’s some chance that Seattle makes it all the way to the Super Bowl and everyone makes a hire before he’s officially available in February.

But these are all unlikely at this point in time. Even a postseason blowup is unlikely to put a damper on what is clearly league-wide respect for his abilities (ask Dan Quinn). So the most likely outcome here is that the Seahawks are looking for a new offensive coordinator this offseason, and with a Super Bowl caliber team, there’s immense pressure to get it right.

There will be dozens of options, of all different types and different ranges of experience, but let’s run through some of the most immediately obvious ones now. It can’t hurt to be prepared, especially when Kubiak’s departure feels inevitable.

Jake Peetz, John Benton, and Andrew Janocko

I’m grouping these three together because these are the feasible in-house promotions the Seahawks could make. Peetz is the current passing game coordinator for the Seahawks, Benton is the offensive line coach, and Janocko holds the title of quarterbacks coach. Peetz was hired under Grubb and retained by Kubiak, Benton and Janocko both came with Kubiak.

All three have done good jobs this year, so much so that Peetz is already getting some offensive coordinator buzz with the Detroit Lions. Benton and Janocko are likely candidates to follow Kubiak wherever he goes this offseason, since they both followed him from New Orleans last offseason. In-house promotions are fairly common in situations like this.

However, none of these three have any experience calling plays in the NFL, which is why I tend to shy against the idea. We’ve all seen the Philadelphia Eagles go through growing pains this season after their championship last year due in large part to switching to an unproven coordinator, and I’d rather avoid this learning phase on a team that is Super Bowl ready.

McDaniel would be a great hire, but is it even possible? — Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel runs off the field following a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Mike McDaniel and Kevin Stefanski

Grouping these two together as they both have similar appeal. Recently fired head coaches who did a lot of good work but ultimately couldn’t quite break through. McDaniel’s appeal is especially strong, as a Shanahan acolyte who comes from the same coaching tree as Kubiak and could add a lot to Seattle’s rushing attack. Both would be amazing hires.

The problem is they’re both a little too good. The Titans are interviewing McDaniel and the Ravens have already interviewed with Stefanski as head coaches, and given all the openings this offseason it seems likely that there will be an opportunity for both to lead a team even if these opportunities fall through. So getting either to take a coordinator job will be difficult.

And then, you have the element of time. The teams with job openings are already eliminated from the playoffs and can make moves on these candidates now, whereas a team like Seattle is still focused on the postseason and still has an offensive coordinator employed. By the time the Seahawks are able to think about their search, both of these guys are likely hired.

Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka

Since Kafka served as Daboll’s offensive coordinator in New York, we’ll group these two together as well. Also grouping together because they both have the same primary issue that I believe makes this hire undesirable, although the issues probably run deeper with Daboll.

Looking at the offense that Daboll (and Kafka) had in New York, based largely around shotgun and run-pass options, it seems antithetical to the sort of offense that Seattle is running this year with Kubiak. Sam Darnold needs to play under center and do traditional play action to have success. I can’t imagine Darnold having success in this kind of offense.

For Daboll in particular, this style of offense goes back to his time in Buffalo with Josh Allen. It’s not a fit. Also not a fit might be his personality. Given the clearly tumultuous breakup he had in New York with Wink Martindale, who was one of Mike Macdonald’s teachers in Baltimore, I also doubt that there’d be much interest in adding him onto the staff.

LaFleur is a favorite of mine if he's available. — Green Bay Packers head coach Matt Lafleur is shown during the first quarter of their game. | Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Matt LaFleur

Obviously only applies if LaFleur is fired, which is likely only a possibility if the Packers lose later today against the Bears. I could see this happening, as Green Bay has shied away from extending his contract despite his final year looming, and went all-in on the Micah Parsons trade this year only to see the team end up with the #7 seed once again.

This is one of my favorite possibilities, as LaFleur has a great track record of success as a playcaller and is probably overqualified as an offensive coordinator, but might need a year of it to solidify his reputation before getting back to a head coaching position. Part of the Shanahan coaching tree that produced Kubiak, his offense would feel largely familiar.

Again, I would have some concern that LaFleur would find another head coaching job, especially given the amount of time that might pass between his firing and Seattle needing a new OC. But if the stars align, I think LaFleur might be the best possible outcome, even if it’s just for one season.

Mike LaFleur

Matt’s younger brother has been camping out underneath McVay in Los Angeles for the last few years, getting to call plays in a couple meaningless end-of-season games but otherwise just learning from one of the best. The good news is that Mike actually served as the playcaller with the New York Jets for two years prior. The bad news is that it was the Jets.

But at least he’s done it before, which is more than many other candidates can say. Also a part of the Shanahan tree, Mike might be the next young offensive hotshot coach that takes the league by storm, having presumably learned a healthy amount about offensive football from his older brother and his boss.

Brian Callahan

His disastrous stint as the head coach in Tennessee means that, if you hire him and he sticks, you’ll probably never have to worry about losing him, so that’s a nice positive. Unfortunately, said disastrous stint makes him a bit of a tough sell, especially because it was the only opportunity he’s gotten so far to call plays in the NFL.

Zac Taylor ran the offense in Cincinnati while Callahan was there, so while there is some appeal here (maybe Brian could get his father to join the staff as offensive line coach), it’s hard to look at his time as the shotcaller on the Titans and see anything other than an unmitigated disaster. Not completely out on this one, but I acknowledge the obvious concerns.

A wild card, Monken will be very appealing this offseason. — Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken prior the game against the Philadelphia Eagles. | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Todd Monken

Buying a little low here, as Monken is coming off a mediocre season in Baltimore, but injuries make a sensible scapegoat after two previous seasons where the results were fantastic. Before his Ravens success, he called plays for the Georgia Bulldogs on their way to a couple national championships, so there’s a pretty nice track record here.

I’m intrigued, but obviously any offensive coordinator having success with a quarterback like Lamar Jackson is hard to translate to having success with a quarterback like Sam Darnold. Assuming the coaching staff in Baltimore gets detonated post-Harbaugh, however, there will be interest in his services, and Seattle will at least think about it.

Mike McCarthy

Don’t sleep on the relationship he has with John Schneider from their time in Green Bay. And don’t sleep on the great work McCarthy did with the Dallas Cowboys, getting Dak Prescott to MVP levels of play and winning 12 games in three straight seasons under difficult circumstances under Jerry Jones. If he’s willing to be a coordinator, I’d definitely sniff around.

I’m not so sure about the stylistic fit here, and obviously there would be some tepid reactions to hiring a coach who struggled to make postseason runs with prime Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, but I believe McCarthy is a bright offensive mind that has plenty to offer, especially with a playcalling sheet in his hand.

There are many more candidates worthy of consideration (Frank Smith, Grant Udinski, Josh McCown are three names I suspect will get press this offseason). But we’ll start the conversation here and see where it takes us. Seattle must get this hire right, so who’s the right man for the job?