Klint Kubiak asserts his focus is entirely on Super Bowl LX at Media Night

With an entire extra week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, you can bet that every possible discussion topic will be found, examined, discussed, re-examined, and explored from alternate perspectives. It’s the way things go when there’s one game left. So it’s no surprise that this subplot is getting a lot of attention.

And it’s deserving of attention. Klint Kubiak has done an excellent job as the offensive coordinator this year, and deserves his opportunity next year as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. I don’t begrudge him his chance to pursue higher employment, even if it takes him away from this team. But it’s not wrong to wonder if it affects this upcoming game.

After all, every minute Kubiak is thinking about his new job with the Raiders next season is one minute he’s not thinking about the New England Patriots, right? So I don’t blame anyone for at least considering the possibility that the performance in six days will be negatively affected by Kubiak’s pair of interviews last week with the Raiders and Cardinals.

But, as I wrote yesterday in this space, coordinators interviewing for head coaching jobs during bye weeks in the postseason is commonplace in this league, and there’s not much evidence that it makes them coach worse in the big game. Kubiak had half a dozen interviews with other teams during the bye week before the 49ers playoff game, and look what happened there.

If you’re still feeling anxious, let Kubiak’s own comments soothe you, as he was asked during Super Bowl Opening Night about the reports. In fact, he didn’t even confirm that he had taken the job in Las Vegas. I don’t say that to suggest that I think there’s any realistic possibility of him not taking it in a week, but rest assured he knows what to think about right now.

“I’m all in on the Seahawks. I’m all in on this game,” he commented, quickly trying to deflect attention and discussion away from the Raiders. “I'm just focusing on playing this game and coaching this game. Been working my whole life to get to coach in this game, and that's where our focus is.” That’s certainly the answer we wanted to hear.

And he went on to explain why the interview process hasn’t been a distraction. Kubiak was reported to have eaten dinner on Friday with Raiders’ ownership, and then had two late-night interviews with the Raiders and Cardinals on Saturday, shortly before the Seahawks flew to Santa Clara for the Super Bowl.

“It was really easy because I didn't spend any extra time on it. You get ready for those things in the summer, things that are important to you. Your resume is always on your film. That’s someone my dad always taught me: Better not be sitting in that office thinking about interview questions. Better be thinking about how to win the game, because that's what it comes down to is what the silent tape says.”

However much of his time was occupied by thoughts of becoming a head coach over the last week, Kubiak is still getting plenty of time to focus on the Patriots. The improvements this Seattle offense has made this season have been so enormous, despite a lack of spending on the roster on that side of the ball.

The Seahawks’ offense has gotten to play two games this year coming off byes, a road game in Washington where the team dropped 38 points, and the divisional round playoff game against San Francisco that featured 34 offensive points. Both games were more-or-less over by halftime. Kubiak seems to do well with this bye week in his back pocket.

So, as we count down the days until the big game, worry not about Kubiak’s ability to prepare the team. This moment, this opportunity, is too big for him to ignore for any reason.

Sam and the boys are locked in. — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) looks on during Opening Night for Super Bowl LX. | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

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