Seahawks Coordinator requested to interview for several head coach openings

It’s looking more and more likely that the Seattle Seahawks will be looking for a new Offensive Coordinator this offseason, for the third year in a row.

Klint Kubiak, the first-year Seahawks' Offensive Coordinator who has overseen such radical improvement from previous offerings coached by Shane Waldron and Ryan Grubb, is quickly becoming one of the hottest head coaching candidates in the entire NFL, with a majority of the teams in need of a new one lining up to request interviews with him.

Yesterday, it was reported, then later confirmed by Mike Macdonald, that Kubiak had been requested to interview with the Atlanta Falcons, who fired Raheem Morris on Sunday afternoon. But today, with several other teams having handed out pink slips on Monday, we got to get a feel for just how desirable Kubiak is, and it turns out he’s very desirable.

Per reports, the New York Giants, Arizona Cardinals, and Las Vegas Raiders have requested interviews with Klint. With four teams circling him as a top candidate, the odds of him securing one of those positions this offseason goes up significantly. Don’t be surprised if other teams join in, with Baltimore firing John Harbaugh today and some potential for playoff firings next week.

The Giants parted ways with Brian Daboll back in November after a 2-8 start, finishing out 2-5 under interim coach Mike Kafka, but there was always an expectation they’d look outside the staff to find their new head coach. The Cardinals and Raiders waited until the Monday after the season to fire their head coaches, Jonathan Gannon and Pete Carroll respectively.

As a coach on the top seeded team in his conference, Klint Kubiak has the ability to interview for head coaching positions during the bye week that the team enjoys during the wild card round, but is then barred from participating in the process any further until Seattle is either eliminated from the postseason or wins the Super Bowl.

At least four teams are thinking about this guy. — New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak pacing the sidelines. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The same report says that Kubiak remains focused on the playoffs, and intends to take a day or two to figure out a plan to balance all the requests while thinking about the divisional round opponent for the Seahawks. This would give him very little time to get through these four interview requests, as it’s already Tuesday, and playoff football is just a few days away.

It’s also worth wondering how badly Kubiak wants a head coaching job with these three new teams. The Giants have been the second-worst team in the NFL by record over the last twelve years, with only one playoff win, and have a total seven wins over their last two seasons. Jaxson Dart and Malik Nabers are appealing foundational pieces, but what else is there?

The Cardinals are in a similar boat, holding the third-worst record over the last nine years and no playoff wins. They hold the #3 pick in a draft class that seems to have two quarterbacks, and are going to probably need a new signal-caller assuming the team moves off of Kyler Murray this offseason. Marvin Harrison Jr and Trey McBride are a start, but there’s not much here.

The Raiders might be in an even worse spot, coming off their worst season in twenty years and sitting on a nearly 25 year run of futility. There’s some hope for the future, with the #1 pick in the draft, tons of cap space, and the draft picks they’re likely to get for Maxx Crosby, but there’s shockingly little in the way of young blue chip talent right now.

It’s also sometimes difficult to wait out a coach that’s making a deep playoff run, since you can’t officially hire them until after their season is over, and you risk being left high and dry if the candidate takes a different job, or decides to remain at their current position. Seattle found themselves in that position two years ago when hiring Macdonald.

But one thing is clear. Teams like what Kubiak did this season, and there’s a lot of interest in hiring him as a head coach. Given how much interest we’ve already seen, it certainly seems like the job is there for him if he wants it.

And no matter how many holes we can poke in the teams that are looking at him, at the end of the day, the siren song of a chance to be the head coach is often too strong to resist.

This guy needs a good offensive coach to steward his early NFL years, and Kubiak may be the guy. — New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) celebrates Big Blue's fourth quarter touchdown. | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

More Seahawks on SI stories