The Kubiak replacement OC that makes the most sense
If Klint Kubiak leaves the Seahawks, there's a road to replace him that makes the most sense
How funny this article will look in a few weeks if Klint Kubiak doesn’t leave the Seahawks this year.
Assuming Kubiak does leave a K-shaped hole on Mike Macdonald’s coaching staff, and the odds are very good that he will, I think there’s an OBVIOUS direction that the Seahawks are going to go in as his replacement:
A name I’m going to drop about halfway down the page because this is a Regular Joes bonus article, so keep reading to find out the steps I took towards this most logical answer for the next OC!
Why Kubiak is going to get a HC job if he wants one
The Titans hired Robert Saleh and the Dolphins hired Jeff Hafley on Monday, the third and fourth new head coaches of the cycle, and normally that would signal that the books are almost closed on available jobs. But there’s nothing normal about 2026 with an unprecedented 10 teams looking for head coaches, so that leaves six more jobs to fill and a high probability that someone is waiting for Kubiak.
(The Browns would seem to be the only remaining option for Aden Durde and it’s considered a longshot.)
Kubiak was already a popular candidate prior to the Bills letting go Sean McDermott on Monday, but now that “Josh Allen’s legal guardian” is an option Kubiak is suddenly the betting favorite to get the job in Buffalo. And some Bills fans are already pumped about it:
To be fair, I don’t know if Kubiak is the franchise savior he could appear to be if the Seahawks advance to the Super Bowl — or even if they don’t — but it’s difficult to separate the man from the success when the second-biggest change the franchise made from 2024 to 2025 was wiping out Ryan Grubb’s offensive coaching staff for Kubiak and company.
The biggest change was Sam Darnold, a quarterback handpicked for Kubiak! So you really couldn’t have one without the other.
Except that if Kubiak is the next head coach of the Bills or the Ravens or the Raiders, Seattle doesn’t have any other choice: Darnold stays, Kubiak goes.
Who replaces Klint Kubiak as 2026 OC?
I’m almost there!
Is K-hole going to be a huge problem for 2026?
The topic of who would replace Kubiak in the event that he leaves has been the forest fire blowing hot gusts of wind underneath the wings of the Seahawks ever since Seattle started scoring 30+ points every other week and Darnold became a quarterback who makes us go…”Remember that time we thought he might be an MVP candidate if he had not shifted down gears?”
The fact that Darnold did shift down gears midseason could also be the biggest reason that Kubiak is a hot head coach candidate.
The offense is plenty good, certainly above expectations, but the highlighted numbers below is where they rank out of 32 teams, including 11th in points per drive and 31st in turnovers:
The Seahawks are third in TOTAL points instead of outside the top-10 largely thanks to offense and special teams.
Naturally this leads to fans asking, “Who replaces Kubiak?”
I’ll tell you who I think it is in about THREE paragraphs!
Former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel? No, he’s reportedly accepting the Chargers OC job if he doesn’t get a head coaching gig.
Former Cardinals OC Drew Petzing? No, he’s taking the same job with the Detroit Lions.
As the Seahawks wait to find out if Kubiak is leaving, they’re losing out on opportunities to woo replacements as teams NOT contending for the Super Bowl get first dibs; similar to the conundrum that left Seattle scrounging for Grubb when they waited out Macdonald two years ago.
However, I will be SHOCKED if Macdonald and John Schneider didn’t already have someone in mind to replace Kubiak. I’ll be STUNNED if he wasn’t available for Seattle make their offensive coordinator when the time comes. And I’ll be FLABBERGASTED if the person is Seaside Joe.
Names I think would be floated include Brian Daboll, Joe Brady, Frank Smith, Mike Kafka, Zac Robinson, Todd Monken, or even Greg Roman. Some names you will want, plenty that you won’t. My answer is none of those names.
The coach I think will replace Klint Kubiak is: