A day after the San Francisco 49ers saw their season come to a crushing end with a lopsided 41–6 playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the team’s offensive coordinator, Klay Kubiak, interviewed for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coaching vacancy. While Niners’ head coach Kyle Shanahan is supportive of Kubiak advancing his career elsewhere, he appears unwilling to allow a lateral move.

“No, he calls a lot of plays here,” he said via The Athletic’s Matt Barrows on X. “He’s our offensive coordinator, so I don’t know; why would you let him be somebody else’s offensive coordinator?”

Kyle Shanahan dismissed the idea of letting another team hire Kubiak for the same role.

After all, Kubiak has been part of the organization since 2021, having served as a defensive control assistant, assistant quarterbacks coach, and pass game specialist. Later, he was also promoted to the offensive coordinator’s role. 

The promotion paid off during the regular season as the offense ranked seventh overall in the league with 351.4 total yards per game. The unit also ranked fifth in passing yards per game, averaging 244.5 yards per outing. 

We just saw how the Seahawks’ defense completely shut the Niners down, holding them scoreless in both the regular-season finale and again in the playoff blowout. On Saturday, quarterback Brock Purdy struggled to move the ball throughout the game. He could complete only 15 of 27 passes for 140 yards while recording a costly interception. Despite the terrible ending to their season, Shanahan is not ready to part ways with Kubiak and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.

“They’ve been unbelievable. I love both those guys,” he told reporters. “Two as good of coaches as I’ve been around. I know both of them will be head coaches, whether it’s in a week or so, or whether it’s over the next two years.”

Furthermore, the coach praised both coordinators for “overcoming odds” and made it clear that he wished to keep them around next year. But with the Pittsburgh Steelers eyeing Kubiak for the head coach position, San Francisco is in for a tough fight.

Could Pittsburgh be the next destination for Kyle Shanahan’s OC?

After ending a 19-year-long partnership with head coach Mike Tomlin, the Steelers are ready to welcome a new face. According to Mike DeFabo of The Athletic, the franchise scheduled a virtual interview with Klay Kubiak on Sunday. The request came late last week, making Pittsburgh the first team to show interest in hiring him for the head coach role. 

With this development, Kubiak joins four other candidates who have received an invitation for a virtual interview. The meetings are being held remotely due to the league rules. According to the NFL, coaches from teams eliminated from the playoffs are not allowed to conduct in-person interviews until Monday. Until then, the team is leveraging virtual interviews to get an early read on its candidates.

Kubiak could emerge as a powerful contender for Pittsburgh, given his versatile resume. He’s currently in his fifth season with Kyle Shanahan’s team and has played a big role in developing 26-year-old Brock Purdy.

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The quarterback made nine appearances this season, averaging 240.8 passing yards per game along with 20 touchdowns. Earlier, President Art Rooney II revealed his team would not restrict its search to defensive-minded coaches. 

And Kubiak’s inclusion on the list clearly reflects that approach. As for the Niners’ offensive coordinator, Pittsburgh isn’t the sole potential destination for him. Kubiak will also contact the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday about their head coaching opening.

He’ll be locking horns with multiple offensive-minded coaches, including his brother, Klint Kubiak. With early interest from other teams, Klay Kubiak’s future with San Francisco becomes even more vague.