2 open NFL head-coach jobs left. Seahawks’ OC Klint Kubiak to interview for both
The NFL has just two head-coaching vacancies.
Both those still-needy teams have been waiting on the Seahawks’ offensive play caller’s Super Bowl season to end in Seattle.
The league’s 10 head-coach jobs open are now down to just the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders. Both teams want to interview Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak for a second time this month.
They are going to have to do it before Sunday. That’s when the Seahawks leave for San Jose, California, to begin preparations to play Super Bowl 60 in nearby Santa Clara against the New England Patriots Feb. 8.
NFL rules on head-coach interviews with candidates of the Super Bowl teams state those meetings can only happen this week if they are second interviews, and must cease by Feb. 1. Interviews cannot resume until Feb. 9, the day after the Super Bowl. That’s to keep those candidates focused on their jobs during game week of preparing their current teams, and not preparing for what-ifs on a potential future one.
Kubiak is expected to interview for a second time with the Raiders and Cardinals this weekend, ESPN’s Peter Schrager reported Wednesday.
Those interviews will likely be on Saturday, before the Seahawks fly to the Bay Area. After a couple days off Seattle and Kubiak have their three Super Bowl prep practices at home, at team headquarters in Renton, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Cardinals interviewed Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur for the second time on Tuesday.
The Raiders interviewed 31-year-old Broncos quarterbacks coach Davis Webb for the second time on Monday.
The 38-year-old Kubiak is the coordinator and play caller for a Seattle offense that set a franchise record scoring points this regular season. For that reason and more, the Seahawks may not just let him walk out the door to the Raiders or division-rival Cardinals after the Super Bowl. It’s conceivable Seattle will offer a raise, perhaps in conjunction with a promotion in title to something like assistant head coach, in a push to keep Kubiak.
This is his first season with the Seahawks. He’s been a play caller in two single-season stints with NFL teams: the Minnesota Vikings in 2021 and New Orleans Saints in 2014.
He’s yet to stay for more than two seasons in any of his last six jobs, since he was an offensive assistant for three years with Denver from 2016-18.
Kubiak has been this coaching cycle’s young, “it” offensive-mind candidate. He’s been like Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was this time last year, before the Chicago Bears made him a first-time head coach, also at age 38.
Kubiak had six, first interviews for head-coaching jobs during the Seahawks’ bye the first full week of January, through the wild-card playoff round as the NFC’s top seed.
“It was good. There was a lot going on. It was on a couple of our days off,” Kubiak said two weeks ago. “It was perfect timing — and then right back to business after that.
“Had some conversations, and they were good conversations. Very flattered for that opportunity.
“But we’ve worked our entire season, our whole lives, for games like this. This is the most important thing.”
Asked about his preparations for the interviews during the Seahawks’ playoff run, Kubiak said: “Yeah, in this profession, those are things that you’re always kind of thinking about in the summers, in your off time, so that when those times come, then you’re ready to roll.
“But main thing is just being yourself.”
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said this month he supports Kubiak seeking a top job. He called the interest in Kubiak “bittersweet,” because Macdonald values and enjoys him calling plays for Pro Bowl quarterback Sam Darnold and Seattle’s offense.
Macdonald said he wants his assistant coaches to grow — as Macdonald did under John Harbaugh for a decade with the Baltimore Ravens, including as their defensive coordinator.
Grey Zabel loves Klint Kubiak
The Seahawks hired Macdonald from that Baltimore job into his first head-coaching job at any level in February 2024, at age 36.
Kubiak, likewise, has never been a head coach.
His Seattle players love Kubiak. Rookie left guard Grey Zabel was asked about other teams interviewing his offensive coordinator.
“Klint’s just the worst coach ever. Don’t hire him,” Zabel deadpanned.
“No, he’s an unbelievable dude, to start. The growth that we’ve had in this offense this year has been unbelievable,” Zabel said. “One, his football IQ’s through the roof. He starts talking and it’s just a blur to you as he breaks down certain defenses and how to attack them.
“But I know he’s one of those guys where you understand he’s going to get an opportunity. It’s not if, it’s when he’ll be a head coach.”
“I mean, I wish I could have him here for as long as we possibly can in Seattle. But when you have an unbelievable person, unbelievable coach, unbelievable friend, it’s cool to see that’s he’s going to have opportunities. And he deserves every bit of success.”
Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde interviewed this month during the team’s first-round playoff bye for the head-coach jobs with the Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns.
The Falcons hired former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski. The Browns on Wednesday replaced Stefanski with former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
“I think part of our vision of what we want to create here is a team where coaches want to work, and they can feel like they are getting developed, too, and they are getting opportunities,” Macdonald said. “And so, if we are doing what we are supposed to on the field, those opportunities are going to come.
“It’s great that some of those are happening. We are cheering those guys on.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "2 open NFL head-coach jobs left. Seahawks’ OC Klint Kubiak to interview for both."
