Klint Kubiak, Mike Macdonald all but confirm Seahawks OC’s leaving for Raiders
Yes, it indeed looks and sounds as if this Super Bowl is the final game Klint Kubiak is coaching the Seahawks offense.
Even though he didn’t look like it on the first full day of Super Bowl week.
Seattle’s offensive coordinator would not directly confirm or deny Monday night that the Las Vegas Raiders have agreed to hire him to be their next head coach, with an announcement coming as soon as the NFL allows next Monday. That hiring will be after the Seahawks play the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60 on Sunday night.
But Kubiak’s boss all but confirmed Kubiak is doing as has been widely reported: Leaving Seattle after the Super Bowl to become the Raiders’ 38-year-old, first-time head coach.
“Our coaches, as they get these opportunities to take it to the next level, you’re happy for them,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said from his main podium Monday night at the Super Bowl Opening Night media blowout at the San Jose Convention Center.
”It’s a little bittersweet,” Macdonald said of Kubiak, “because he such a great person and great coach.
“We have a lot of great coaches and those people are going to have opportunities, as well.”
Kubiak wasn’t on a showy podium in front of television cameras from around the world, as Macdonald, quarterback Sam Darnold, Pro Bowl defensive linemen Leonard Williams and DeMarcus Lawrence and other Seahawks star were.
Kubiak was standing inside a pen with other assistant coaches. They were inside metal barriers in a dark corner of the massive, warehouse-like convention hall.
It was an odd setting for a man who is about to take one of only 32 of the most coveted jobs in his profession. Kubiak is the 38-year-old architect and play caller for the offense that this season scored the most points in Seahawks history.
He was ready for the question Monday night of whether he was the Raiders’ new coach.
“I can just tell you that I’m all in on the Seahawks. I’m all in on this game,” Kubiak said. “All those, whatever comes next, we will deal with that on Monday.
“I’m just focusing on playing this game and coaching this game.
“I’ve been working my whole life to get to coach in this game.”
The News Tribune’s Brian Hayes asked Kubiak what he was going to take from Macdonald to his new job.
“Having a vision. And following through with it,” Kubiak said.
“You know, Mike, from the first day I came to work there (12 months ago) his message has been the same. He’s been consistent with it. He’s (a) genuine, genuine coach that you can’t help but follow.”
Klint Kubiak’s interview process
Kubiak broke off from the Seahawks’ Super Bowl preparations last weekend to interview for the second time each with the Raiders and the Arizona Cardinals, the other remaining NFL team needing to hire a new head coach as of last week. The Seahawks practiced Friday and Saturday during their bye week at team headquarters in Renton.
Friday night, Kubiak reportedly dined with Raiders owner Mark Davis in a Bellevue restaurant. Saturday he interviewed again with Las Vegas, and with the Cardinals.
Sunday morning, news broke Kubiak was the Raiders’ man to replace fired former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, following his lone, 3-14 season in Las Vegas.
Arizona hired Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur on Monday.
Kubiak, who came to Seattle from being the New Orleans Saints’ offensive coordinator in the 2024 season, had interviewed with six teams for head-coaching jobs the first week of January. That was during the Seahawks’ bye through the wild-card round of the playoffs as the NFC’s top seed.
Those initial interviews were virtual and during a weekend the Seahawks didn’t practice.
How much of his time and effort did these second interviews last weekend take from Kubiak’s game-planning and preparing Pro Bowl quarterback Sam Darnold plus Seattle’s entire offense for the Super Bowl?
“You know, it was really easy, because I didn’t spend any extra time on it,” Kubiak said.
“You get ready for those things in the summer, you know, things that are important to you.
“And then your resume is always what’s on your (game) film.”
The Raiders obviously learned to love Kubiak’s heavy emphasis on an outside-zone running game with deep, play-action passing. The Seahawks ran the ball 50% of the time this season, a tick behind Buffalo and Baltimore for most in the NFL. And they had Darnold throw for 4,000 yards and Jaxon Smith-Njigba become an All-Pro wide receiver leading the league with 1,793 yards receiving.
What did Kubiak learn about himself in this process of going from first-year Seahawks OC, his third such job after one-year stints as play caller for Minnesota (2021) and New Orleans (2024), to now about to be introduced as the new coach of the Las Vegas Raiders?
“Being yourself matters,” Kubiak said. “Not trying to tell people things they want to hear, but being true to yourself. And if they’re OK with that, then good.
“And if not, then that’s not the place for you.”
This story was originally published February 2, 2026 at 8:47 PM with the headline "Klint Kubiak, Mike Macdonald all but confirm Seahawks OC’s leaving for Raiders."
