The San Francisco 49ers promoted offensive pass game specialist Klay Kubiak to offensive coordinator. The move fills the job for San Francisco for the first time in three years, since Mike McDaniel vacated the role to accept the Miami Dolphins head coaching position.
The move comes alongside an overhaul of the staff underneath head coach Kyle Shanahan. On Tuesday, the 49ers fired defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen after just one season with the team, as well as special teams coordinator Brian Schneider after three seasons. While the 49ers hope they can retain Sorensen on their staff in some capacity in 2025, the hiring of Kubiak now means the team will have a brand-new set of coordinators to begin next season.
While San Francisco has remained one of the most effective offenses in the league under Shanahan, their scoring took a step back in the 2024 season. While the 49ers offense finished top-five in yards for the fourth time in the last six years, their 22.9 points per game fell to 13th in the league, their lowest ranking in the last three seasons.
Kubiak has spent four years within the 49ers organization, working as a defensive quality control coach and assistant quarterbacks coach prior to his 2024 role as pass game specialist. Klay is the son of former NFL head coach Gary Kubiak and brother to current New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
Shanahan revealed after Sunday’s Week 18 game against the Arizona Cardinals that Klay called plays for the 49ers offense through the 47-24 loss. Despite the losing effort that featured backup quarterback Josh Dobbs, San Francisco posted 436 yards in the game — their fifth-highest total yardage total of the season.
Since Shanahan became head coach in 2017, the 49ers have only had one other official offensive coordinator by title – another internal hire in McDaniel. He served as the team’s run game coordinator for four seasons before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2021. The 49ers offense finished sixth in the league in EPA per play; McDaniel was quickly hired away by the Dolphins just one year after his promotion.
Shanahan to retain play-calling duties
Kubiak may have a new title for 2025, but there won’t be any changes to the 49ers’ game-day operations on offense – Kyle Shanahan will continue to call the plays just as he’s done since 2017. Kubiak, however, will now get more media exposure, speaking to reporters once a week – probably on Thursdays – just as McDaniel did during the 2021 season. That role has gone to offensive line coach Chris Foerster, who has the additional title of run game coordinator, since McDaniel left for the Dolphins.
As a result, Kubiak’s national profile also is likely to rise just as McDaniel’s did. If the 49ers are successful in 2025 he’ll likely get interviews for play-calling roles elsewhere during the 2026 hiring season. – Matt Barrows, San Francisco 49ers beat writer.
Required reading
(Photo: Jeff Chiu / AP Photo)
