Klay Kubiak had his shot at a head coaching job this offseason. But rather than seriously go down that path, it sounds like he preferred to stay another year in San Francisco with Kyle Shanahan.
"I know Kyle loves him, and I really believe Klay could've gotten a head job this year," Mike Shanahan, Kyle's father, said in a story by The Athletic's Zak Keefer. "But he wanted another year in the system. He said, 'I just wanna take baby steps. I wanna earn everything.'"
The 49ers' offensive coordinator drew interview requests from two teams during the 2026 head-coaching cycle. The Pittsburgh Steelers requested to speak with Kubiak in January after Mike Tomlin stepped down, and days later, the Las Vegas Raiders submitted a request of their own following
Pete Carroll's firing.
Instead, the Raiders job went to Kubiak's older brother, Klint, who had been the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator from 2024 to 2025 following one season as San Francisco's passing game coordinator in 2023. The Steelers job went to longtime NFL coach Mike McCarthy.
Kubiak, 37, joined the 49ers as a defensive quality control coach in 2021 and was promoted to offensive coordinator ahead of the 2025 season — his first year calling plays before the interview requests arrived. Three promotions in four years put him squarely on the radar of teams searching for their next coach, but Kubiak's decision suggests he's more interested in building a resume than rushing into a vacancy. He's been named on the shortlist to get a head-coaching job in 2027, though.
It's a philosophy his father, Gary, followed during his own rise through the coaching ranks, and one that's now shaping how both Kubiak sons approach their careers — even as they take very different paths to get there.
"We all feel like we have to earn our job every day by the work we put in, by the results we get," Klay said.
With Klint now a first-year head coach in Las Vegas and Klay in Santa Clara, the brothers' timelines have diverged — for now. But if the interview requests are any indication, it likely won't be long before Klay gets another opportunity to lead his own team.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Mike Shanahan says Klay Kubiak turned down head coaching jobs in 2026
