New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen is banking on new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak revamping the offense to such a degree it gets the club back on track after missing the postseason the past two seasons under his helm.
Allen joined NFL Network's The NFL Report with Steve Wyche and James Palmer on Tuesday, saying he believes the offense Kubiak runs is among the best in the NFL.
"I felt like Klint Kubiak was obviously the person of choice," Allen said. "I've known Klint for a long time. I feel like I've known the family for probably over 20, 30 years. I remember watching Klint's dad, Gary, play quarterback back at Texas A&M growing up. I feel like I've known this family. I feel like I've known this scheme for a long time. And I feel like this is the best scheme that gives your players the best chance to have success that's going in the National Football League right now."
The offense is sure to look similar to that of Kubiak's father, Super Bowl-winning coach Gary Kubiak. Klint was an offensive assistant with the Broncos from 2016-2018. He then joined the Minnesota Vikings as quarterbacks coach under then-offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski in 2019. Kubiak was elevated to Vikings OC in 2021, replacing his retired father. In 2022, he was named passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Denver under Nathaniel Hackett. Kubiak eventually took over play-calling duties midway through the season. The 37-year-old then spent 2023 as the San Francisco 49ers' passing game coordinator.
"I think Klint is highly intelligent. He's (an) extremely hard worker," Allen added. "I think we've put together an outstanding staff with a little bit of mixture of older veteran coaches that have been there done that, with some younger, progressive-mindset type of guys, and I think it's gonna be a great mixture for our organization."
The key for Kubiak is getting the most out of quarterback Derek Carr, who experienced a roller-coaster first season in New Orleans. When hiring a new OC, Allen said he discussed the options with Carr and felt Kubiak's offense would best fit the quarterback's skill set.
"I think Derek is going to do exceptionally well," Allen said. "I thought there was a point in time this past season where we started incorporating a little more of the play-action passing game, and I really felt like that's where our offense started to take off. I thought that's where Derek really kind of started to take off. I've had communication with Derek throughout this process and talked to him about some of the different candidates that we were bringing in.
"His brother David had played for Gary in Houston, and that was David's last year in Houston. I was a little bit concerned that maybe that wouldn't go over that great, and David had some really good things to say about the offensive scheme and about how he really appreciated the scheme and the things that they were doing. And really enjoyed playing for Gary and felt like if there's some similarities, which I think there's a ton between Gary and Klint, that it was gonna be a great fit. So I'm really kind of excited about that."
Allen is banking on Kubiak jumpstarting the offense. Otherwise they'll all likely be looking for new jobs in 2025.
