The Cardinals and Raiders haven’t yet named their head coaches. That has me thinking Klint Kubiak, will probably wind up with one of those jobs – particularly if Seattle’s offense performs reasonably well in the Super Bowl.
Kubiak (pictured with Sam Darnold) was effective as an offensive coordinator for the Saints a year ago, and he’s done a good job of elevating Seattle’s offense. He’s been able to upgrade that running game, particularly in the second half of the season. And he’s been able to work effectively with Darnold, who’s struggled at some of his previous stops.
If the Seahawks lose Kubiak, that will be challenge for them. It will be February, and they’ll be looking for an offensive coordinator. That would be a loss, with Kubiak at this point looking like he might be one of the game’s top 10 play callers right now.
Four teams are currently looking for somebody to run their offenses. The Raiders and Cardinals are blank slates, while the two New York coaches need offensive coordinators who can come in and run things.
A rough draft of the offensive coordinators appears below. As things stand, only 11 teams will return with the same head coach and offensive coordinator (tagged with black dots). That will drop to 10 if Kubiak leaves.
I have attempted to rank them 1 thru 32, based on coaching prowess. The ordering isn’t based on the strength of the offense (Buffalo will rank higher than 16th in yards and points) but instead on the aptitude and potential of the coaches.
There are three offensive coordinators who were formerly head coaches: Josh McDaniels, Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll. Three others are looking for work: Arthur Smith, Matt Nagy, Kliff Kingsbury.
| OFFENSIVE PLAY CALLERS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Team | Play caller | Coach or OC |
| 1. | • LA Rams | Sean McVay | Mike LaFleur (OC) |
| 2. | • San Francisco | Kyle Shanahan | Klay Kubiak (OC) |
| 3. | • New England | Josh McDaniels (OC) | Mike Vrabel |
| 4. | Chicago | Ben Johnson | vacant |
| 5. | Denver | Sean Payton | vacant |
| 6. | • Jacksonville | Liam Coen | Grant Udinski (OC) |
| 7. | Kansas City | Andy Reid | Eric Bieniemy (OC) |
| 8. | Minnesota | Kevin O'Connell | Wes Phillips (OC) |
| 9. | • Green Bay | Matt LaFleur | Adam Stenavich (OC) |
| 10. | Indianapolis | Shane Steichen | Jim Bob Cooter (OC) |
| 11. | • New Orleans | Kellen Moore | Doug Nussmeier (OC) |
| 12. | LA Chargers | Mike McDaniel (OC) | Jim Harbaugh |
| 13. | • Seattle | Klint Kubiak (OC) | Mike Macdonald |
| 14. | • Dallas | Brian Schottenheimer | Klayton Adams (OC) |
| 15. | Cleveland | Todd Monken | vacant |
| 16. | Buffalo | Joe Brady | Pete Carmichael (OC) |
| 17. | • Cincinnati | Zac Taylor | Dan Pitcher (OC) |
| 18. | Tennessee | Brian Daboll (OC) | Robert Saleh |
| 19. | Atlanta | Tommy Rees (OC) | Kevin Stefanski |
| 20. | • Carolina | Dave Canales | Brad Idzik (OC) |
| 21. | Tampa Bay | Zac Robinson (OC) | Todd Bowles |
| 22. | • Houston | Nick Caley (OC) | DeMeco Ryans |
| 23. | Pittsburgh | Mike McCarthy | vacant |
| 24. | Detroit | Drew Petzing (OC) | Dan Campbell |
| 25. | Miami | Bobby Slowik (OC) | Jeff Hafley |
| 26. | Baltimore | Declan Doyle (OC) | Jesse Minter |
| 27. | Washington | David Blough (OC) | Dan Quinn |
| 28. | Philadelphia | Sean Mannion (OC) | Nick Sirianni |
| -- | NY Giants | vacant | John Harbaugh |
| -- | Arizona | vacant | vacant |
| -- | Las Vegas | vacant | vacant |
| -- | NY Jets | vacant | Aaron Glenn |
—Ian Allan

