When the offseason arrives for the Pittsburgh Steelers, whenever that may be whether that’s right after the regular season or following the AFC playoffs, the franchise will have a tall task in front of them: finding an answer at offensive coordinator.
Since the dismissal of Todd Haley ahead of the 2018 season following a 45-42 playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Steelers have been hit or miss offensively under former coordinators Randy Fitchner and Matt Canada.
Pittsburgh did the seemingly unimaginable in mid-November, firing Canada in the middle of the season, giving the interim offensive coordinator role to Eddie Faulkner and the play-calling role to Mike Sullivan for the rest of the season.
The Steelers got a bit of a boost in the week following the firing of Canada as the Steelers cracked the 400-yard mark for the first time in 58 games, but scored just 16 points.
Since then, the Steelers have struggled under Faulkner and Sullivan, scoring just 10 points against the worst defense in football in the Arizona Cardinals, and then just 18 points against the New England Patriots — both losses — in a four-day span.
That has put the spotlight back on the offensive coordinator position. For NBC Sports’ Peter King, who appeared on 93.7 The Fan’s Cook and Joe Show Tuesday, the Steelers have to find a “commanding presence” at the offensive coordinator position this offseason to pair under Mike Tomlin.
“Think about the quarterback coach who’s really young, or even the assistant quarterback coach, or think about whatever, who’s got a commanding presence who can command a room,” King said of what the Steelers need to find in the next offensive coordinator, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “Find that guy, and also find the guy who Sean McVay doesn’t want to lose. Find the guy who Kyle Shanahan doesn’t wanna lose. Matt LaFleur.
“Find that guy and then you’re gonna know that this is the guy we ought to interview and consider strongly for this job.”
When it comes to the next offensive coordinator, the Steelers simply can’t just promote from within. That’s no disrespect to Faulkner or Sullivan, either. Both are good coaches and have done a good job in their roles with the Steelers as position coaches, Faulker as a running backs coach and Sullivan as a quarterbacks coach.
But the offensive scheme and the philosophy for the Steelers on that side of the football is stale, what some would call archaic. It’s time for the Steelers to get innovative on that side of the football, whether that’s dipping into the McVay/Shanahan/LaFleur system to turn to more of a West Coast scheme, or going elsewhere to other successful offenses and finding a key assistant coach.
King had one name in mind for the Steelers, and it is a familiar name when it comes to offense in the NFL: San Francisco 49ers’ passing game coordinator Klint Kubiak, the son of former NFL QB and Super Bowl-winning head coach Gary Kubiak.
“I am a fan of Klint Kubiak. I think he’s really smart. I think he has a lot of his father in him, and I think he’s got a lot of cutting edge in him as well,” King said.
Kubiak is a name that has been tossed around regarding the Steelers and the offensive coordinator position.
Kubiak worked under his father in the NFL for a number of years, first in Minnesota when Gary Kubiak was the offensive coordinator, then in Denver when Gary Kubiak was the head coach. From there, Klint Kubiak was offensive coordinator of the Vikings in 2021 before then landing in San Francisco as the passing game coordinator under Shanahan.
As the offensive coordinator of the Vikings in 2021, Kubiak oversaw an offense that was 12th in yards per game, 11th in passing yards per game, 18th in rushing yards per game and 14th in points per game. The Vikings finished 8-9 that season, second in the NFC North, leading to the firing of then-head coach Mike Zimmer and his staff.
We’ll see what direction the Steelers go in this offseason at the offensive coordinator position, but one thing is certain: Klint Kubiak is a name to remember.
