ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported this afternoon that the New Orleans Saints are in the process of hiring San Francisco 49ers passing game coordinator Klint Kubiak as the team’s new offensive coordinator. No deal can be finalized until after the Super Bowl, but it sounds as if Kubiak will be heading to New Orleans.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan interviewed for the OC vacancy in New Orleans, and he had also interviewed for the Las Vegas Raiders’ offensive coordinator job that went to Kliff Kingsbury. Those are the only two jobs that Sullivan reportedly interviewed for, and with no promotion from another team on the horizon, it appears as if Sullivan will remain in Pittsburgh as its quarterback’s coach.
If he does in fact remain, he’ll be a nice bridge for quarterback Kenny Pickett from the last offensive staff to new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Sullivan was Pittsburgh’s primary play caller from Week 12 until the end of the season, and Pittsburgh finished the regular season 4-3 before losing in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs with Sullivan calling plays. That turnaround coupled with his prior coordinator experience — he worked as the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2012-13 and also as the New York Giants’ offensive coordinator from 2016-17 — garnered him offensive coordinator interest this offseason.
However, the Saints job will apparently go to Kubiak, who has helped develop Brock Purdy and also has prior OC experience, working as the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive coordinator in 2021. He replaces Pete Carmichael, who had been the offensive coordinator in New Orleans since 2009. Carmichael recently took a job under his former boss Sean Payton as an offensive assistant with the Denver Broncos.
There haven’t been any staff changes since Smith was reported as the Steelers’ hire, which was made official on Friday afternoon. We will see what happens in the next few days and if the Steelers look to add or make changes to their staff, and whether Sullivan does indeed stay on.
