Offensive Coordinator Klay Kubiak Press Conference

Offensive Coordinator Klay Kubiak

Press Conference – January 14, 2026

San Francisco 49ers

Head coach Kyle Shanahan mentioned after the game that you were the one that kind of suggested the touchdown pass to RB Christian McCaffrey. Can you just kind of take us through why you thought that moment was the right time and how you guys had kind of set it up before that?

“I suggest lots of plays and sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. I think we liked that play going into the game because of the coverages we were going to get. We thought it was a pretty safe call. Weren’t many things they would do that would make it a bad play as long as we executed it. We had the timeout, we had the end of the end of the quarter, so it kind of gave us some time to put some thought into what we wanted to do and we’re on the right hash, which is what we have to run that play on. I just saw it on the call sheet and I was like, ‘this might be good.’ I suggested it, but that’s kind of how it goes the whole game, kind of suggests things and some get called, some don’t, some work, some don’t. But that one was a good play. Guys executed, so that’s what mattered most.”

Right before that you had run a reverse to WR Skyy Moore. Was there anything that you saw in the way they reacted to that play that you thought maybe we could come back to it?

“Just the coverages they played the whole game, we knew that that was going to be set up. It was nice to call the jet sweep to Skyy just to show that we were going to give him the ball and maybe it got those guys to play him a little more. But it was just really more based on the style of the defense and the coverages we were attacking.”

Early in the in the play, it seems like the safety picks up or at least notices RB Christian McCaffrey coming out. You’re up on high, are you watching that and freaking out at that moment?

“Yeah, he was in a position where I thought he could play it. But clearly, he kind of got caught in that no man’s land not knowing what was going on, which was good. [WR] Jauan’s [Jennings] coached up on that too. If that safety does take Christian, you either got to run or throw it away. So, we had a plan B.”

As a playcaller, are you aware which of your weapons were quarterbacks in high school? Which guys are right-handed, which guys are left-handed, which guys can make those throws?

“Yeah, you got to practice it that way. You can’t put a guy in a position where he’s got to really turn his body unnaturally and he doesn’t work on, for sure. So, yeah, you got to be aware of you got to be on the right hash to make that call. And there’s other ones where that are like that too, where you got to call it at the right time with the right person based on how they can throw.”

How many times would you say you’ve rep that play of practice? Did you work on it last week?

“Not as many as you’d think. We’ve had it up a couple times this year. We always kind of rep it once or twice in the week. Usually in a walk-thru you don’t usually devote a full speed rep to it because there’s other things you got to get to. So, it’s just something we’ve repped and guys were ready for it. So, it’s cool.”

How do you grade Jauan’s throw?

“That was an A-plus. That was fantastic.”

Tell us an example of how your relationship and play calling has evolved with Kyle.

“I just think over time, the more comfortable I get, the more comfortable he gets with me. The more I’m involved in game planning, I just think it just kind of naturally, I see the game as a playcaller. As the game goes on, I’m looking at it through the eyes of I’m calling this game. And so, whenever the time comes up to suggest something or I’m asked for a suggestion, I feel like I need to be ready. So, I put myself through those scenarios and I put myself through that lens of I’m calling this game so when Kyle needs help, I’m prepared to give him suggestions. I think Kyle’s kind of gotten to a point where he knows that I’m thinking that way. And so, we’re kind of on the same page. It’s all about the preparation through the week. We prepare together; we go through all the scenarios together. We talk about situations. Him and I are very much on the same page with those things. And I just think it’s just the time working together, the time on task and the relationship to where we’re in a spot where we can kind of hopefully bounce ideas off each other and go from there.”

He’s mentioned when he has asked for plays, people come in and he talks to them and he asks the why. Can you give us a little example of maybe some time that it didn’t work out where you didn’t have the why?

“Oh yeah. It happens all the time [laughs]. That’s just game planning. The why is what’s our intent of the play? What are we trying to attack in the defense? Who are we trying to get open? Who are we trying to get a double team on? Whatever it is. Why are we running this? What’s the intent? If they don’t do that, do we have a good answer? Is the play safe to call? Is there a good check down for the quarterback? All those things going into play and sometimes you come up with something, and you sit down and think about the why and you go, never mind. Let’s move on. Let’s take that one off the list. That happens a lot, but that’s part of the process, going through the game plan.”

Given the challenges faced for the offense against the Seahawks just a couple weeks ago, how does it alter or help you guys to adjust the preparation of this week going to see them once again in such a short time span?

“It doesn’t change our process at all. We go through the same process. We watched the same film we watched two weeks ago. Sometimes you see new things, sometimes you see things differently. You definitely look at the game that we played and see, ‘okay, what do we have to do better?’ But there’s just not much tape to watch. So, you’re limited. You’ve kind of watched it all and it’s just going to come down to executing. It’s going to come down to our guys playing their best. We can do things a little bit different as coaches. We got to help them more. Definitely learn from the last game. But you just watch that tape and you put a plan together and you got to go play football.”

Do you have things left over from the game plan two weeks ago that you didn’t use the first time?

“Yeah. We do for sure.”

What’s the challenge when they keep the two safeties deep and they kind of almost challenge you guys to run the ball and you’re struggling to run it, what’s plan B at that point because that’s what happened it seemed like in Week 18?

“That’s why you got to run the ball versus them. That’s why you got to try to get them out of that. When teams can defend the run in two-shell, that’s what they want. So that they can keep those safeties deep and be in the pass coverages they want to play. The thing that, with these guys, they do a good job of playing their two-shell, but then all their coverages compliment that they can kind of fit the run from their single high, from those two-shell looks. So, it’s a huge challenge, but the challenge is on us. We got to run the ball better; we got to be better on third down so we can get more ops to run the ball. That’s really the biggest thing is we got to stay on the field so we can keep calling runs then hopefully, you can get the defense to commit another guy in the box, which helps other things. So that’s the plan, that’s just football. We got to execute and stay on the field and hopefully those runs will come.”

They also stay in nickel pretty much all the time and still defend the run very well. How are they able to do that and what kind of challenge is it to see a defense doing that?

“Yeah, that’s their personnel. That’s what they want to do. And they got the people to do it. And you look at three, he’s this nickel body for them. He’s so big and long and he has the ability to play the run at a very elite level like a good linebacker can, but he’s also really athletic and can cover and he’s really a jack of all trades for them. He allows them to do that, but that’s their philosophy of defense. And you look at other teams we’ve played, Houston’s very similar. They have a nickel who’s just a dynamic run defender and a good coverage guy. Teams that can do that, it’s hard. It’s a big challenge. And so that’s their personnel and that’s what they do.”

What jumped out at you, how Brock directed the final drive in Philly and how does that reinforce him as a big game quarterback going into Seattle’s atmosphere?

“Yeah, I mean, can’t say enough about Brock’s poise and his competitiveness there at the end of the fourth quarter. I think Brock would tell you he didn’t play his best game for the first three quarters of that game. He did a good job in some areas but had some turnovers. But when it came down to the drives that mattered, the fourth quarter, the pressure of that moment, he was locked in. He didn’t blink. That’s kind of who he’s been his whole career to me. He’s had drives like that in the playoffs when you go back to ’23, and we’re going to need it on Saturday. You know, he did it in Week One. He’s played good football in that environment, and that’s what it’s going to take to win.”

Did you or your brother text who first about the matchup?

“There’s been no texting this week [laughs]. But no time. I mean, it’s a six-day week again, we got to just get to work.

Do you feel fortunate that you guys have the depth of quality veterans as far as RB Brian Robinson Jr. to WR Demarcus Robinson and TE Jake Tonges. You have guys that can step into this situation.

“Yeah, it’s been huge, and the guys have come a long way as the year has gone on too, from where they started in training camp and just the growth. And that’s what you need to be a good team. You need depth, you need veteran depth, you need young depth too. But those guys who’ve been here, you know, Jake’s been here a few years, but those two guys you mentioned who came in during camp and just have just been working and learning the offense, and they’re just huge contributors for us right now. So, it was definitely a big reason why we won last week, you saw D-Rob making those plays, so it’s big.”