Offensive Coordinator Klay Kubiak Press Conference

Offensive Coordinator Klay Kubiak

Press Conference – October 16, 2025

San Francisco 49ers

What are your impressions of WR Kendrick Bourne and the strides he’s made since he’s been here this year?

“Kind of the same things we’ve been saying. He’s real impressive, how much he’s playing, given how short a time he has been here. He’s been kind of forced into that role because of the injuries. He is just super competitive. He’s making plays. It’s not perfect. There’s stuff he’s got to clean up every week, but he’s totally like bought in and he’s just getting better. He’s learning and he’s competing and it’s showing up on the field on Sunday. So, he has been a huge contributor for us and just really cool to see that and happy to see him keep getting better.”

With Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s defense, you pretty much know what you’re going to get. He’s going to play a lot of man and he’s going to bring a lot of pressure, that’s what the numbers say. What does it look like when you watch it?

“Yeah, they play man, they definitely bring a lot of pressure, but then they have their shell coverages, and they mix it up. It’s a really good defense. It’s very sound. They’re really athletic and young and they play with a lot of passion, and they make plays, and everything’s tied together. And the reason why I think they’re ranked number one or depending on which metric you use, they are up there and they’re really good. It’s a huge challenge for us. And we’re getting ready for it, but it’s going to be very challenging on Sunday for sure.”

I know you’re going into each week wanting to put points up on the board, but given the state of the defense losing two cornerstones in DL Nick Bosa and LB Fred Warner, is there any added emphasis or any added pressure to kind of score more and take more advantage of the redzone possessions?

“It’s not added pressure. Yeah, we always want to score more. It doesn’t matter what’s going on in the defensive side of the ball, we got to do our job. I think if you start thinking about anything other than that, that’s when you kind of get distracted from that goal. So, I think our goal is to continue to get better. We want to score more points. We want to be more efficient and keep believing in what the defense is doing and just play our game.”

There’s been a lack of explosive plays and the numbers would suggest that as well. What have you seen in terms of not being able to get those as often as you have in the past? How can you kind of get there?

“I think it’s harder in general to get explosives in the league now, the way defenses play. I think it’s such an emphasis on defensive football to just limit explosives. So that’s a big part of it. Some of it is just luck. Some of it’s just missing something here, missing something there. It’s not something you’ve got to overcorrect or anything. You think those will come your way if you keep playing the right way. I truly feel that way. I think they’ll come in the run game. I think they’ll continue to come in the pass game if we keep playing the right way and getting better.”

How has TE George Kittle looked so far this week? How can he be helpful in that regard?

“Kittle, he’s looking good. It’s great to have him back out there. He’s been working back into practice. He’s definitely one of our most explosive players. That definitely helps, to answer your question.”

To the untrained eye, it looks almost like QB Mac Jones just hit the ground running for you guys, but do you see him making progress every week and getting better still?

“Yeah, I do. It’s really cool. And he didn’t get to practice a lot last week and this week, you see more progress because he’s practicing and even he owned that last week. He needs to practice. He needs to keep getting those reps. He gets better every week, in my opinion. He gets more comfortable with kind of our operation, our offense. He gets more confident. So, it’s cool to see a player ascend that way and just continue to grow.”

WR Jordan Watkins had a good camp for you guys and then had a couple big injuries and he’s working his way back. How much would you like to introduce him into your offense from scrimmage?

“Definitely we’d love to. He just got back this week, we got to kind of see where he’s at physically and work him back in. It’s a slow progression and we would love to get him out there on the field and contributing for us. And he’s a guy we really liked in the offseason. We liked how much he got better, the setbacks happened, but he’s got to continue to push himself, kind of where [WR] Ricky [Pearsall] was last year, where you kind of got to grow and you got to keep pushing yourself and practicing hard and eventually your time will come.”

Similar with RB Jordan James, what does he need to do to kind of get himself into the mix?

“It’s the same. You got to keep working. Jordan’s been stacking some really good weeks here. He had the injuries in camp, but this past month he’s had really good practices and he’s the guy who’s going to be ready to go when his number’s called. I mean how things shake out on game day with the numbers and how many backs we dress, that’s things he can’t control, but his time will come. I feel that. And he’s practicing really well and when his time does come, I’m excited about him.”

Having Kittle, he’s obviously a great all-around player, but maybe you get a better appreciation when you don’t have him. What would you say is the trait that you really do appreciate most about his game?

“I think you mentioned the explosiveness. I think that’s one thing when the ball’s in his hands, his ability to separate from guys. George accounts for a lot of explosive plays in our offense just because of his athletic ability, but just how good he is in the run and pass game. He’s not a guy that fits into a box. He does both equally very well, which means you don’t have to take him off the field, you don’t have to adjust what you’re calling because he’s in the game. He can protect, he can block the run game and he’s an elite, passing game guy. So, you definitely miss that, you miss a tool like that when he is not out there and when he’s out there. We really appreciate it.”

Both QB Brock Purdy and Mac wear the wristband with the play sheet on it and what are kind of the pros and cons of doing that? Why do you guys like to go that way?

“Yeah, it’s definitely not some, we don’t do it in the offseason. We don’t wear the wristband because we want guys getting used to hearing calls and then being able to paint a picture in their head of what we’re calling and whether it’s the formation, protection, run game, whatever. We want guys to just get comfortable with the verbiage. When you get into the season, you start to talk about a lot more, checks and our cans system. You start to talk about more motions and different formations and getting guys lined up in a certain spot and the wristband kind of takes care of that. So I guess what I’m saying is the verbiage picks up once you get in season and the wristband can be necessary for that, especially for [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] to call a play that’s very verbose and then the quarterback to have to call it again, it just takes time. So, for us to just tell them, look at the wristband, look at this number, it saves us time and it can get everyone kind of in the right spot. So, I think it’s just a necessary thing. I think a lot of people are using it now.”

It’s kind of to set a base in the offseason and then you can build off that?

“Totally. In the offseason we want guys listening and learning and you hear it, and you recall it, and you can communicate it in the huddle. We still do that, not every play we have is wristband. Kyle’s still calling a lot of plays to the quarterback, but in the offseason we want to train him to hear and then to be able to regurgitate it back to the offense.”

TE Jake Tonges has had a great couple weeks here. Did you see that potential in him this summer and what has been the key for him outside of opportunity to kind of unlock what he’s been able to do?

“Yeah, we’ve always been excited about Jake and what he has been able to do in the pass game. In the offseason, we really like those skill sets. We needed him to grow in the run game. And when George went out and he kind of stepped into that pass game role, we loved how he’s producing, but it’s been cool to see him grow as a complete player. What I would attribute that to, I think he’s a guy who’s taken advantage of every moment out there and he gets better from it. The moment’s not too big for him, he steps up when we need him to, and the more he is out there, the better he gets. We’re real happy with where he is at. So, he’s a big contributor for us.”

Do you feel the chemistry between Mac Jones and Bourne right away at practice? Do you see it now when you watch film and the plays?

“Yeah, you could tell just their relationship, they’re real comfortable with each other, but it took K.B. a little bit to kind of get caught up to speed just because he was so new to our offense coming, being away for so long. But you can tell those guys are, they’re locked in together and they have a great relationship.”