Offensive Coordinator Klay Kubiak Press Conference

Offensive Coordinator Klay Kubiak

Press Conference – November 6, 2025

San Francisco 49ers

Are you ready for head knocker 2.0? The first game was a true head knocker. You guys couldn’t run it but stayed with the run and it was like 2.2 a carry, but over 30 carries.

“I think we had like 88 plays in the game. And when we have that many plays and it was 33 runs, it’s just because we were able to stay on the field, convert third downs. We weren’t getting a lot out of the runs, but we were able to keep calling them and that’s kind of why we were able to do that. But expect the same kind of game. These guys we’re going to have to stay on the field and keep a really explosive offense off the field as best we can and score points. So, however it shapes out though, however it goes, we’ll be ready. So yeah, hope it’s that kind of game again.”

How much are you thinking about putting together long drives when you’re facing a quarterback like that?

“It’s not really conscious. You’d love to score on two or three. You’d love to hit explosives and be off the field, but it’s definitely not a conscious thing for sure. You’re not thinking about that, but it’s just kind of how things have gone this year too. We haven’t had a ton of big explosives to score fast, but if we’re staying on the field converting third downs, that’s going to help our defense. It’s good for us.”

How has RB Brian Robinson Jr. been with his role? RB Christian McCaffrey’s going to get the bulk of the work. Brian has never had this few of carries at this point in the season before, and he’s even returning kicks, which he’s never done before. So how has he helped? How has he been through all that?

“He’s been awesome. Brian’s a pro and he’s been nothing but a great teammate. A humble leader for our guys in the locker room, and when he’s getting his opportunities, he stepped up and played really well. I was really happy for him on Sunday that he actually got to kind of see the benefits of that by getting in the endzone. He’s had two big kick returns two weeks in a row. Brian is ready when his number’s called. That’s what a pro is. I’m sure for him, he’d love to be out there more, but he knows Christian’s our number one back and he’s gone in there and played good. And Brian just keeps staying ready and if the time comes and Christian’s got to come out or whatever he needs, he’s ready to step up. And so really happy with Brian, real happy he’s part of our team. He’s been a great teammate.”

He almost seems he was running as strong as he has all year. Has the limited amount of carries kept him pretty fresh?

“Yeah, probably. He practices really well and you can see he’s ready, he’s fresh. That’s the kind of runner he is though. I think he also is getting more comfortable with our offense week-to-week. He’s very comfortable, just seeing the holes, knowing his tracks a little bit more confidently, probably playing a little bit more fast because of that. But he just gets better every week. So, we love where he is at.”

Having been around Christian, as long as you have now, what have you observed about him that makes him such a good pass catcher out of the backfield and route runner?

“It just starts with his attention to detail. The way he approaches route running, it’s very much like a receiver. He has a plan on every route on how he’s going to get open. He’s one of those guys who is incredibly instinctual, once the ball touches his hands, he knows how to drop step, how to turn and get YAC. He’s got great hands to do that. He can catch it and get vertical. And he’s a guy who really studies route running and he thinks about the route and he’s not just going out there and doing what’s on paper, he has a plan. So, it comes down to his preparation and how much he works at it. And this just makes him a really unique talent for us out of the backfield.”

Does he do things when you watch the tape in that regard, where you’re like, ‘I’ve never seen a running back do this before.’ Do you find yourself saying this is different?

“Yeah, I think he’s different from most guys. Obviously, he is. I’ve seen great backs who are great route runners and guys who can do a lot of stuff. But Christian, just his consistency with it and the way he can just do it every week, and then the way he can do simple things really effectively too. Where he is just running a check option over the ball, which is a really routine thing, but the way he can separate and use his hands and get YAC with that stuff, it’s really cool.”

When you look at how the Rams defend third-and-long, does that just put more importance on not falling behind the chains on first and second down?

“Big time. I think they’re number one in the league once the team gets behind the chains of getting off the field. That’s every week, you always want to emphasize staying ahead of the chains, but this team they go into attack mode when it’s second-and-long, third-and-long and they’re really hard to block and they’re really hard to sustain drives. So, obviously we go into every week saying, ‘we got to get ahead of the chains. We got to be efficient on first and second down.’ But it’s a huge deal with this defense because it’s where they thrive when they get you in those situations.”

Christian is having another offensive player of the year caliber campaign. He’s also getting a lot of touches again. When he enters this age, 29 getting close to 30, as a running back, was there ever a concern about his workload and trying to lighten it or if he’s healthy, we’re just going to give him the ball?

“I feel like we’ve talked about this a lot with him, and you got to try to balance it. You have to balance a player who does not want to come off the field and who is our leader and who is a huge part of our offensive production. Then you want to balance that out with keeping a guy healthy and taking care of him and getting other guys opportunities. So, it’s something we’re always thinking about, something we’re always trying to balance out. At the end of the day, he’s a great player, he’s an elite player, and he wants to be on the field. And so, it’s hard to convince those guys that they need to be out of the game but it’s always something that’s on our mind and we just always try to balance it out.”

Does make an impact even when he doesn’t get the ball? When he goes in motion, can you see what that does to a defense?

“For sure. Absolutely. You can see when team plays man, what their plans are for Christian. Are they going to double him? Are they going to put a safety on him? It’s always something we’re paying attention to as we go into games. Yeah, people’s eyes are on him. And you like to see as games go on, how is that affecting the rest of the defense? Does that make them vulnerable somewhere else? So, for sure.”

How does Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula use S Quentin Lake in this defense?

“He’s a really smart player. You can tell. They put a lot on him in terms of that nickel position and playing safety in base. He’s all over the field with all the coverages they play. He’s incredibly detailed with his technique, with everything they ask him to do. When he plays man-coverage, he’s a really good coverage guy. So he’s one of the most impressive players we’ve seen just in terms of how smart of a player he is, how instinctive he is. To me, he’s one of the leaders of that group just because he kind of gets things going and he gets guys lined up back there. He’s tough to go against.”

What led you guys to land on QB Adrian Martinez as the third quarterback. You guys had former QB Tanner Mordecai in at one point and brought in former QB Carter Bradley.

“Just the guys in training camp, they had injuries at the end of camp, didn’t make the team. And then when [QB] Brock [Purdy] got hurt, we needed a third guy and he’s one who tried out. We were real impressed with him. We loved his preseason tape from this year and in the past couple years. You don’t really know that much about those guys until you get them here and you get to see him in your room. And man, he’s been impressive. We think we got a good one in him, so just happy that we kind of lucked into him.”

How did OL Spencer Burford look? I know he gave up the one sack, but overall, how did you grade his film?

“He played good. For the first game back, I thought he played solid. He played very aggressive, and he played fast and he played hard. He didn’t play with any hesitation. That was really cool to see. Are there things he can clean up? Yes. The details always something we’re working on, but I was really happy with how he came back and the mindset he played with. Just got to keep practicing and keep pushing him in getting better.”

Martinez hasn’t played much in the NFL, what are his strengths as you guys see it day in and day out in practice?

“He’s really smart. I think we had a week where [QB] Mac [Jones] was banged up. Brock was obviously banged up and he took a lot of reps and he didn’t miss anything. He was on it. He’s a guy who can absorb the game plan and just be comfortable with it, without getting a lot of reps. He is a really good athlete, natural thrower, just kind of things we look for.”

Jones has had a really good year, but you didn’t know him though before he got here. How impressed are you with his ability to lead on a team where he’s not the starting quarterback?

“Really impressed. A guy comes in here and they’re not aggressively leading at first, they’re getting to know guys, they’re getting a feel for our culture and kind of where his role is. And he did that. He didn’t step in and start demanding things and he wasn’t this kind of ‘rah rah’ guy. But as he’s been on the field more and the way he’s played, you can see he gets more confident around his teammates. His teammates start to kind of take to him more as a leader. He just kind of has a natural leadership to him. It comes out in just how he plays. He doesn’t force it. So, it’s been cool to see.”