Offensive Coordinator Klay Kubiak Press Conference

Offensive Coordinator Klay Kubiak

Press Conference – September 11, 2025

San Francisco 49ers

What have your impressions been of QB Mac Jones since he’s been here, and what’s his state of readiness if indeed he has to go this week?

“Mac’s been really impressive since he walked in the door just the way he’s kind of first been open to the coaching and open to learning what we do here and the way we coach quarterbacks. He bought in from day one. And you’ve seen the growth. You saw it in OTAs and then in camp, he had a great camp. If we need him to play, he’s going to be ready and he’s done everything we want him to do. If Mac gets an opportunity at some point, then I’m excited to watch him play.”

He’s talked a couple times about the need to rebuild his confidence in terms of feeling free to cut it loose when you see something and trusting it. Have you seen growth in that regard over the last six months?

“Yeah, I don’t have anything to compare it to because I wasn’t coaching him, but I do see growth from OTAs to training camp to now. You saw a guy who was learning in OTAs and then a guy who was more confident in camp and a guy who’s fully confident right now. So yeah, his trajectory has been great.”

The expectations for WR Ricky Pearsall this year were high for him to make a second-year leap. His performance in Week One seemed to validate that to some extent. What have you seen from Ricky and just the strides that he’s made?

“Yeah, the offseason he had, obviously he had some setbacks, but the training camp he had really, and the way he was able to stack days, stack weeks, put together practice after practice and get better, it paid off on Sunday. I think I told Ricky, ‘you’re ready to play, you’re ready to go out there and make plays.’ And he did. Now, okay, what’s the next challenge? Get a new game plan, go against a new team and do it again and that’s what he has to keep doing.”

You said there was a lot of timing that he had to figure out with QB Brock Purdy from year one to year two. Now with Mac stepping in how much of an adjustment is that for a receiver to try to get on the same page?

“It’s probably a little. I’m sure there’s some. I think the timing adjustment is more just learning our route tree and whoever the quarterback is, learning the timing of our routes, and whether it’s Brock or Mac or anyone there’s a growth period to that. And he still growing, and I think he’s definitely more comfortable. So, sure, the quarterback maybe changes it, but I think no matter who’s throwing him the ball, he’s in a pretty good position right now with all that stuff.”

What do you think of WR Jordan Watkins? What’d you think of him this summer? Is he ready to roll this week?

“Yeah, we’ll see. He’s coming off the injury and he’s gotten to practice. I think he practiced once last week, and he’s gotten two good days in. So, for him it’s about just continuing to put good practices together and depending on kind of how our room shapes out for game day, whether he gets an op or not. But he’s been doing a good job, and we expect him to keep getting better and contribute if he has to play.”

It’s only been a couple days, but how has WR Kendrick Bourne looked and where do you see him fitting into that group?

“He looks good. It’s new right now to him. He was here in this scheme before I was here. So, there’s learning with any new player. He’s an NFL receiver. He’s a big physical, strong guy, got great hands and he works and he’s got a great passion for football. So, there’s a growth period there, he has to keep getting reps and keep seeing things. But again, we’ll kind of see how it shapes out for Sunday.”

What do you see from New Orleans Saints defense coordinator Brandon Stanley’s defense. What makes him tough to face?

“Man, one, just the way he coaches fundamentals, the technique of his scheme, is as good as anybody. His guys play extremely fundamentally sound and extremely hard. He does a great job of mixing stuff up, he is not a guy that you really can predict things from drive to drive. So, he kind of keeps you on your toes. He’s a super smart coach, he puts his players in a position to play fast. And he is just going to keep you guessing, keep you on your toes as a play caller. And so, being around him for a year, just learned a lot from him. It’s going to be a challenge for sure.”

When you don’t have TE George Kittle out there, how do you make up for what he brings and how do you fill that void?

“You don’t make up for losing a player like that. George has been playing at a high level, but you eventually have to get to a point where you move on. You say, ‘okay, what do we have and what position are we going to put these guys in that we have now?’ So, it’s not about replacing George, it’s about guys stepping up and playing good football. That’s just how I see it.”

For people who weren’t familiar with TE Jake Tonges before he made that catch, what makes him good? What makes him an NFL player? What’s his skillset?

“Yeah, Jake’s got great hands, and he’s got a route running skillset for a tight end. He can stretch the field vertical. He’s got good speed, but to me it’s his hands and you saw it in the preseason, he made some really good plays for us in the preseason. So, he’s got the receiving skillset and we’ve been developing him as a blocker, and he has gotten better. He’s been cool to see kind of grow as a player over these past couple years.”

Were you surprised at all that Seattle stayed with their nickel when you guys went to 12 and 21 personnel? Were you expecting that?

“Yeah, that’s kind of what they do. They do play base, but they’re primarily a nickel defense and 21, [Seattle Seahawks CB Devon] Witherspoon’s, I think is one of the best defensive players in the league. So, them having him on the field in that position, it makes sense. He’s a really good player. So, we were ready for that.”

What’s your perspective on that touchdown to Jake Tonges, what’s kind of going through your mind as the play is happening?

“Slow motion. You see Brock kind of moving around and buying time and you’re just hoping to see someone pop, and nobody really popped. Brock threw it up and threw the perfect ball. So, it was really cool.”

Was it one of those kinds of, ‘no, no, no, yes’ type of things?

“A little bit of that. But guys need to make plays to win games and we did.”

What’s your philosophy on 50/50 balls because you have to throw them. You want your guy to throw some of them, but you have to take care of the ball. Do you have a philosophy on it? Does head coach Kyle Shanahan?

“Yeah, you got to give guys ops to make plays and that’s really it. And guys, when they can’t make a play, they got to try to make sure the defender doesn’t make the play. So, that’s really what it comes down to.”

You had RB Christian McCaffrey out there; I think 58 snaps. Was there one snap in particular that jumped out at you?

“Yeah, there’s always little things with Christian that people don’t really notice, but for me, I always look at like the runs where, it’s maybe a bad look or they blitz or it’s just not the best run look, but Christian finds a way to get five yards. So now instead of second and nine, you’re in second and five or second and six. Those make a huge difference in a drive. You see the runs that are blocked for two that get four or five. Christian is very consistent at that. So those are the things I see about him. He’s a guy who just grinds and he makes things right for us.”

Was the plan to give Christian the ball as much as you did? Is the plan to give him the ball as much as you need to win?

“It’s a fluid thing. Yeah, we’ve talked about this in the offseason. Yeah, you’d love to find ways to give Christian a blow, but Christian doesn’t like coming off the field. You’re in the heat of battle and Christian’s making plays for us. So, it’s just kind of situational the way that happens. [RB] Brian’s [Robinson Jr.] going to continue to get more reps because he’s coming along and still learning the offense and getting better. So, it’ll be an evolving thing as we go through the year.”

The Saints ran a lot of like five-two base last week. What kind of challenges does that present trying to run the ball between the tackles?

“Just a lot of big bodies up front and they have very physical edge setters. They got big guys inside and they got two really good inside linebackers. So, when you put those seven guys down there in the middle, it’s tough to move them, you know? So, it presents a huge challenge and that’s what we’re getting ready for.”

What have you seen from RB Jordan James in practice and how close is he to maybe contributing?

“We’ll see what kind of happens for game day, but Jordan’s been practicing really well. I think there’s a natural kind of needing to get back into football shape after missing time. He’s been back out there, he looks good to me. It’s like anyone else who misses time, they need reps, they need to get back into it and kind of see where they’re at. “

Circling back to that conversation you had with Ricky leading into the Seattle game, how much of him taking this next step is at this stage more mental and kind of having that confidence that he can be the guy? He talked about wide receivers/passing game specialist Leonard Hankerson, putting those expectations on him and challenging him in that way.

“Yeah, I think any player is just confidence. It’s just repetition. It’s just going out there and doing it consistently. And when you can do it consistently, you got to believe that you can do it on game day and that’s kind of where he is at. So, I think that’s the same for all players really.”

Is there a trophy for the Kubiak Bowl?

“No trophy, it’s one game. They’re onto their season. We’re continuing with ours. It’s moving on, but it was cool to see my brother last weekend though. That was nice.”

What are your impressions of QB Adrian Martinez so far?

“It’s been really cool to see him get some reps in the scout team. He’s a guy who, to me, looks real comfortable. He’s a good athlete. He throws the ball well and we don’t know a ton about him just because he’s kind of new here, but from what we’ve seen, I’ve been impressed.”