Offensive Coordinator Klay Kubiak Press Conference

Offensive Coordinator Klay Kubiak

Press Conference – September 24, 2026

San Francisco 49ers

Can you revisit the QB Brock Purdy completion to WR Mike Evans to the one-yard line and how it looked from your view up in the crow’s nest?

“Yeah, it was not a good look for the play we called. So, you’re already kind of hoping, ‘Brock, don’t make it a bad play’ which he knows that. And he comes out and makes the guy miss. Okay, now we got a chance to do something. The guy running with Mike, it had to be a perfect throw or else it would have been picked and Brock threw a dime. That was awesome. That was a heck of a play by him.”

What are your early impressions of WR Brandin Cooks and what you’re seeing from him in practice?

“Yeah, good to have him here. He’s a pro. He’s been doing it a long time. He’s a worker. Everything. His reputation kind of precedes itself. He’s a heck of a worker. Everywhere he’s been, people just talk about how hard he practices, obviously how hard he plays. He’s a vet. He’s picking up our offense quick. It’s good to have him out there and get him involved and just get him incorporated into our offense. So, he’s been a pleasure to have.”

He was playing for the Rams in ’18 and ’19. Did that give him a good foundation for what you guys do?

“Yeah, he’s been in a lot of schemes. I feel like in every scheme that’s out there now he’s been in. But probably just familiarity with some of the route tree, maybe some formations. But things have changed so much since then too. Things have evolved. So, I don’t know how much it really has helped, but maybe just a little bit.”

What do you think of WR Jordan Watkins? He hasn’t been able to get out there. What does he need to do to make that next step?

“He’s going to get some ops. It’s unfortunate why guys have to get elevated with injuries, but Jordan’s going to get his opportunities and he’s going to be called upon at some moment in these games. We’re going to need him. And is he ready to make the play? Is he on his assignments on the details? Is he executing in the run game? It’s just going to come down to Jordan going out there and playing good football and executing when his number’s called. That’s all we’re asking of him. It’s all we’re asking of anybody. But it’s a good opportunity for him. He’s been working really hard. I’m really proud of how he’s kind of approached these past few weeks of the season, just working on the scout team and getting ready to go. And he’s going to get an op here. So, we’ll see how he plays, but I’m excited for Jordan to see him get out there.”

What jumps out about Arizona’s defense?

“They’ve been together for a while. It feels like this scheme with [Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator] Nick [Rallis] calling it and a core group of players, obviously [Arizona Cardinals S] Budda [Baker] kind of being the guy who runs the show there, they’ve been running the same scheme and it’s a really challenging scheme to prepare for. There’s multiplicity in everything they do – fronts, pressures, coverages. They kind of do it all and they do it all at a high level. They’ve been like that for the four years. So, it’s a lot to prepare for. The thing that has always jumped out to me about Arizona is they are a team that plays very hard. They run to the ball. They swarm. They attack. And we always have our hands full. They’re really hard to run the ball against. And so it’s always a challenge versus these guys. They know us pretty well too. It’s a divisional opponent. So, we definitely have our work cut out for us. We got to be ready to go.”

Outside of Budda, any other guys stand out? I know Arizona Cardinals DL Walter Nolen’s a pretty talented defensive lineman?

“They definitely have some talented guys up front. Obviously [Arizona Cardinals LB Josh] Sweat’s a really good pass rusher. Nolen’s jumping out. They have a number of guys on their interior D-Line, guys that just grind and play really hard and they make it really hard on your interior guys to block them in the run game. Five-down looks where they’re getting us into five-0s and they’re making everyone block one-on-one, it’s a challenge. In the back end, they got some talented players. I know they’ve had some injuries, but just consistency in their scheme, guys are really familiar with the system. So, whoever they got coming up to play, they’re going to be ready. So, it’s going to be a challenge.”

OL Connor Colby has talked about he just felt a little overwhelmed and tried to fix everything all at once last year and didn’t feel like it went great. Through the first two games, has he been a pleasant surprise? In what areas has he improved when you look at him now from his rookie year?

“I don’t know if I would say surprised. We started him because we expect him to go in there and play good. And Connor had a good camp. He had a good preseason. I think the area where he’s improved the most is just consistency. I think there were games last year where there were highs and lows. He was playing solid football and then there’d be lows and that’s hard on a rookie. Emotionally, that’s hard. Mentally, that’s hard to kind of overcome and bounce back, but Connor’s been consistent. He’s been steady. And he’s been playing good, consistent football. It’s been two weeks of that and the challenge for him is to just to keep doing that. So, we’re happy with where he’s at, but we got to keep going.”

Kind of a year further ahead on that same timeline is OL Dominick Puni, who seemed in the preseason more comfortable and confident about what his year might look like. What have you seen from him?

“Dom’s another guy who his rookie year and then to his second year there were areas where he needed to grow. Going into his third year, again, another guy you’ve seen a lot of consistency from. He had a great camp. He’s become one of our most solid, reliable guys up there and really happy with how he’s playing. But again, I say this about everybody. We’re talking about two weeks of football. The challenge of the NFL is getting ready every week to go take on a new challenge and play good football again. If you can stack 16 good weeks, now you can say, ‘Okay, I’m a pretty darn good player.’ So keep pushing Dom, keep challenging him every week to get better, and we’ll keep going.”

It’s hard for rookies to get on the field for running backs coach Bobby Turner Jr., but RB Kaelon Black is playing and he’s playing as a rookie. What is he doing that other rookies maybe haven’t done in past years?

“It’s hard to play running back in the NFL as a rookie. There’s a lot that goes into it. I think Kaelon is a special guy, similar to Strib [WR De’Zhaun Stribling]. In terms of we knew what we were drafting in terms of the person, how well they prepared in college, how they were in their interview process. They’re just locked in. They’re just really smart football players. He’s played a lot of football. He’s played at a high level, played in a National Championship. And so as soon as he got here, nothing was too big for him. He took to the coaching. Any rep we gave him, he was ready for it. I just think we saw that consistency throughout camp. He was ready to play. And so, it’s credit to him. He’s wired the right way. He’s a heck of a player. So, we’re proud of where he’s at and keep pushing him.”

You once ran a high school English department. Do you ever critique any of our stories?

“No offense, but I’m usually not reading anything written about the Niners. Sorry, no. But, I can look over something if you need me to sometime. I’ll be some eyes.”

What about the grammar of the other coaches and the players? Is that a problem?

“No. We had spellcheck. We had all that stuff. So, you move past the grammar and focus on other things.”

Is there a thesaurus anywhere on your desk?

“No. People think English major; they think grammar and thesaurus. No, there’s other stuff to it. “

Do you have a book on your nightstand that you’re reading?

“No, I’m hitting the pillow, going to bed.”