We have a double dose of survey results, including one for the Seahawks and one for next week’s Super Bowl.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Each week we ask questions of the most plugged-in Seattle Seahawks fans and fans across the country.
Hooray! The Seattle Seahawks’ search for a new offensive coordinator is finally over!
Last weekend, the Seahawks announced that former New Orleans Saints OC Klint Kubiak would be Seattle’s OC for 2025. Kubiak will be the Seahawks’ third OC in as many seasons, following Ryan Grubb, who was fired after one season, and Shane Waldron, who left for Chicago following the 2023 season.
Kubiak most recently served as the Saints’ OC in 2024, working under head coaches Dennis Allen (who was fired after Week 9) and Darren Rizzi. New Orleans’s offense began the season strong, scoring 91 points over the first two weeks, but was held under 14 points four times in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. At season’s end, Kubiak’s injury-riddled offense finished 24th in points scored (338) and 21st in yards gained (5,442).
Prior to be hired by the Saints, Kubiak served as the Minnesota Vikings’ OC in 2021 under head coach Mike Zimmer, succeeding his father Gary. That year, the Vikings’ offense finished 14th in points scored (425) and 12th in yards gained (6,168), despite the team going 8-9 on the year. While not earth-shattering numbers, they are more encouraging than the 2024 Saints’ numbers, and show a better picture of how Seattle’s offense may do in 2025.
Kubiak, along with the rest of Zimmer’s staff, was not brought back for 2022. Over the next two seasons, Kubiak was the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Denver Broncos, and later served in the former position with the San Francisco 49ers, helping QB Brock Purdy to a fourth-place finish in MVP voting.
So, given all of this, how are Seahawks fans feeling about the hire?
Here are some of the comments from the Field Gulls community:
According to the results of the latest survey, 82% of fans feel neutral or excited about Kubiak’s hiring. Among that margin, 43% expressed excitement, and there are good reasons to feel that way.
For one, neither of Seattle’s last two offensive coordinators had ever served in that position at the NFL level before. Waldron had served in a number of other offensive positions around the league between 2008 and 2020, while Grubb had never coached in the NFL prior to 2024. Kubiak, despite not spending more than one season as an OC in any organization, does have prior experience in the position.
On top of this, New Orleans’s injury woes have made it a bit challenging to predict how the Seahawks will do next year. As stated by our Mookie Alexander in the survey article, “the Saints offense was beset by injuries to Derek Carr, Taysom Hill, Chris Olave, Rasheed Shaheed, Cesar Ruiz, Alvin Kamara, and other starters and main reserves throughout the season. Hard to gauge an offense’s efficacy when Jake Haener and rookie Spencer Rattler are playing quarterback behind backup offensive linemen and throwing to practice squad receivers and waiver wire pickups.” With this in mind, it will be fascinating to see how Seattle’s offense performs under Kubiak with better health.
Cautious optimism is perhaps the best route to take here, although it is certainly reasonable to be more excited about the Seahawks’ offense under Kubiak rather than Grubb. Mike Macdonald, who has a defensive background, will likely give Kubiak most of the control of the offense, similar to Allen did during Kubiak’s time in New Orleans. This will allow Kubiak to install his system and develop the offense as he sees fit.
That being said, things may get ugly if the offense is hit by the injury bug. Several offensive linemen ended 2024 on IR, including Anthony Bradford and Abe Lucas. With a healthy OL corps, it will be a much different story for Kubiak and the Seattle offense in 2025.
While we await the start of the Seahawks’ 2025 campaign, FanDuel and the Manning brothers have a little something to share as we approach Super Bowl LIX.
Most predict that Eli will win FanDuel Sportsbook’s Kick of Destiny 3, but that could certainly change between now and gameday.
How Kick of Destiny works
- Peyton & Eli Manning will face off in a field goal kicking competition.
- Each kicker will attempt a 25-yard kick.
- If the first kicker makes, the second kicker is given a chance to tie.
- If the first kicker misses, the second kicker is given a chance to win.
- If both kickers miss, they will kick again until there is a winner.
- If no winner is decided after 3 rounds, the kicker who kicked it closest to the center target on the net in the last round wins the tiebreaker.
How to Play
1. Download or Log In to FanDuel Sportsbook. Click the Kick of Destiny Icon on the homepage with your new or existing account.
2. Make your FREE Pick before 3pm ET on Super Bowl Sunday. Pick whether you think Peyton or Eli will win the Kick of Destiny 3.
3. Win a share of $10,000,000 in Bonus Bets if you made the correct pick. Watch live Super Bowl Sunday on Fox to see the Mannings kick! Then, check back Monday to see how much you got!
Tune into Super Bowl LIX on FOX at 3:30 PM PT. Good luck and enjoy the game!
Check out FanDuel, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.