Sam Darnold's offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, was another former Viking with a redemption story on Super Bowl Sunday.
Much of the criticism directed at the Minnesota Vikings leading up to the Super Bowl focused on Sam Darnold. Not only did he find tons of success with the Seattle Seahawks this season, but the Vikings never found stability at quarterback.
But another former Viking was helping steer the Seahawks' offense to a championship. Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who was a Minnesota assistant for five seasons, had not only helped lead the Seahawks to the Super Bowl but was set to be hired by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Kubiak held several different titles in five seasons with the Vikings. He served as the offensive quality control coach in 2013 and 2014, overlapping between Leslie Frazier and Mike Zimmer's staffs.
After four years away, Kubiak returned to Minnesota in 2019 as the team's quarterbacks coach. His father, Gary, was hired to be Minnesota's assistant head coach that year and took over as offensive coordinator in 2020.
The elder Kubiak retired after the season, and the Vikings elevated Klint to offensive coordinator. It felt like the move was the product of nepotism, and it wasn't just because of the Kubiaks.
Zimmer hired his son, Adam, as linebackers coach in 2014, and in 2021 promoted him to co-defensive coordinator alongside defensive line coach Andre Patterson.
The move felt less about merit and more about consolidating power within the head coach’s inner circle. That context made Klint Kubiak’s promotion to offensive coordinator feel like part of a broader pattern on the staff.
To his credit, the Vikings' offense wasn't the reason they missed the playoffs in 2021. Minnesota ranked 14th in points scored and 12th in total offense. On defense, though, they ranked 24th in points allowed and 30th in yards.
The Vikings fired Zimmer a day after the season and hired Kevin O’Connell, who dismissed most of the staff, including Kubiak. O’Connell took over play-calling duties and brought in coaches familiar with Sean McVay’s offense.
So Kubiak bounced around with one-year stops with the Broncos, 49ers, and Saints before landing with the Seahawks. He will be 39 next week and will be the latest coach tasked with turning around the Raiders' organization.
Unlike Darnold, there wasn't much hesitation in moving on from Kubiak when O'Connell arrived. Kubiak had his moments in 2021, but there wasn't anything showing that he was the next hot offensive mind.
If anything, his ascension to Super Bowl champion and head coach mirrors Darnold's trajectory. Like any worker in a specific field, players and coaches have the opportunity to grow and prove themselves.
Would Kubiak have grown into one of the league's best offensive coordinators if he stayed on O'Connell's staff and relinquished playcalling? Or did his stop in San Francisco in 2023 help play a key role in his personal growth?
All of this underscores why the Vikings are entering a pivotal offseason in which they need to thread the needle at quarterback. J.J. McCarthy struggled in his first season as a starter in 2025. O'Connell's pass-heavy scheme may not have helped him, and that's an indictment of the coach.
But that doesn't mean that one or both of them can't learn from 2025 and continue to grow in their roles. Of course, the failures of the 2025 season put tons of pressure on O'Connell to return to the postseason next season. McCarthy's struggles mean there are no guarantees he will be the starter in 2026.
The NFL is a cutthroat business. Coaching staffs aren't given five or six years to figure it out. Neither are quarterbacks. That's part of the reason Darnold is on his fifth team in six seasons.
It's a delicate, unfair balance that leaves fans wondering, "How could you have let him go?" years after begging for that individual to be replaced.
But the Seahawks are Super Bowl champions in large part because they found value in their offensive coordinator-quarterback combination after other organizations moved on from them. Will the Vikings have the patience to allow annual growth within their own organization?