SAN JOSE, Calif. — Klint Kubiak, the Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator expected to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ next head coach, once walked away from the game entirely. In his early 20s, working as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M making $17,000 a year, Kubiak felt he wasn’t supporting his new wife and took a job doing inventory on pipe in East Texas for an oil company.

Two weeks into that job, a phone call from a former player changed everything. Uzoma Nwachukwu, a receiver Kubiak had coached hard at Texas A&M, called to thank him for making him better. “I ended up quitting that job the next day and trying to get back into football,” Kubiak recalled.

That detour, brief as it was, reinforced his calling. “I found out pretty quickly something was missing and that was the joy of being a coach,” he said. “It’s kind of like being a teacher. You build great relationships. You’re just teaching football instead of a subject.”

Now 38, Kubiak is preparing to coach the Seahawks against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60. He is expected to sign with the Raiders after the game, unable to finalize any deal until then. The financial security he once sought outside football has come from the game into which he was born.

Family Business

Kubiak’s father, Gary, won a Super Bowl as head coach of the Denver Broncos. His brothers Klay and Klein also work in the NFL. Growing up around the game, Kubiak learned early that authenticity matters. “The thing that stands out from him is you always have to find a way to be yourself because the players will see right through it if you’re not,” he said of his father’s advice.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald called Kubiak’s expected departure “a little bittersweet” because of the person he is. Receiver Cooper Kupp praised Kubiak’s self-accountability: “He holds himself to such a high bar that it calls everyone else to be there as well.”

Simple Philosophy

Kubiak’s offensive philosophy centers on the running game. “Something that’s always been important to us is to be able to run the football against an eight-man front,” he said. “Then we build our game plans off of that.”

He and his wife Tessa have four children. Kubiak keeps his home life private but says family and faith are his proudest accomplishments. Reflecting on his early struggles, he said, “I’m still really thankful for those years because you find out a lot about yourself and see how much you love something when you’re willing to work hard at it even if it doesn’t provide you with that immediate monetary success.”