SAN FRANCISCO — As theSeattle Seahawkspiled out of their charter jet and descended down flights of stairs to the tarmac at San Jose Mineta International Airport, there were few camera phones in the hands of players and even less pomp or vanity in their swagger. It was a little past 5:30 p.m. Standard issue gray sweats were the overwhelming choice of attire. And the mission appeared to be swift: Get off one plane. Get on four busses. Get this show on the road.
Among Super Bowl arrivals, it was a standard issue "business trip."
In the midst of the transit,Seattle quarterback Sam Darnoldwent to one bus. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak went to another, joining the team's coaching staff and traveling personnel. Soon enough, the parting of their company will become more permanent, withKubiak expected to reach an agreement to be the head coach of the Las Vegas Raidersshortly after the Super Bowl. For the Seattle faithful, this was the bittersweet note that hung in the air Sunday, whether you were milling about in San Francisco — where the NFL is prepping for a multitude of events surrounding the game — or 40 miles to the south in San Jose, trying to catch a glimpse of the Seahawks' airport touch down.
This Seattle roster and staff is on the doorstep of the ultimate goal, and the band is already headed for a breakup of sorts. This happens, of course. Kubiak and Darnold are certainly not the first coordinator and quarterback tandem to head into a Super Bowl knowing that divergent paths are coming. We've seen it happen four times in the past eight Super Bowls — three times with thePhiladelphia Eagles, with Frank Reich (LII), Shane Steichen (LVII) and Kellen Moore (LIX), and once with theLos Angeles Ramsand Kevin O'Connell (LVI).
Kubiak is expected to make it five in nine after Sunday. And when he departs, it will leave Darnold entering the 2026 season with his eighth —eighth— different offensive coordinator in nine NFL seasons. If ever there were extra motivation to make this Super Bowl appearance count for a franchise, it's the mystery of how Kubiak's departure could ripple for the franchise and its quarterback.
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Yes, Darnold has certainly done enough to earn the belief that he can maintain his current level of play through another coordinator transition. But it doesn't change the risk that comes with it. The departures of Reich, Steichen and Moore all had an impact on the Eagles' offenses in the ensuing season — and it wasn't positive. And while the Rams' post-Super Bowl offensive crash had as much to do with injuries as losing O'Connell, his departure took a short-term toll on head coach Sean McVay.
And lest we forget, it is Darnold who has pointed to Kubiak several times along this journey as being a factor in his decisions or success. Going all the way back to his signing in free agency, when he related that his level of comfort in signing with Seattle was due to having worked with Kubiak during Darnold's 2023 season with theSan Francisco 49ers. Darnold was a backup for that 49ers team and Kubiak was the passing game coordinator.
"[Working in a familiar scheme] was definitely one of the things that I factored into signing here," Darnold said in March. "And again, just being able to work with Klint, and having talked a ton with Klint in San Francisco about kind of what we liked, disliked. We have so much in common when it comes to football."
That's not a nothing sentiment. And you don't instantly create it out of thin air with Kubiak's replacement, even if it's from an internal candidate being promoted on the staff. There's still a rhythm that comes with continuity between a quarterback and whoever is calling plays. Darnold alluded to that in June during organized team activities, when he spoke to having to learn new systems along his career and find a fit with each new play-caller.
"I think at the end of the day a lot of teams do similar things but just call it different names," Darnold said this past summer. "That's the part that you've got to learn — learning kind of how Klint calls it and what we're calling it in general, and learning just the terminology and all the things that come with that."
There's adjustment and fine-tuning. Sometimes it works with an internal hire. Other times, the fit flops. The Eagles have been a stark example following their last two Super Bowl appearances. After Steichen left after the 2022 season, quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson was elevated to the offensive coordinator spot. It proved to be a poor fit and Johnson was fired after one season that saw the Eagles' offense regress. History repeated itself for the Eagles this season, when passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo took over as offensive coordinator following Moore's departure toNew Orleans, only to see the offense again sputter and lead to Patullo's firing after one season.
Along the way, the play ofJalen Hurtshas suffered setbacks. The question for the Seahawk is whether they can avoid a similar fate with Darnold, whose last three offensive play-callers have been Kubiak, O'Connell with theMinnesota Vikingsand then Kyle Shanahan during his stint as a 49ers backup. That's a tough act to follow for whoever slides into Kubiak's seat.
None of this is meant to say Kubiak was perfect. Seattle's offense didn't really hit its stride until late in the season, at least partially because of inconsistency in the run game early on. And Darnold has had to carry the load only intermittently along the way, thanks in large part to Seattle's defense. But he's also been resilient, bouncing back from two regular-season games against the Rams that saw him throw six interceptions, to engineer an NFC title game win last month that was inarguably the best high pressure game of his entire eight-year career.
It was also one of Kubiak's most superbly called games. Balanced with the run early, then gradually opened up into higher risk downfield throws that resulted in pivotal chunk plays, then putting the ball into Darnold's hands late in the fourth quarter — with a pair of must-have first downs off play-action passes — rather than trying to salt away clock by simply running the ball. It's a groove and confidence between quarterback and play-caller that stretches back to the fourth quarter and overtime of Week 16 against the Rams. And it might carry into Sunday against theNew England Patriots.
Now all of that is expected to come to an end, with Kubiak departing and the Seahawks' top priority suddenly being yet another offensive coordinator for Darnold. The bittersweet business trip began on Sunday. Where it takes the Seahawks in 2026 is anyone's guess.
