Why 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan Lets Klay Kubiak Call Plays in Preseason

Klay Kubiak is the son of Gary Kubiak, who gave Shanahan his first job as an offensive coordinator back in 2008. Now Shanahan is returning the favor.

May 10, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan watches during the 49ers rookie minicamp at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. Mandatory Credit: Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports

SANTA CLARA -- This preseason, Kyle Shanahan is letting someone else call the 49ers offensive plays for the first time since he became head coach.

That person is assistant quarterbacks coach Klay Kubiak, son of Gary Kubiak, who gave Shanahan his first job as an offensive coordinator back in 2008. Now Shanahan is returning the favor. Here's what he said about the decision, courtesy of the 49ers p.r. department.

Q: Is offensive passing game specialist Klay Kubiak going to play call on Friday?

SHANAHAN: “Possibly. I really don't plan it all out. It's not that big of a deal to us.”

Q: This isn’t something you’re considering doing in the regular season?

SHANAHAN: “No.”

Q: You don’t feel like you need the preseason reps?

SHANAHAN: “No, I think I’m alright on it.”

ME: How does it benefit Klay?

SHANAHAN: “Just giving him that experience. He did it in high school for a while. He's been here, I've let him do it at practice a lot. Just allowing him to do it in the game, it's something he's earned. I think it's good for his career. But a lot of guys don't get that before and they're fine too. So it's more why wouldn't I do it? What does it effect on the team? And when I was younger, I always felt like it was kind of disrespectful to the players, just in terms of not treating it as important as it can be. That's why I hated doing that. I'd always call it. But then a backup guy would get in in the preseason and now I'm not going to do it. So that always kind of made me insecure just to those guys. I didn't want them to think I wasn't taking it as seriously. But Klay spent so much time with those guys. I don't think they've taken it that way at all. So as long as they weren't offended by it and stuff, I think it's been great for him, it's great for everybody and it's been more relaxing.”

Q: Is it important in interviews for him to be able to say that he's had that experience and call those plays?

SHANAHAN: “I wouldn't think so. It depends. All 32 teams are different. So it depends on the person hiring him. But I wouldn't think so. There's a lot that goes into play calling that's more important and it's more about how you put in a game plan, how you tie it all together, how you rep it throughout the week. Yeah, there's stuff that you can make a little difference on timing it out right, but anytime you think you've made a great play call, just make a few more and stay humble with it.”

Q: Does it benefit you at all with him having had that experience in the regular season where he's now kind of seeing things through a little bit sharper lens as far as how you might be looking at a game?

SHANAHAN: “I don't know. We'll see. We'll see if anything changes from him, but I wouldn't think so. Klay’s had a very good grasp of since he got here. I put him with [Houston Texans head coach] DeMeco [Ryans] the first year and DeMeco was so mad at me when I took him. But I thought he had too much of a future on offense and we were going to need him there and he was right. Same thing that I did to him with [Houston Texans offensive coordinator] Bobby Slowik, also. Klay's grown up around football a long time. He kind of knows what goes into a play caller's mind, what they think about. That's why he has been able to help me so much. As a head coach, you can't always go through the same routine that I used to as a coordinator where I can just shut the door and not worry about anything except the 10 minutes I had to talk to people once a week and kind of just worry about the game plan. And when you're a head coach, you’ve got a few other things you’ve got to do, but you can't let that be an excuse for not being as prepared for the game. And that's why you need people you can count on who can think like you and can prepare when you aren't there. And he's been great at that since he's moved to offense for us.”