‘The Shanahan-Kubiak System’ And Why Klint Kubiak Was Hand-Picked, Worth Any Risk For The New Orleans Saints

Klint Kubiak only spent one year with the San Francisco 49ers, but his connections to the "Shanahan System" go back to its origin.

In recent years, nothing has swept the NFL more than the numerous wide zone schemes that have taken over offenses. From the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers to the Houston Texans and Miami Dolphins, the system has become one the most desired influences across the league. Ahead of the 2024 season, the New Orleans Saints joined the conversation by hiring former 49ers Passing Game Specialist Klint Kubiak.

Sep 25, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3) talks with quarterbacks coach Klint Kubiak in the second quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

However, the Saints’ hire brings a level of specificity that can be misconstrued as concern while actually being the move’s best potential benefits. They hired a coach that only spent one year working directly with 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan.

The concern for many is simple: Was one season enough time to learn the system and be able to translate it to New Orleans? However, the benefit is that Kubiak's connections to the scheme pre-date “the Shanahan system” as it has become known. You might be wondering how that is possible. The answer is simple: The concepts, principles and tenets of the Shanahan offense are initially tied to Mike Shanahan and Gary Kubiak, the fathers of Kyle Shanahan and Klint Kubiak.

The “Shanahan system” as it is known today should probably more appropriately be known as the “Shanahan-Kubiak system.” The origins of the scheme do still connect back to the 49ers, but the impetus for it dates all the way back to the 1994 NFL season wherein Mike Shanahan (offensive coordinator) and Gary Kubiak (quarterbacks coach) helped lead San Francisco’s top-ranked scoring offense and captured a Super Bowl victory.

The two coaches had a fantastic run of elite quarterbacks to help them, with Steve Young in San Francisco followed by John Elway when the elder Shanahan and Kubiak took over the head coach and offensive coordinator roles respectively in Denver soon after.

The tenets of the scheme were the same then as they are now. They incorporated eye candy like motion and post-snap movement, crossing routes, attacking the middle of the field in the passing game, and emphasized play action and the quick passing game to name a few elements. Add in the outside zone run scheme and the added wrinkle of running the same play from multiple formations and it can be hard to distinguish between the past and present versions. The differences are minuscule though specific.

As Saints Head Coach Dennis Allen said on The NFL Report this week, the system is a quarterback-friendly one. That finds its truth in the quick passing game, emphasis on offensive line talent, commitment to the run game and simplification of the reads being made by the passer behind a veil of complexity that tests opposing defenses.

These are the building blocks for not only the present-day Shanahan system, but the one that preceded it as well. Mike Shanahan and Gary Kubiak were together from 1995 to 2005 in Denver. 9 of those 11 seasons the team was top-10 in scoring, 10 of 11 times they were top-10 in total yardage. 

The success of the revolutionary system has been expanded upon and thus popularized in a contemporary format by a few genius coaches, Kyle Shanahan included - who did so working under Gary Kubiak in Houston. So even though Klint Kubiak spent only one year with the younger Shanahan, he is primed to be in solid position to be the next to introduce a new version of the NFL's most popular scheme.

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