Orlovsky: How Kubiak gives Seahawks’ offense an advantage

The Seattle Seahawks made a number of decisions last offseason that proved to be vital in helping their run to Super Bowl LX. One of those was the pivot from Ryan Grubb to Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator.

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Kubiak brought the vaunted Shanahan-style scheme to Seattle, one he’s deeply rooted in as the son of Gary Kubiak, who was the offensive coordinator for 11 years under Mike Shanahan with the Denver Broncos.

Seattle had a middling offense under Grubb, largely due to a non-existent run game, but it’s taken major step forward under Klint Kubiak – who is expected to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach after the Super Bowl. Though the run game didn’t get untracked until late in the season, the Seahawks finished the regular season third in the league in scoring, eighth in total yardage, ninth in passing and tied for 10th in rushing.

ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky has some expert insight on the offense Kubiak runs from his time playing under Gary with the Houston Texans during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. He detailed what makes the scheme effective and how it creates advantages against defenses to Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob.

“He’s been around the NFL since he could breathe. Obviously, I played under his father. I’ve know Klint from almost 20 years ago playing under Gary Kubiak in Houston. So I just know the way he’s learned football being around his father. I’ve been a fan of his. I liked a lot of the stuff he did early on last year in New Orleans,” Orlovsky said.

“That (coaching) tree, that scheme and the understanding of the value of the run, the way you pair it together, the way that everything is an illusion – I can present one thing and have five or six different things to go off of it.”

Orlovsky pointed to how the Seahawks move quarterback Sam Darnold around on passing plays as example of how Kubiak uses different wrinkles to give opposing defenses trouble.

“How often have you guys seen Sam Darnold throw from the same place on three or four plays in a row? It just doesn’t happen,” Orlovsky said. “They’re always moving the quarterback. The defense doesn’t know where he is. They don’t know when the ball is coming out.”

Another aspect that stands out to Orlovsky is the variety of ways they’ll align star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Including the playoffs, Smith-Njigba has been lined up out wide 732 times, in the slot 172 times and in the backfield 17 times this season, according to Pro Football Focus. His usage out of the backfield has been more prevalent of late. Fourteen of those 17 snaps coming over the past six games, including on the TD reception against the Rams in the NFC Championship in the clip below.

Guess who?! JSN.

LARvsSEA on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/n5xJggtR4n

— NFL (@NFL) January 26, 2026

“How often do you see JSN just line up at the same spot (for) multiple plays? They don’t (do that),” Orlovsky said. “So I think that (Kubiak) always forces the defense to think and that forces them to play slow. And that’s an advantage.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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