The New Orleans Saints have found their new offensive coordinator in San Francisco 49ers passing game coordinator Klint Kubiak. This ends the near month long search to fill the position since the Saint fired long time coordinator Pete Carmichael. Reasonably, the search was probably done long ago, but New Orleans had to wait until after the Super Bowl to make this official.
The Saints need something new from the offense, and they’re getting that in the form of a scheme change. This is the first diversion from their offensive mentality since 2006. Most importantly, it’ll be different than the last two years. What Saints players and coaches will benefit the most from this change?
Derek Carr
Carr will actually need to be the biggest benefactor. There’s a lot of pressure on Kubiak to turn around the offense, but scheme needs players as much as players need scheme. Carr ended the year strong. If that trend continues under a new play caller, the Saints could be in line for a bounce back season. Helping Carr find his way and continue to improve late in his career should be one of Kubiak’s top priorities, and he’s done it before with Kirk Cousins.
Dennis Allen
There should be a question mark on this. Hopefully Dennis Allen is the biggest benefactor of Klint Kubiak’s arrival. The benefit for Allen looks like him still being the New Orleans Saints head coach in Sept. 2025. That’s only achieved through improved offense, higher team success and a playoff berth. That’s why Kubiak was brought in. Greater team success is good for Allen’s job security.
Alvin Kamara
The list of running backs to flourish in a Shanahan system goes back decades and persists today on multiple teams. The 2023 league leaders in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns both play in a variation of this scheme. Kamara has been limited by scheme over the past two seasons, but he’s also nearing an age where the league counts out running backs. If he still has enough juice, 2024 can be special for Kamara.
Chris Olave
The brightest star from Kubiak’s one year tenure with the Minnesota Vikings was Justin Jefferson. In his first year as the unquestioned lead receiver, Jefferson recorded 1,616 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Both would be career highs for Olave. If Kubiak continues San Francisco’s heavy usage of pre-snap motion and creative route concepts, Olave would benefit from creative designs to get him open and set him up to make more plays after the catch.
