![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="440" width="780" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
Hours after a 25-22 Super Bowl loss, the San Francisco 49ers families reunion has come to an end courtesy of the New Orleans Saints.
Niners passing game coordinator Klint Kubiak “reached a deal with” the Saints as the new offensive coordinator according to a source via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Monday. Kubiak worked on the 49ers’ coaching staff this season with fellow football family friends such as head coach Kyle Shanahan and running back Christian McCaffrey.
The last 49ers team to win a Super Bowl in 1994 had the trio’s fathers: quarterbacks coach Gary Kubiak, offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, and wide receiver Ed McCaffrey. Those three then won Super Bowls together with the Denver Broncos in 1998 and 1999.
“The top target all along, Kubiak’s hire gives [Saints] coach Dennis Allen a rising play-caller who was coveted by several other teams,” Rapoport wrote.
New Orleans didn’t have the strongest offense in 2023 amid 23.6 points and 351 yards per game as the team went 9-8 and missed the playoffs. As for the 49ers, the passing game soared under Kubiak amid quarterback Brock Purdy‘s MVP-caliber season with 4,280 yards passing for 31 touchdowns versus 11 interceptions.
Kubiak will try to get Saints quarterback Derek Carr playing at a higher level. Carr completed 68.4% of his passes but threw for 3,878 yards and 25 touchdowns versus eight interceptions in 2023.
Niners Passing Game Couldn’t Deliver in Super Bowl
After dominating most of the season, the 49ers couldn’t solve the Chiefs’ secondary in defeat.
Purdy went 23-38 for 255 yards and a touchdown, but most of the yardage came in the first half as he went stone cold after halftime. It took Purdy’s 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jauan Jennings to keep their hopes alive with a 16-13 lead in the fourth quarter.
“Man, it was just tough. I feel like first and second down was tough,” Purdy told reporters on Sunday. “We’d always — I feel like it was like third and long. I have to be better on first and second down, taking what they have given me, and I feel like they were just sticky across the board when they played man coverage and stuff so that was another challenge.”
“So, I just feel like on third down, I have to execute better. For our defense to give us that many stops like they did, and then for us to go three now and not do anything with those opportunities, that’s what hurts me,” Purdy added.
Purdy otherwise rallied his team twice in the postseason with game-winning drives against the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions to reach the Super Bowl.
Settling for Field Goals Cost the 49ers
Missed throws to wide receiver Deebo Samuel in regulation and Jennings in overtime on would-be touchdown plays did the 49ers in on Sunday against the Chiefs. The 49ers settled for field goals in both instances, which cost them the game.
“When you have a good offense like the Chiefs do and what [Patrick] Mahomes can do, for us, it’s like, all right, we have to score touchdowns,” Purdy said. “And we had opportunities to do so, I think. Shot ourselves in the foot with just penalties and the operations and stuff.”
“So, I got to be better in terms of leading the guys and just how I handle things in the huddle and telling them what to expect, stuff like that,” Purdy added. “So, at the end of the day, I think we have the team, the offense to score touchdowns, and I think I failed to put our team in position to do that.
0 Comments