Originally appeared at Steelers Now: Ex-Steelers OL Tabs Fast-Rising 49ers Coach as Ideal Steelers OC

The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator serach continues on as the team has yet to find ‘the guy’ just yet, but they only interviewed three candidates. Former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith was the latest candidate to earn an interview with the team.

But former Steelers offensive lineman Max Starks believes there is a candidate on the 49ers that makes a lot of sense — passing game coordinator Klint Kubiak. Kubiak is the hot candidate for Pittsburgh, but since San Francisco is still in the playoffs, they have yet to interview him. But that could all change. Still, Starks likes Kubiak a lot.

“I would say Klint Kubiak,” Starks said on the Pod Me Up Podcast. “Klint has been an OC before. He’s been on a couple of different staffs, his tentacles run a little bit longer, with his dad Gary having an extended network. So, I look at that and say, ‘Okay, that is one that has not been mentioned because they are still playing.’”

Kubiak comes from a football-rich family as he is the son of Super Bowl 50-winning head coach Gary Kubiak. Currently serving as the 49ers passing game coordinator, Kubiak has offensive playcalling experience as he served that role for the Minnesota Vikings in 2021. During his lone season as an offensive coordinator, Kubiak guided the Vikings to the 12th-ranked offense in regards to total yardage and the 14th-ranked unit in terms of points scored.

Kubiak holds the title of Passing Game Coordinator for the 49ers, who have created one of the most explosive passing games in the entire NFL. But they have done so through different means than most offenses. Like most teams, it is primarily oriented in the middle of the field attack. They utilize a ton of under-center play-action paired off wide zone. Like Sean McVay, the Shanahan scheme has also started incorporating more gap runs, so the continuity is all there.

The Shanahan tree has produced coaches like Mike McDaniel, Bobby Slowik, and others, lighting the NFL world on fire. Tomlin has a connection with Shanahan if he needs a reference, too. The 49ers head coach worked on the same Buccaneers staff as Tomlin in the mid-2000s. So, these guys know each other, which could be a connection that gets Tomlin to dip into that tree. Kubiak fits all the boxes Tomlin wants with a trendy scheme, too.