No small talk until Sunday: The Kubiak brothers' sideline standoff in Raiders-49ers

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Brothers Klint and Klay Kubiak aren't on speaking terms.

Well, for this week.

Klint coaches the Las Vegas Raiders, who on Sunday visit the San Francisco 49ers, where Klay is the offensive coordinator.

“I think we kind of avoid each other,” Klint Kubiak said. "Talk after the game.”

Both brothers grew up in a football family. Their dad, Gary, was Hall of Famer John Elway's backup quarterback for Denver from 1983-91 and later the head coach at Houston from 2006-13 and the Broncos in 2015-16.

It seemed natural they would go into the family business, both playing at Colorado State — Klay a quarterback and Klint a safety — and later even winding up on the same 49ers staff in 2023. Klint was San Francisco's pass game coordinator and Klay the assistant QBs coach.

“It was just so great reconnecting with him and seeing the type of husband that he was and seeing how hard he worked and how smart he was, things that I already knew,” Klint Kubiak said. "But when you’re kind of in the fire with your brother every day, it definitely builds a closer bond.”

That Niners team made it all the way to the Super Bowl before losing in overtime to Kansas City at Allegiant Stadium, Klint Kubiak's current home.

“Just to get to go through a whole year with him, to learn from him, to see how he works, to see how he looks at the game, I learned so much from him," Klay Kubiak said. "And then to just get to share that experience of going through the grind of a season together and going to the playoffs and a Super Bowl run, it was amazing. I would love to get that chance again someday to work with him again. It was pretty cool.”

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy said Klint Kubiak left a lasting impression on him and that many of his sayings “we actually still use in our quarterback room.”

“Obviously love who he is as a person and the way he came about work every single day, both him and Klay,” Purdy said. "I’m extremely blessed to be able to have been coached by both of them. I’m really happy for him and for the position that he’s in. I want nothing but the best for Klint. He was always real with me. He coached me up well, and so I’m really just happy for him. Love him to death.”

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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow in Santa Clara, California, contributed to this report.

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