Alabama AD Greg Byrne says Crimson Tide had contingency plan for Ryan Grubb
Alabama was aware that Ryan Grubb’s time in Tuscaloosa could be short-lived.
Ahead of the men’s basketball game against LSU on Saturday, athletic director Greg Byrne met with reporters and revealed that coach Kalen DeBoer had a contingency plan in place should Grubb take either the Washington head coaching job or the offensive coordinator position with the Seattle Seahawks.
Grubb reportedly agreed to the latter on Friday night.
“We knew when we hired Coach DeBoer that there was a chance that Coach Grubb may end up being either the head coach at UW or was on the radar screen with the Seattle Seahawks,” Byrne said, per The Tuscaloosa News. “Coach DeBoer had a plan for that and that is being worked on as we speak.”
To be clear, DeBoer was hired at Alabama in mid-January. Seattle didn’t hire coach Mike Macdonald — a defensive-minded coach — until the end of January.
Shortly after DeBoer left Washington, Grubb shared a lengthy statement on social media that made clear he wanted to be the next Husky head coach and he wanted to stay in Seattle.
“Though I wanted to be, I will not be the next head coach at the University of Washington,” Grubb wrote at the time. “It would have been a dream to stay here and fight to maintain the standard that had been re-established. … Seattle is the best!!! Husky fans are the best. … The passion and love this city has is rare and I am so blessed to have been here.”
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Grubb had been linked to the Seattle job for several weeks. But there was a sense in recent days that a departure might not materialize.
He had been spotted out on the trail recruiting for Alabama. Then, at a National Signing Day event on Wednesday, Grubb introduced himself to boosters by saying, “I’m Ryan Grubb, I’m your new offensive coordinator.”
It remains to be seen who DeBoer will tab as his next offensive coordinator. Multiple reports suggest Grubb is taking offensive line coach Scott Huff with him to Seattle, which would presumably call into question if anyone else will follow. Missouri coordinator Kirby Moore — with DeBoer at Fresno State — has been mentioned by some on social media.
DeBoer could also choose to take over play-calling himself. Additionally, Nick Sheridan — on staff as Alabama’s tight end coach — was the man to lead Indiana’s offense in the two seasons after DeBoer left Bloomington.