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Why Kalen DeBoer (finally) getting Ryan Grubb to Alabama is his most important move to date
The third time was the charm for Ryan Grubb and Alabama.
Taking 3 hacks at the same offensive coordinator candidate is rare. Even rarer is actually connecting on that third hack, which Kalen DeBoer did by reuniting with Grubb after he was fired from the Seattle Seahawks. Grubb was the one who got away last year when he appeared at an Alabama Signing Day event, wherein he introduced himself as the Tide’s next offensive coordinator, but ultimately, the idea of staying in Seattle and having full autonomy of an NFL offense won out.
Grubb’s choices each of the past 3 years would qualify as “bold.” Turning down Nick Saban couldn’t have been easy, and neither was rejecting DeBoer after working together at 4 programs (Sioux Falls, Eastern Michigan, Fresno State and Washington).
But there’s a clear takeaway from DeBoer finally getting Grubb to Alabama — he gets it.
DeBoer gets the urgency needed in 2025. He’s making a change at offensive play-caller after Year 1, and he’s doing so with the understanding that 2 of his key assistants, OC Nick Sheridan and co-OC JaMarcus Shephard, are staying on staff.
That’s significant. If you’re connecting dots and trying to figure out why Grubb-to-Alabama took 4 weeks, keep in mind that this wasn’t truly a vacancy for Alabama. Sheridan wasn’t fired. Nobody would be shocked DeBoer needed to internally move some pieces before moving forward with the Grubb pursuit. Alternatively, maybe Grubb had reservations about inserting himself back into DeBoer’s offensive staff and recreating the hierarchy that the 2022-23 Washington staff had.
Whatever the case, DeBoer had to make this move after the way 2024 played out. Alabama had multiple turnovers in 6 of its final 8 games vs. Power Conference competition, and it was held without a passing touchdown in the latter half of conference play (Jalen Milroe had a 5-10 TD-INT ratio in conference play). Whether that was more on Sheridan as an offensive play-caller or on the NFL-bound Milroe for his lack of progression as a passer, all that mattered at season’s end was that 2025 has to be better.
DeBoer likely had to have some awkward conversations. Welcome to being a big-time college football coach. Specifically, welcome to being the coach at Alabama, where Saban’s revolving door of coordinators — either in good or bad standing — was as constant as Oatmeal Cream Pies and The Weather Channel. You can bet that in DeBoer’s ideal world, he’d have a thriving staff that wanted nothing more than to stay in their current roles.
In this world, though, aggressive and sometimes uncomfortable staff moves can be the difference in winning a championship. Alabama currently has the 7th-best odds to win the national championship.
Remember when Ed Orgeron brought 20-something Joe Brady in to implement his offense alongside OC Steve Ensminger? That worked out pretty well for 2019 LSU. Shoot, just look at the bold coordinator moves that Alabama made during the Saban era. Nothing was as bold as Saban hiring the tarmac man himself, Lane Kiffin, to modernize the Tide offense in 2014. That got the Tide back to their title-winning ways in the mid-2010s. And when Steve Sarkisian was persona non grata after getting fired from the Atlanta Falcons, Saban made hired him for the same role in 2019-20, which led to the 2 most prolific offenses in school history.
Nobody is guaranteeing that Grubb’s arrival will have a title-winning impact in Tuscaloosa. Lord knows the quarterback room is a bit of a mystery, and outside of Ryan Williams, the lack of proven offensive playmakers is noteworthy.
Then again, Washington wasn’t exactly working with a full cupboard when DeBoer and Grubb worked their magic to overhaul that offense. Neither was Fresno State or Eastern Michigan.
Just in case you forgot, look at these scoring offenses when DeBoer and Grubb shared an FBS sideline:
- 2014 Eastern Michigan — 15.2 PPG (No. 118 in FBS)
- 2015 Eastern Michigan — 25.4 PPG (No. 91 in FBS)
- 2016 Eastern Michigan — 29.6 PPG (No. 61 in FBS)
- 2017 Fresno State — 27.1 PPG (No. 77 in FBS)
- 2018 Fresno State — 34.6 PPG (No. 26 in FBS)
- 2020 Fresno State — 32.8 PPG (No. 36 in FBS)
- 2021 Fresno State — 33.4 PPG (No. 26 in FBS)
- 2022 Washington — 39.7 PPG (No. 7 in FBS)
- 2023 Washington — 36 PPG (No. 13 in FBS)
It’s worth noting that a year before the DeBoer-Grubb offense arrived at Fresno State, it averaged 17.7 points and ranked No. 125 out of 128 FBS teams in scoring in 2016. Also don’t forget that 2021 Washington averaged 21.5 points and ranked No. 108 in scoring prior to the DeBoer-Grubb arrival.
That’s nearly a decade of significantly elevating FBS offenses. Including their time at Sioux Falls and DeBoer’s 2 stints at Fresno State (1 as OC, 1 as a head coach), this marks the 6th stint working with each other. That’s not a coincidence.
None of those jobs — not even Washington — had the win-now mentality of Alabama (I only say that about Washington because the Huskies were coming off a 4-8 season in 2021). Ahead of his first fall in Tuscaloosa, DeBoer said that he heard about the Iron Bowl every day during the offseason. Ahead of his second fall in Tuscaloosa, DeBoer might hear about Alabama’s first 4-loss season in 17 years every day during the offseason. It’ll be DeBoer and Grubb’s responsibility to help move past that in 2025.
In all of DeBoer’s Year 2 destinations as an FBS coordinator or head coach, his offenses improved. Well, 2023 Washington didn’t improve its scoring offense, but it did start 14-0 before losing the national championship game. I’d say that sufficed.
Of course, all of those Year 2 seasons that DeBoer had at the FBS level were with Grubb at his side. It might be Year 1 for Grubb in Tuscaloosa, but he’ll be treated with Year 2 expectations. That’s not to diminish the learning curve he’ll have for learning Alabama’s personnel. It is, however, a “no excuses” offense now.
DeBoer has the staff that he initially envisioned, sans OL coach Scott Huff, who followed Grubb’s 1-and-done path from Washington-to-the-Seahawks and was also fired. Perhaps a full Washington-to-Alabama staff reunion is forthcoming.
For now, all that matters is that Grubb is finally coming to Tuscaloosa. It might’ve come a year (or 2) later than initially planned, but DeBoer made it happen.
History suggests they’ll make a prolific offense happen quicker than one can say, “Roll Tide.”
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.