Ryan Grubb, Scott Huff reportedly headed to Seattle Seahawks

Ryan Grubb, Scott Huff reportedly headed to Seattle Seahawks

We had heard for a while that Ryan Grubb was on the short list of offensive coordinator options for the NFL Seattle Seahawks. According to ESPN sources, that move is happening.

The Seattle Seahawks are hiring former University of Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb to the same position on new coach Mike Macdonald’s staff, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Pete Thamel on Friday.

Grubb had accepted the Alabama offensive coordinator job after spending the past two seasons at UW under former Huskies and current Tide coach Kalen DeBoer, coordinating a pass-heavy offense that ranked sixth in FBS in yards per game (487.0) and sixth in scoring (36.7) in that span. With Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback, the Huskies led FBS in passing yards per game (355.8) the past two seasons and ranked 15th in dropback percentage, calling passing plays 61.8% of the time.

A big part of this appears to be wanting to keep his family in Seattle, and according to Adam Rittenberg he may take OL coach Scott Huff along with him.

To be frank, I’m not terribly concerned about Grubb specifically. The offense is Kalen DeBoer’s, and he built his career as a top notch offensive coordinator, last holding that post for Indiana in 2019. As I said last week when the rumors first surfaced, my assumption would be that the playcalling duties would likely stay in house should Grubb make that move. I’m a little surprised to see that Sheridan is more likely than Shephard to get those duties, but Sheridan did take over as Indiana’s OC when Kalen left for his first head coaching gig. Tom Allen, who was the head coach at Indiana at the time, noted in a recent interview that Sheridan was a QB coach until DeBoer came in and replaced him.

“Kalen coached quarterbacks, but Nick was our quarterbacks coach,” Allen says. “I wanted Kalen to coach the position he wanted. So I said, ‘Nick, I want to keep you on staff, but I need you to switch to tight ends.’ He wasn’t real fired up about that.

“But Nick bought in. I think he’d tell you it was one of the best things he’s ever done. He learned from Kalen, but coaching a new position broadened his understanding of the offense. His willingness to do that is a testament to his maturity. It was pretty cool.”

If those two guys stick around, DeBoer will need to hire a OL and TE coach. You have to wonder if former TE coach Joe Cox, who left for Ole Miss, would have been retained had the timing been different. Last summer it was reported that Kurtiss Riggs, 20 year head coach of the Sioux Falls Storm of the Indoor Football League and DeBoer’s college roommate, had stepped down from his post with the intention of joining his old buddy in Seattle. It’s possible that he will be considered for some sort of role at Alabama.

Huff is the big loss here, as the improvement of the offensive line will be perhaps the single biggest key to Alabama’s success in 2024. That will be a critical hire. It’s obviously still possible that DeBoer goes outside the organization for his OC as well. One name that has been floated prominently is Missouri OC Kirby Moore, who served as DeBoer’s passing game coordinator for a season at Fresno State. Sheridan has as much experience in that role as he does, however, so promotions and raises to keep the remaining offensive staff intact would probably be prudent.

One thing is for certain: this is going to be an interesting spring.

Roll Tide.