Alabama football officially has a new offensive coordinator.
Ryan Grubb is set to join the Crimson Tide staff in that role, a source close to Grubb confirmed to The Athletic. Yea Alabama, the school’s official entity dealing in NIL, also announced the hire.
SOURCE :Alabama is set to hire Ryan Grubb as the Tide offensive coordinator. He will reunite with Kalen DeBoer. They first worked together back at Sioux Falls almost 20 years ago. @ESPNRittenberg first reported the move.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 3, 2025
The move reunites Grubb with DeBoer, who share a long history dating back to Division II Sioux Falls. Since 2007, there have only been two instances — 2019 and 2024 — that DeBeor and Grubb were not on the same staff. Grubb served as DeBoer’s offensive coordinator and play caller at Fresno State and Washington, and will carry the same position at Alabama in 2025.
The third time is the charm for Grubb and Alabama, who have a history of near-hires. Grubb was pursued by Nick Saban in 2023 for the vacant offensive coordinator position, but Grubb elected to stay at Washington. One year later after Saban retired, Grubb briefly followed DeBoer to Alabama but was only on staff for a few weeks before being hired by the Seattle Seahawks as offensive coordinator. He was recently fired after one season with the NFL club.
Grubb’s availability, combined with a somewhat disappointing offensive season for Alabama, led to speculation that he could rejoin DeBoer’s staff. Grubb went through his own process of looking for other jobs, but ultimately decided to reunite with DeBoer. He’ll also reunite with Nick Sheridan, the previous offensive coordinator, and wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard, who were both on staff at Washington.
“We go way back,” DeBoer said at the Senior Bowl on Tuesday. “Great friend of mine. I think the world of him as a football coach and obviously as a person, too. I know he is working through his process just after what last season brought. Just kind of see what he does there. Here for him whenever he needs me, and that’s always going to be the case.”
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The unknown variable is how does Grubb’s arrival shake up Alabama’s offensive staff. Prior to the announcement, Alabama had a full allotment of offensive assistant coaches. Sheridan, originally hired as the tight ends coach in 2024, was elevated to offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach after Grubb’s departure. His first season was met with mixed results — Alabama finished 22nd in scoring offense, but 56th in passing offense, 47th in rushing offense and 42nd in total offense. In the minutes following the announcement, Sheridan had removed the title of offensive coordinator from his X profile.
For the 2025 Alabama team, adding Grubb and his expertise with DeBoer should be a major boost to an offense that will have a new identity with a new quarterback. In nine seasons as a college football offensive coordinator, Grubb has led offenses that have eclipsed 400 yards of offense per game six times, including a Washington offense that averaged more than 515 yards per game in 2022. Each one of those offenses have averaged more than 30 points per game.
Grubb will likely oversee quarterbacks. His development of Jake Haener (Fresno State) and Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), who both started games in the NFL this season, is notable. He also has six years of experience coaching offensive lines throughout his career. Those are the two biggest areas of concern for Alabama entering spring practice. Now DeBoer has his ideal candidate to push the entire offense forward.
Alabama football is set to begin spring practice in early March.
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(Photo: Jane Gershovich / Getty Images)
