OT: Ryan Grubb will leave Alabama to be Seahawks OC
This had been rumored for awhile. Headlines are now stating that, yes, Ryan Grubb will be the Seahawks new offensive coordinator.
Grubb was the OC at Washington with Kalen DeBoer and followed him to Alabama. However, he is actually returning to (or is it staying in?) Seattle to be the OC for Mike Macdonald.
I was struck by this paragraph in the Seattle Times:
Though the Seahawks had interest in Grubb, they had to wait to seal the deal in part to allow a 30-day window for Alabama players to enter the transfer portal to pass.
Nick Saban announced he was retiring as Alabama’s coach, opening a 30-day window. But that will pass as of Saturday.
I'm not sure how to read this other than that Seattle coaches and Alabama coaches colluded to trick all of the Alabama players into thinking that Grubb was going to be the OC so that they wouldn't jump into the portal. However, that doesn't make much sense to me. Not sure why Seattle or Grubb would care about that, not sure why Bama players would be staying for Grubb who they just met, not sure why DeBoer wouldn't rather get a jump on finding a new OC ASAP, and they'll have another opportunity to bail in the spring. Also if that were true, that's pretty mean. I feel like I'm missing something.
February 10th, 2024 at 12:45 AM ^
This has been an unusually eventful off-season for coaching changes. Usually the carousel stops spinning in late December.
February 10th, 2024 at 1:27 AM ^
Even with the timing, it has been more frantic and impactful than what we’re used to seeing.
February 10th, 2024 at 5:58 AM ^
Chip Kelly to Alabama.
February 10th, 2024 at 8:23 AM ^
Nah. More likely 3rd bas raising another $15mm to raid Bama’s young talent on the offensive side of the ball.
February 10th, 2024 at 9:17 AM ^
It is kinda nuts when you think about it. 3 of the 4 cfp teams lose their head coaches, and all 3 of them have promising prospects for next year as well.
-Alabama truly looked to be in the upswing again with their offense, and as their defense has always reloaded they were a likely shoe-in for next year’s playoff.
-Washington may have been losing a lot on offense but they were also in a position of potentially being able to reload there, and there defense was only going to get better with the young guys they were playing. Not necessarily a shoe in for the playoffs but had a great shot at making it in, especially if DeBoer could have lured in a really good qb.
-Michigan looks to have nearly as good of a defense as 2023, and their only real question mark on the offense is at qb. If Harbaugh/Michigan had signed the contract in December there is a good chance Will Howard or another decent and available qb comes with a great chance at taking Michigan to the playoffs again.
Add in the other movement around cfb, like Fisch heading out of Arizona where he’d built a contender for the b12 title and playoffs, and this coaching offseason has been a little crazy compared to other years.
February 10th, 2024 at 10:14 AM ^
Alabama: The easiest answer is that Saban got tired of the transfer portal and NIL. Seeing how quick a lot of his players hit the portal, we can all guess that Saban was having to spend more and more time simply recruiting his own team.
Washington: The Huskies problem is that they didn't realize how good they did truly have it with DeBoer. Washington gave him an extension in 2022 but that still only bumped him up to $4.2 million a year. In the end, Washington tried to keep him with big time money, but DeBoer was always going to take a look at what was out there first. Many in Washington were worried that Michigan, if Harbaugh left was going to take him.
Michigan: If Harbaugh/Michigan had signed the extension in December? I love Harbaugh but let's be realistic. Harbaugh was going to test the NFL waters. Signing an extension would simply mean that he had a larger buy out. The only way Harbaugh was coming back to Michigan was if no one in the NFL offered him a job.
Arizona: The Arizona athletic department is having money issues. It was a no brainer for Fisch to head to Washington where the Huskies will have some Big Ten money. Besides Fisch always seems to be on the move.
February 10th, 2024 at 9:30 AM ^
Usually the carousel stops spinning in late December.
If Michigan, Washington and Alabama didn't make the playoff and changed coaches in early December it would be about right.
The biggest changes are in the NIL. It seems like those conversations are not public, yet impact the CC. Not to mention the demise of the NCAA. This is why we are talking so much about the AD. The NIL/Portal are the biggest changes, and greatest ambiguity perhaps. The CC is just more of the same.
EDIT: bighouseinmate - beat me to it.
February 10th, 2024 at 12:53 AM ^
Kind of making a few assumptions here... Grubb very well could have accepted the Seattle job last week and let DeBoer know. And DeBoer could have been using this time to look for someone new. Very similar to how Bill O'Brien left his job as the OC of Ohio, and then within two days the HC of UCLA leaves his job and accepts the position. One could probably assume Ryan Day was getting a jump on finding a new OC, even while BOB was likely deciding to leave.
As for why on the timing? A LOT was made about the amount of players who "jumped ship" when Saban left. My guess is that Grubb was trying to do his buddy DeBoer a solid and not incentivize even MORE transfers before KD has a chance to settle the program.
I agree that it feels pretty deceptive. And the timing doesn't really feel like a circumstance, especially given that quote from the article.
February 10th, 2024 at 9:35 AM ^
The players have plenty of time to portal. I know many don't play school, but it is a thing for many others. Queue The Knowledge post "This will be a very active Spring Portal." - should have used all caps there??? It's been too long since he has shared his wisdom.
February 10th, 2024 at 10:33 AM ^
He or she who seeks The Knowledge on this site will find it.
February 10th, 2024 at 9:41 AM ^
That block-quote is just awkward writing from Condotta, not evidence of a conspiracy. Grubb wanted to stay in Seattle, first for the UW HC job, then Macdonald wanted him after taking the job last week. They still had to go through the NFL-mandated interview process for the role.
February 10th, 2024 at 1:09 AM ^
Nice to see other elite programs experiencing unusual chaos filing their staffs.
February 10th, 2024 at 4:20 AM ^
But wait, there's more. With Chip Kelly leaving UCLA for OSU, could Ryan Grubb go from Washington to Alabama to Seattle to UCLA in one month?
February 10th, 2024 at 1:15 AM ^
Ain’t football grand? Honor? Commitment? Loyalty?
In the words of Nelson Muntz…Hah! Hah!😜
February 10th, 2024 at 1:19 AM ^
My guess is he turned down the Seattle job at first, then got to Bama and after spending a month trying to recruit not only high school players, but also recruit the Bama roster. Working 16 hours a day for the last month, with lots of travel. Plus moving his family across the country would convince him that the NFL team where his family was settled, is the place to be.
With college football turning into a 365 day a year job, with long hours and no rules on roster management and salary caps. You're going to start seeing a lot more coordinators and even head coaches jumping at the first NFL chance they get. In the NFL all they have to do is coach, the GM takes care of the roster and pay.
February 10th, 2024 at 4:41 AM ^
Start seeing?
I would say that train has already left the station.
February 10th, 2024 at 11:07 AM ^
CFB as we knew it is dead. Unless you are willing to put together an NFL-level payroll like OSU is doing, coaches and players are going to just chase the next big offer every year. Having everyone be a free agent every year, and having nothing like a salary cap, it’s just an arms race to see who can buy a championship. With Warde at the helm and Michigan believing that spending money is too gauche, it’s not likely to be us.
February 10th, 2024 at 4:05 PM ^
Why is OSU willing to do it and not Michigan? Other than cultural arrogance?
February 10th, 2024 at 8:32 AM ^
I think a lot of it had to do with staying in Seattle. He wanted toe University of Washington job too but they wanted someone with head coaching experience.
I don’t know if he would have left for a different NFL OC job right now.
February 10th, 2024 at 9:09 AM ^
Moving from Seattle to Alabama is like moving from Paris to Kazakhstan. Alabama is a backwards swamp.
February 10th, 2024 at 9:12 AM ^
I get a clock radio, my neighbor cannot afford. Great success!
February 10th, 2024 at 10:01 AM ^
Yeah, why would you want to move to a state where the cost of living and taxes are immensely better.
Furthermore, seeing the sun and not being rained on in the cold is totally overrated.
That is unless you aren’t capable of living in a place with people that might have a different perspective than you.
February 10th, 2024 at 5:12 PM ^
You been to Paris lately? Ever been to Kazakhstan?
February 10th, 2024 at 1:25 AM ^
Don’t overthink it. This is what it looks like. College OC at the top of his value gets a dream job with his war buddy (or is second guessing his previous rebuff) and then, to his amazement, is offered an immediate job leap x2 to the next level dream that he never knew whether he could ever actually get.
It showed up on his doorstep and he took it.
There’s no collusion to save Alabama. Good coaches are in high demand and football teams, as a collective, are starting to realize that coaching is more important than talent.
February 10th, 2024 at 7:51 AM ^
Then why wait for the 30 day window to pass? Why not just sign immediately?
There was definitely collusion.
February 10th, 2024 at 8:02 AM ^
Or maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe the journalist is still salty about DeBoer's departure and decided to spice things up with the 30-day quote that he first heard inside his own head. (For the record, I agree that some coordination on the timing makes sense.)
February 10th, 2024 at 1:44 AM ^
The sentence you refer to reeks of a NFL reporter trying to sound smart. Simply put - players won't hit the portal from now until the spring football phase because they realistically can't transfer in the middle of the academic calendar and be eligible for spring football at their new school. Trying to transfer now would likely jus be self sabotage.
Curious on what Mike Mac saw in Grubb though, he literally watched his own defensive scheme shut down Grubb's best effort to defeat it. Didn't seem like Washington had creative enough play design to beat the Amoeba.
February 10th, 2024 at 2:11 AM ^
I'm not an expert on any of this, but I'm pretty sure you can enter the portal, pick a new destination, and still finish out your academic period at your soon-to-be former institution. The mid-semester thing doesn't make it impossible.
February 10th, 2024 at 3:44 AM ^
Once a player enters the portal, he could lose his access to workout facilities, training table, academic counseling, etc. It would be like telling your spouse you want a divorce but want to stay until the divorce is final.
February 10th, 2024 at 7:14 AM ^
That is very common in divorces
February 10th, 2024 at 7:57 AM ^
I have been there and done that (for like 16 months in 2016-2017) and do NOT recommend that to ANYone.
February 10th, 2024 at 9:49 AM ^
The submarine may be in Los Angeles, but someone here knows this. It is hard to believe that Michigan pulled Stokes' (just an example) workout pass until he landed. If a player was in the portal but still a registered student, even if they were between terms, you win with people. CFB may be the last place where that will ever be true.
If schools are this petty, then screw it, time to form a union and get out the pitch forks. These players are the sport.
February 10th, 2024 at 2:07 AM ^
This was from 2 days ago when Ryan Grubb spoke to Red Elephant Club (Bama boosters). This would be a terrible look if Deboer actually knew he was taking the job and let him get up there and speak at this event.
February 10th, 2024 at 2:14 AM ^
It's par for the course. Elston was out recruiting all the way up until he announced he was leaving.
February 10th, 2024 at 5:02 AM ^
The recruiting aspect is par for the course. But I don't think you put a coordinator in front of a booster club when he is unsure of his intentions. That just doesn't make sense to me.
February 10th, 2024 at 7:20 AM ^
Door to door vacuum salesmen didn't go extinct. They just evolved into college football coaches.
February 10th, 2024 at 8:29 AM ^
Too soon
February 10th, 2024 at 2:11 AM ^
So they're eyeing Penix ?
February 10th, 2024 at 8:04 AM ^
Just feeling him out to see if they get a reaction.
Somehow...Penix jokes just never get old
February 10th, 2024 at 8:11 AM ^
Rumor has it.. from a conference perspective - the Beavers were very sad when Penix left…
February 10th, 2024 at 9:07 AM ^
No, but they do get harder to tell
February 10th, 2024 at 10:04 AM ^
I wish I had longer Penix jokes, but alas, all I have are very short ones.
February 10th, 2024 at 2:22 AM ^
I bet he will feel less Grubby once he leaves Alabama
February 10th, 2024 at 7:26 AM ^
Hold on to Mike Hart please.
February 10th, 2024 at 7:46 AM ^
I like Hart and all, and I’d like it if he stayed. But RB coach is arguably the most replaceable position on a college coaching staff. It’s really not the end of the world if he did decide to leave the program.
February 10th, 2024 at 8:04 AM ^
Sure, but retaining Hart retains culture and one of the best RB coaches in the game. He does a lot with his RBs.
February 10th, 2024 at 8:05 AM ^
I like Mike and I think he's done a good job as RB coach, but the outsized Hart love on this blog has blown my mind for a long time.
To the parent poster, is there really an expectation that DeBoer would give him the OC job down there? I've posted about this before. The Tide fans would be apoplectic if that happened.
February 10th, 2024 at 8:12 AM ^
Hart is a Michigan legend. Not only can he coach but he can recruit. Let's not forget about the recruiting aspect of this. Having him on the field is very reassuring.
Did I mention he is a good recruiter?
February 10th, 2024 at 8:55 AM ^
Hart is a Michigan legend.
So is Juwan Howard. Past excellence on the field has, at best, a weak correlation with coaching success.
Hart might be an ace at identifying talent. A good coach, too. I wouldn't want to lose him. What I'm not getting is the idea that he'd be reasonable candidate -- at this stage -- for the Alabama OC job. Or the head job at Michigan (a suggestion I've seen floated here numerous times).
February 10th, 2024 at 9:05 AM ^
I wouldn't give up on Juwan just yet. He is having his 2020 Harbaugh season.