Greg Byrne: Kalen DeBoer 'had a plan' if Ryan Grubb didn't join him at Alabama

Just a month into his tenure at Alabama, Kalen DeBoer finds himself in need of an offensive coordinator. All signs pointed toward Ryan Grubb following him from Washington, but plans started to change when he emerged as a candidate for the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator position and eventually accepted it.

According to Crimson Tide athletic director Greg Byrne, DeBoer was prepared for Grubb to wind up in the NFL.

“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 told The Tuscaloosa News’ Nick Kelly. “Coach DeBoer had a plan for that and that is being worked on as we speak.”

DeBoer left Washington last month to replace Nick Saban after his retirement, and the plan was for Grubb and other assistants to follow him. However, Alabama didn’t announce his hire even though Grubb introduced himself as the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator at a speaking event on National Signing Day.

The reason for that, according to the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta, was to let the 30-day transfer portal window pass. After Mike Macdonald took over for Pete Carroll, he identified Grubb as a candidate right away. One of the reasons Seattle held off on announcing the hire was to allow the window to pass, and that will happen Saturday – one day after the news broke.

“Though the Seahawks had interest in Grubb from the start, one reason for waiting to make the hire official was to allow a 30-day window for Alabama players to enter the transfer portal to pass,” Condotta wrote. “Nick Saban announced he was retiring as Alabama’s coach, opening a 30-day window. But the window passes Saturday.”

Ryan Grubb played a crucial role in building Washington’s high-powered offense en route to a national championship appearance this past year. The Huskies, led by Heisman Trophy finalist Michael Penix Jr., ranked 13th in the nation with 36 points per game and 12th in the FBS with 462.1 yards on average. Most of their production came in the passing game with a unit that ranked No. 2 with 343.7 yards per game, just behind conference foe Oregon.

DeBoer’s plan to replace Grubb could come together quickly, though. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reported tight ends coach Nick Sheridan and wide receivers coach JaMarcus Sheppard could take over as co-offensive coordinators, with Sheridan as a potential play-caller.