Alabama OC hire is official: What Kalen DeBoer, Ryan Grubb said about reuniting

Alabama made the hire of offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb official on Thursday. 

After one year as the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator, Grubb will return to Tuscaloosa to call plays for his longtime friend and colleague, Kalen DeBoer. The two have worked together at Sioux Falls, Eastern Michigan, Fresno State and Washington – and briefly Alabama.

The Crimson Tide announced the hire and included quotes from both DeBoer and Grubb.

Here is the full release, courtesy of Alabama Athletics:

University of Alabama head football coach Kalen DeBoer officially announced the addition of Ryan Grubb to his coaching staff on Thursday. Grubb will serve as offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide.

“Ryan Grubb has been someone that I have trusted for a long time and adding him to our staff only improves the quality of coaches we have here at Alabama,” DeBoer said. “He is one of the best offensive minds in the country, and I can’t wait to see what he brings to our organization moving forward.”

A veteran play-caller and one of the top offensive minds in football, Grubb brings a wealth of knowledge to Tuscaloosa. His resumé includes 10-plus combined years as an offensive coordinator, split across the collegiate and high school levels along with the National Football League.

“I’m thankful to get an opportunity to work with Coach DeBoer once again and to be a part of an offensive staff that I am very familiar with,” Grubb said. “I am confident that our staff will be able to put the team in the best position to win each time out. I know and trust that this group of coaches and players will work tirelessly to meet the standard that has been set here at Alabama, and I can’t wait to get out on the field with them.”

Grubb comes to Tuscaloosa after spending one year as offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks. During the 2024-25 campaign, the Seahawks ranked fifth in the NFL for passing yards with 4,379, including 4,320 from Geno Smith. Smith, in his 11th season, set career-high marks for yards, completions (407) and completion percentage (70.4) while totaling 21 passing scores, good for the second-most of his career. The veteran signal-caller also set the single-season franchise records for passing yards, completions and completion percentage under Grubb. Smith’s favorite target, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, led Seattle and tied for ninth in the NFL with 100 receptions for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns. The 100 receptions matched Seattle’s single-season high mark.

DeBoer originally brought Grubb to Tuscaloosa in 2024, maintaining their prior relationship from Washington. While with the Huskies, Grubb served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for two seasons from 2022-23.

In 2023, UW made it to the College Football Playoff National Championship, thanks in large part to its offensive production. Grubb helped Michael Penix Jr. earn the Maxwell Award with a record-setting season that saw Penix throw for 4,903 yards and 36 touchdowns while maintaining a 157.1 passer rating. Penix’s favorite target, Rome Odunze, caught a team-high 92 passes for 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns as both players earned first-team All-America honors and went on to be first-round picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The 2022 campaign saw the Huskies lead the nation in both passing offense (369.8 yards per game) and third down conversions (57 percent) while also finishing second in total offense (515.8 ypg). Grubb’s offensive group also had top-25 finishes in sacks allowed (2nd), first downs (5th), scoring offense (7th) and rushing offense (25th). Individually, Penix broke the then-Washington single-season record for passing yards with 4,641.

Grubb headed to Washington after spending the previous two seasons with DeBoer as the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Fresno State from 2020-21. The 2021 season saw the Bulldogs finish at 9-3 overall, ranked atop the Mountain West Conference in total offense (464.8 ypg) and second in scoring (33.4 ppg) and passing offense (330.1 ypg) during the regular season. Nationally, the group was ninth in passing offense, 14th in total offense and 26th in scoring.

In Grubb’s first season in 2020, Fresno led the MWC in yards per game (479.3 ypg) and passing yards per game (356.3 ypg) while ranking second in scoring (32.8 ppg). The Bulldogs generated over 400 yards of offense in all six games during the pandemic-shortened season, marking the first time since 2011 that FSU had a streak of six straight contests with 400-plus yards of offense.

Before serving as the OC for the Bulldogs, Grubb was the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator/offensive line coach in 2019 and the run game coordinator/offensive line coach from 2017-18. The 2019 campaign marked a second consecutive season and the then-fourth time in a decade that the FSU offense averaged 30-plus points per game. The Bulldogs averaged 360.0 yards of total offense, including 159.2 on the ground and 226.8 through the air.

In 2018, Grubb’s offensive line allowed just 12 sacks and ranked sixth in the FBS for sacks allowed per game (0.86). His first season in 2017 saw the offensive line allow just 10 total sacks in 14 contests (0.71 per game) to rank third in Division I. All five starters earned all-conference honors that season, including one first-teamer, two second-teamers and a pair of honorable mention accolades.

Grubb previously served as the offensive line coach at Eastern Michigan from 2014-16. In his final season at EMU, the line allowed the eighth-fewest sacks in the nation and the second-fewest tackles for loss, highlighted by a pair of All-MAC linemen at season’s end. That 2016 campaign saw the Eagles shatter the record for total offense with 5,917 yards and also set program-high marks for points scored (385), passing yards (3,849) and touchdown passes (25). Additionally, the offense accumulated the second-most touchdowns (47) and rushing scores (21) in a single season. In 2015, EMU finished with 4,560 yards, the fifth-most in Eastern single-season history, and tallied 39 touchdowns to tie for the fifth-most in a single season.

Prior to his time in Ypsilanti, Grubb worked seven seasons at the University of Sioux Falls from 2007-13 – the first three as run game coordinator and offensive line coach followed by four years as offensive coordinator. Grubb was part of DeBoer’s staff from 2007-09 and took over as offensive coordinator following his departure. He also served as the strength and conditioning coordinator for the USF football program and was named American Football Monthly’s 2008 NAIA National Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year.

During his time at USF, the Cougars finished with a combined 75-13 (.852) record, with Grubb helping the team to two national championships and four Great Plains Athletic Conference championships. Sioux Falls produced 20-plus all-conference players, multiple All-America honorees and two NAIA Player of the Year winners.

Before his time at Sioux Falls, Grubb spent the 2005-06 seasons at South Dakota State where he was the wide receivers coach (2006) and running backs coach (2005). Prior to starting his collegiate coaching career, he was the offensive coordinator at Kinglsey-Pierson High School in Iowa from 2003-04.

Grubb earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Buena Vista University in 1999 and completed his master’s in sports pedagogy from South Dakota State in 2006.

He and his wife, Stephanie, have one daughter, Falynn.

While appropriate members of The Board of Trustees have been notified of the proposed terms and conditions of this proposed appointment, the financial terms remain subject to approval by The Board of Trustees.

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