Ryan Grubb on finally joining Alabama staff: 'The third time's the charm, right?'

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Not long after Ryan Grubb arrived at Alabama, the offensive coordinator heard a familiar sound that brought a smile to his face. It was wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard “being loud down the hallway” of the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility.

After initially agreeing to be Kalen DeBoer’s offensive play-caller in Year 1 at Alabama, Grubb departed for the NFL to serve as the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator. But after a year, he is back in Tuscaloosa, and the band is back together, as DeBoer, Grubb, Shephard and Nick Sheridan all spent two seasons at Washington before UA hired DeBoer.

Like riding a bike, the dynamic they had in the Pacific Northwest is returning, Grubb said.

“I think when you put the investment and time into relationships like that and when you’ve gotta figure out how to throw the ball against Cover 3, that part seems pretty easy,” said Grubb in his first interview since returning to Alabama. “I think that just familiarity and the ease of transition through some of the tough moments makes it a lot easier.”

Grubb was supposed to call plays and coach quarterbacks in DeBoer’s inaugural season as the Crimson Tide’s head coach. But after a brief stint in Tuscaloosa, he agreed to keep his family in Seattle and call plays for the Seahawks. That was part of the reason he left Alabama. Coaching at the highest level, the NFL, also had an influence on his decision to depart.

“I think there were a lot of factors that went into that decision,” Grubb said. “But certainly, not having to uproot my family and things like that were part of it. It definitely wasn’t the only factor.”

Grubb also had an opportunity to be Alabama’s offensive coordinator in 2023, Nick Saban’s final season, but chose to stay at Washington. Instead, Saban hired Tommy Rees, while Grubb and DeBoer helped lead the Huskies to the College Football Playoff national title game.

However, Grubb said staying at UW in 2023 had less to do with keeping his family in the same location and more about the players the Huskies expected to return, namely behind center.

“That was really hard,” Grubb said. “Obviously, I respect the heck out of Coach Saban. That one was a little bit more just the guys I had in the locker room at Washington. Mike Penix, the relationship I had with him, and Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, Troy Fautanu. Those guys all went to the NFL. We knew we were poised for a really big season. 

“I just felt like that would have been pretty hard for me to walk away from those guys.”

After two attempts, Grubb finally coached in his first Alabama practice earlier this week when the Tide held its first workout of spring camp. So what made now the time for Grubb to make the move to Tuscaloosa and rejoin his longtime friend and colleague at Alabama?

“The third time’s the charm, right?” Grubb said. “I think there were a lot of factors. Obviously, I felt like there were a lot of things already in place here. Hats off to the staff. They did a lot of heavy lifting this last year, just implementing a lot of things that are within the system offensively.

“So being able to come in here and get some things off the ground that guys have already seen, I felt like I could be an addition to not necessarily like we have to totally uproot everything that’s going on. Certainly, there’s some things that I do that are different, just like everybody. But I just felt like there was a lot of groundwork laid that we should have a good opportunity for success.”

Grubb also shard his impression of the Crimson Tide’s 2023 offense, led by Jalen Milroe.

“There’s some really talented guys,” Grubb said. “I thought they did a really good of using Jalen with his legs. I know that’s not necessarily what Jalen wants to be known for. He wants to be a quarterback, and he is a pretty good one. 

“But I thought they did a good job utilizing the talent and finding ways to be creative, getting the ball down the field. But I thought there were a lot of good players out there. I thought there was a lot of talent that was utilized.”

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