It was already going to be an incredibly tough task for new Alabama Head Coach Kalen DeBoer being the guy to replace Nick Saban.
But, things have been made a lot tougher for him, as he lost his longtime right-hand-man, Ryan Grubb. Grubb, who came with DeBoer from Washington to Alabama, will now be the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seattle Seahawks are set to hire Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb for the same role, sources tell @ClowESPN and me. Grubb has told Alabama of his intentions to leave. He would remain in the Seattle area after serving as Washington's OC with DeBoer.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) February 10, 2024
First off, this is a great hire for new Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald. Macdonald is a defensive coach, and needs someone who can truly be the head coach of the offense while he helps rebuild the Seattle Seahawks defense.
But, as tough as the Alabama job was going to be for Kalen DeBoer before, with insane expectations following a legend like Nick Saban, it’s much tougher now.
Ryan Grubb has been with DeBoer since 2007, and the two men have crafted much of their offensive philosophy together. While many rightly credit DeBoer for being an offensive genius, Ryan Grubb deserves a lot of the credit.
A big part of that is on the offensive line. A lot of offensive gurus are pretty quarterback and skill position focus. That’s more of Kalen DeBoer’s focus. But, Grubb is a former longtime offensive line coach. He is adept at matching up concepts with blocking schemes.
This is an Alabama team that has some huge questions up front. Obviously, there’s talent there. But, they lost both starting tackles, as JC Latham is off to the NFL and Kadyn Proctor transferred to Iowa. And, obviously, losing DeBoer’s first choice as offensive coordinator is going to hurt.
I think Kalen DeBoer is a fantastic coach, and will probably figure it out. But, this is another obstacle in his way.