'Third Time's the Charm': Why Now was Right Timing for Ryan Grubb at Alabama

The Crimson Tide's newest offensive coordinator explained his decision to reunite with Kalen DeBoer in Tuscaloosa.

3/3/25 MFB MFB Spring Practice 1 Alabama Football Offensive Coordinator Ryan Grubb Photo by Kent Gidley | Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Three different times an Alabama head coach has tried to get Ryan Grubb to become the offensive coordinator of the Crimson Tide, and it finally stuck this offseason with Kalen DeBoer getting his old former offensive coordinator in Tuscaloosa.

"Third time’s the charm, right?" Grubb joked with reporters Wednesday, meeting with the media for the first time since getting hired at Alabama.

Grubb was part of DeBoer's initial staff at Alabama when he was hired last January, but quickly left to accept a job with the Seattle Seahawks as their offensive coordinator weeks later that February. Part of the reason for staying in Seattle after his job at Washington was the proximity and thought of not having to uproot his family again, but there were other factors at play.

Nick Saban tried to hire Grubb prior to the 2023 season to replace Bill O'Brien. Grubb decided to stay at Washington with DeBoer, and that Washington team went on to win the Pac 12 and make a run to the College Football Playoff championship game. When Grubb turned Saban down, he hired Tommy Rees to be the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator that season.

"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. You know, Michael Penix and the relationship I had with him and Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillian and Troy Fautanu. Those guys all went to the NFL. We knew we were posted for a really big season. I just felt like that would’ve been pretty hard for me to walk away from.”

Grubb was let go after one season with the Seahawks, and he is now reunited with DeBoer, his longtime coaching partner at multiple stops.

" I felt like there’s a lot of things already in place here," Grubb said. "Hats off to the staff. They did a lot of heavy lifting this past 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 like we have to necessarily totally uproot everything that’s going on. Certainly there’s some things that I do that are different, but I just felt like there was a lot of groundwork laid that we should have a good opportunity for success.”