Kalen DeBoer has a task on his hands. Despite a remarkable coaching career, DeBoer, in his current gig at Alabama, has to do something impossible: to follow Nick Saban, arguably the greatest college football coach of all time. DeBoer is not the only member of the Washington coaching staff who is swimming in unchartered territories this upcoming season. Two of his offensive coaches will not be next to DeBoer in Alabama. Instead, they chose to stay put in Seattle, moving from college football to the NFL.

Mike Macdonald, the former defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, replaced Pete Carroll, the Super Bowl-winning coach who was at the helm of affairs in the Seattle Seahawks for 14 seasons. As part of his team, Macdonald hired Ryan Grubb as the offensive coordinator of the Seahawks and Scott Huff as the offensive line coach. The move is another feat in Grubb’s impressive journey. His first offensive coordinator appointment at the Football Bowl Subdivision level only happened in 2019 when he was promoted by DeBoer at Fresno State. He carried on in the same role when DeBoer moved to Washington.

A few months into his new job, Ryan Grubb has already started bringing Washington’s winning culture to the Seahawks. Per Mike Vorel, sports columnist for the Seattle Times, Grubb is implementing ideas critical to DeBoer’s program at Washington. The TNT (Takes No Talent) sign, now a feature at the Seahawks practice facility, emphasizes values and ideas such as body language, hustling, enthusiasm, effort, knowing the game situation and moving on to the next play, among others.

NFL transition a major challenge for Kalen DeBoer’s men

With Ryan Grubb as the offensive coordinator, Washington ranked in the top 15 nationally in total and scoring offense. Moreover, in both these seasons, Washington was in the top two in passing offense. In Grubb’s offense, both quarterback Michael Penix Jr and running back Dillon Johnson produced impressive numbers, reflecting a neat balance between the run game and passing game. Can this translate to the NFL? It remains to be seen. Similarly, offensive line coach Scott Huff will have to make sure that his offensive line protects QB Geno Smith. The O-line must also create lanes for running backs so the Seahawks can look to the passing game on second and third downs.

When asked about the transition from college football to the NFL, Grubb told the Associated Press, “It’s the same challenge you have with any offense — first-time install, new faces, whether it’s coaches or players, the translation piece getting everybody on the same page speaking the same language is always the difficulty.” Given Ryan Grubb’s history, QB Geno Smith (who will look to prove his worth after an on and off-season), and an exciting wide-receiver core at the Seahawks, Seattle may be in for some fun times.