Nick Saban’s Alabama was a force to be reckoned with in his time. Coaches wanted to join him. Assistants jumped at an opportunity to work under Saban. It is evident from the fact that the most successful assistant at Alabama was Kirby Smart. With two national championships, Smart is one of the most successful current head coaches in college football. Then, there was Lane Kiffin, whose time with Saban was marred with frequent disagreements and an unpleasant departure. Just think of a head coach in college football today, and you’d find them on the Saban coaching tree. Dan Lanning? Check. Steve Sarkisian? Check. Mario Cristobal? Check. Billy Napier? Check again. Let’s throw in Curt Cignetti, too. And? Yes, check again. So, when you hear someone not jumping at a chance to work with the GOAT of college football, you’d be like, ‘What?’

We are talking about the offensive coordinator and QB coach Ryan Grubb, who was working in the same capacity for the Washington Huskies. He remained there for two seasons, in 2022 and 2023. Yet, when the opportunity came knocking on his door to join Alabama, he decided to pass on it and not join them finally. Now, he has opened up the real reason why he didn’t join Bama.

“That was a little bit more. That was really hard. That was just about the guys we had in the locker room in Washington. Michael Penix, Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, and Troy Fautanu. We felt like we were poised for a really big season. It would have been hard to walk away from those guys.” Quite honestly, the man is right, and here’s why.

Washington, in two seasons under Kalen DeBoer as head coach and Ryan Grubb as their OC and QB coach, was just unstoppable. In Grubb’s first season only, he and DeBoer completely revamped the offense, which paid huge dividends. They led the country in passing yards, first downs, and third down conversion percentage; you name it, and they had achieved that. The duo was instrumental in leading an undefeated regular season in 2023 and leading the team to the national championship final. But now it seems the day has finally come for Alabama.

The OC has now joined Alabama under his old pal Kalen DeBoer and will serve as their OC for the 2025 season. However, his hiring wasn’t easy even for DeBoer, as after the latter went to Alabama from Washington. Ryan Grubb went to the Seattle Seahawks to be their OC. However, as fate would have it, he was later not retained by the Seahawks in the 2025 season, and Kalen DeBoer grabbed the first opportunity to seize him. Now that he has joined, he has now declared the way he is going to play.

Offensive schemes of Ryan Grubb at Alabama

When asked about his playing style and the strategy he would want to run in Bama, Grubb had a one-word answer. “Aggressive.” After pausing for a moment, he added, “We’re going to be aggressive.” Grubb continued, “I think that when the players, when it works the best, the understanding that the players have that we got to be responsible with the football, not go backwards, make sure we’re always matriculating the ball down the field, but then be ready for an opportunity to take the shot.” So, will this ‘aggressive’ scheme be successful in Alabama under DeBoer?

Well, DeBoer and Grubb are the two people who form the magic duo in college football. They are literally one more very good season away from becoming Batman and Robin of football. So, yes, his strategy should definitely work in DeBoer’s philosophy. However, DeBoer will also have to keep in mind that just adding an OC will not guarantee success. In order to do that, he will have to address some of the problems in his QB room and, more than that, their long-term recruitment plans. The verdict?

Alabama will open its regular season with FSU on the road. Surely, it looks easy, considering FSU had a terrible season in 2024. Their other tough games are against Georgia on the road in week 4 and Vanderbilt (history can repeat itself) in week 5. Other than that, they also face LSU, Oklahoma, and Tennessee in their 2025 season. They have a moderate schedule, so this can be the season when Alabama gets back to its winning ways.