Alabama’s offensive resurgence this season hasn’t gone unnoticed. And neither has the man orchestrating it. Kalen DeBoer might have a problem on his hands as the college football coaching carousel spins into overdrive. Now, 12 FBS programs are already searching for new head coaches and are more likely to join them. One of DeBoer’s key assistants is starting to generate serious buzz as a legitimate head coaching candidate.

Greg McElroy, the former Alabama quarterback turned ESPN analyst, recently highlighted Ryan Grubb as one of the best coordinators ready to make the jump to a head coaching role. “Ryan Grubb, the offensive coordinator at Alabama, who I’m surprised hasn’t got more looks in the past,” McElroy said. “The guy feels like a head coach when you meet with him, you visit with him, very cerebral coach, and has done a great job in his time in Tuscaloosa”. That’s not exactly faint praise. It’s an endorsement that gets athletic directors’ attention when they’re trying to figure out who can turn around their struggling programs.​​

The $2 million offensive coordinator’s resume backs up McElroy’s assessment, too. He’s been DeBoer’s offensive coordinator at Sioux Falls, Fresno State, Washington, and now Alabama. He has basically followed him everywhere and produced results at every stop. In 2022, Grubb’s Washington offense led the nation in passing yards and finished seventh in scoring, which is what initially put him on the national radar. 

He was so highly regarded that Nick Saban tried to hire him away from Washington before his final season in Tuscaloosa. He recognized that Grubb could’ve been the difference-maker Alabama needed. After a brief stint with the Seattle Seahawks that didn’t work out, Grubb finally made his way to Alabama this year and has transformed the Crimson Tide offense into a creative, efficient unit that’s got them back among the nation’s elite.​

The timing couldn’t be worse for DeBoer with all these coaching vacancies opening up. LSU sits atop the rankings as the best job available, followed by Penn State, Florida, all programs with serious resources and championship expectations. While McElroy wasn’t specifically naming which job Grubb might land, he was making it clear that Grubb belongs in those conversations alongside other top coordinator candidates. Grubb already turned down Alabama once to stay at Washington because he believed in what they were building, and he’s shown he’s not afraid to bet on himself.​

What makes this particularly interesting is that Grubb had previously drawn head coaching interest from Washington after DeBoer left for Alabama. But they ultimately went with Jedd Fisch instead. McElroy thought Grubb would’ve been a great fit there, noting that Grubb “has had several, several head coaching opportunities” over the years, but the timing just hadn’t lined up.

Now, with more than a dozen programs desperate for proven offensive minds who can navigate the modern college football landscape, Grubb’s phone might start ringing a lot more frequently. DeBoer finally got his longtime coordinator to Tuscaloosa after a year apart, but there’s a real chance he might only get one season with him before someone else decides Grubb’s exactly what they need to fix their mess.​

Oregon State has Grubb on its radar, too

It’s not just the big-name programs circling Grubb either. Oregon State, which fired Trent Bray on October 12 after an 0-7 start to the season, has already identified Alabama’s offensive coordinator as a potential target. The Beavers are in a tough spot after the Pac-12 collapse and losing Jonathan Smith to Michigan State a couple of years back. So they need someone who can bring credibility and offensive firepower to Corvallis. Grubb checks a lot of boxes for them.

He’s got Pacific Northwest and West Coast ties from his time at Washington and Fresno State with DeBoer, and he’s proven he can build elite offenses even when he’s not working with five-star talent everywhere.​ Angie Machado from BeaverBlitz noted that Grubb “has led one of the most explosive offenses in the nation over the last several years,” which is exactly what Oregon State desperately needs right now.

The Beavers have lost 13 of their last 14 games, and bringing in someone who just orchestrated Washington’s path to a national championship game and is now doing similar work at Alabama. The downside? Grubb’s never been a head coach at the college level, which is a legitimate concern for a program that’s already struggling. Plus, coordinators of his caliber usually command serious money and have hefty buyouts, so Oregon State would need to figure out if it can actually afford him.​