In 2023, Kalen DeBoer and his longtime offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, collaborated to construct one of the country's most devastating offenses. Michael Penix Jr. operated their pro-style passing game expertly, and a diverse run game kept defenses off-balance en route to the National Championship Game. Now, with more resources than ever, they’re hoping their partnership will get them one step further to finally win it all.
After DeBoer left Washington for Tuscaloosa last offseason, Grubb, after initially accepting the offer to join him in the transition to the SEC, stayed behind in Seattle to lead the Seahawks' offense. With Nick Sheridan, now Alabama’s quarterbacks coach, replacing him as DeBoer’s OC and the two working out Jalen Milroe’s unique skillset and drastic limitations in the passing game, last year’s Alabama offense looked nothing like the one the Huskies rode in 2023.
Grubb’s one-year stint in the NFL didn’t go as planned, so he’s back with DeBoer, and after working with the Crimson Tide this spring, he sounds confident that this unit can be one of the best.
#Alabama OC Ryan Grubb tells @RyanCFowler "We want people to pop our film on every week and know they're gonna have to defend every inch of the field."
— Wyatt Fulton (@FultonW_) June 12, 2025
The message Grubb sent in that interview with Ryan Fowler on Tuscaloosa Sports Radio also serves as meaningful insight into the type of system that Alabama will be running.
Grubb putting major pressure on Ty Simpson
Two of the hallmarks of a Grubb offense are the use of pre-snap motion and the varied pacing that he wants his quarterback to operate at. At their best, the 2023 Huskies could shred a defense in the no-huddle or salt away eight minutes on a lengthy touchdown drive. Grubb wants to force his opposing defensive coordinator to be ready for anything, but that makes his quarterback’s job more difficult than most.
Grubb also recently reiterated that while it’s not set in stone, if Alabama played a game tomorrow, Ty Simpson would be the Tide’s starting quarterback. Though it’s his fourth year in Tuscaloosa, it will be his first as a starter, and the only way to threaten every inch of the field is to have a quarterback capable of making all of the throws.
An elite receiving corps, led by Ryan Williams in the encore performance to his stellar freshman campaign, should ease Simpson’s onboard into the complex system, but there is plenty of pressure on the first-year starter's shoulders heading into 2025, and a comment like that from his play-caller only adds to it.