It's one thing to defend a close friend because you know what they're capable of. It's another when the circumstances keep making that defense harder to justify to everyone around you.
You can believe in somebody all you want, but eventually, they have to give you something to stand on.
That's the position Kalen DeBoer found himself in Monday after defending his longtime friend and second-year Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, whose lack of creativity and answers amid the Crimson Tide's offensive struggles have fueled consecutive losses and calls for his replacement at season's end.
The endorsement comes after seeing Alabama score just 27 points over the last two weekends, including only three points combined in the second halves of those losses to Georgia and Tennessee. That's a stunning drop-off for an offense that scored at least 45 points in each of its first five games.
Still, DeBoer made it clear that he believes Grubb is capable of getting the Tide offense back on track, pointing to both the execution issues that have plagued Alabama and his play-caller's willingness to evaluate and adapt.
Kalen DeBoer continues to back Ryan Grubb, but Alabama's offensive struggles are making that endorsement harder to defend with 5 games left
"I think he’s a great play-caller,” DeBoer told reporters during the coaches' weekly press conference. “I think that putting an offense together to understand tendencies and things like that, I think you've got to look at there are a lot of scenarios that go into struggling at times as an offense. And it’s, again, it comes down to execution in a lot of those moments. Our 4th-and-1 calls. I mean, I think they’re really good calls. They’re calls we were ready to run in that game. Our guys knew the details of not stepping on top of each other and things like that that matter.
"But the thing about that about Ryan is that he’s evaluating and as critical of himself as anyone. And it’s always been like that. It goes back 15 years, at least 20 years that I’ve known. That’s the beauty, I think, in our staff as a whole. And just as far as you’re concerned with the question, it’s just I think that’s the piece. You’re just always trying to make it better. You’re trying to fit what you do around your personnel. You don’t just have a system, and it’s like, okay, we’re plugging these guys into the system. We've got to continue to evolve around the players that we have, help them play fast.”
But while DeBoer points to execution, the bigger question is why Alabama's offense continues to break down when the environment and competition stiffen.
Through its last eight quarters of football, Grubb's unit has allowed nine sacks and committed 15 penalties for 118 yards. Those numbers point to more than a few missed opportunities. They reflect an offense struggling to stay on schedule, sustain drives, and adjust when things aren't working.
That falls on Grubb.
A "great playcaller" has to do more than draw up plays that work when everything goes according to plan. He has to recognize when defenses have figured out what he wants to do and find a counter before the offense hits rock bottom, which was nonexistent in the creativity that went into early downs and the two failed fourth-down attempts in Knoxville.
That's a question Grubb faced in his lone season in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks. The franchise parted ways with him in January 2025, with head coach Mike Macdonald citing a difference in vision for the direction of the offense.
Now at Alabama, with five games left in the season, Grubb faces a similar test: the ability to convincingly solidify the identity of his offense when his team needs it most. DeBoer can stand behind his longtime buddy all he wants, but with the Tide struggling to protect its quarterback and simplify the game around him, Grubb has to show he can provide the answers Alabama desperately needs.
If not, the growing disconnect between DeBoer's loyalty and what Alabama actually puts on the field will only get harder to ignore.
And with dangerous defenses like Texas A&M, LSU, Vanderbilt, and Auburn still standing in the Tide's way, Grubb realistically has four opportunities left to prove he's the playcaller DeBoer believes he is. Over the next month, his ability to get deeper in his offensive bag will ultimately determine whether Alabama salvages its College Football Playoff hopes or is looking for a new coordinator come February.
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