On January 6, 2024, Ryan Grubb was preparing Michael Penix Jr., Rome Odunze, and the Washington Huskies for a battle with the Michigan Wolverines in the national championship. One year later, he’s searching for a new job after just 11 months as the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator.
On what is known as Black Monday around the NFL, Grubb was fired by head coach Mike Macdonald and general manager John Schneider after an up-and-down first year at the NFL level.
“It’s really as simple as I felt like the direction our offense was going was different than the vision that I had for our team and we felt like it was a necessary decision at this point,” Macdonald said in an interview on the Brock and Salk show.
He oversaw the breakout of 2023 first-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who finished his second season with 100 catches for 1,130 yards and 6 touchdowns, but also saw plenty of struggles. The Seahawks offensive line was one of the league’s worst units and allowed 54 sacks, which tied for third-most in the league.
Even though quarterback Geno Smith threw for a career-high 4,320 yards, he also threw 15 interceptions, which tied for No.3 in the league. As questions about his play-calling arose, Seattle also struggled to run the ball, finishing No. 28 in the league in rushing yards with 1,627.
If Grubb doesn’t choose to stay in the NFL, he could return to the college level and reunite with coach Kalen DeBoer as the offensive coordinator of the Alabama Crimson Tide.