Ryan Grubb received two raises in the last three months, becoming the highest paid assistant in Husky football history.
He may be leaving anyway.
UW’s second-year offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach is being courted for the same role at Alabama, according to reports by 247Sports and The Athletic. 247Sports reported that Grubb is flying to Tuscaloosa, Ala., Monday to meet with Alabama coach Nick Saban, while The Athletic called Grubb “a person of serious interest” for the Crimson Tide.
Grubb would succeed Bill O’Brien, who returned to the New England Patriots last week after two seasons as Alabama’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
In his first season in Seattle, Grubb and head coach Kalen DeBoer helped resurrect the Husky offense — ranking first nationally in passing (369.8 yards per game), first downs (27.2 per game), third down conversions (56.83%), completions of 10-plus yards (193), and tackles for loss allowed (31), second in total offense (516.2 yards per game) and sacks allowed (7), seventh in scoring (39.7 points per game) and 10th in yards per play (6.88).
That improvement coincided with the arrival of Indiana transfer quarterback Michael Penix Jr. — who set a school record and led the nation in passing yards (4,641), while adding 35 total touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Penix, standout wide receivers Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan and left tackle Troy Fautanu all announced in the last two months that they’ll return to Montlake in 2023 rather than declaring for the NFL draft.
But their offensive coordinator — a man UW offensive lineman Jaxson Kirkland called “a wizard on offense” and “the best-kept secret in college football” at Pac-12 Media Day on July 29 — may not be back.
That’s despite Grubb receiving a raise in December (following interest from Texas A&M) that would pay him $2 million annually through 2025. A previous raise in November was worth $1.45 million in 2023, $1.55 million in 2024 and $1.67 million in 2025. The Kingsley, Iowa, native and Buena Vista University alum initially agreed last offseason to a two-year deal worth $1.02 million annually.
“My initial emotional response to being here [last winter] was that this place could be unbelievably special, not knowing really anything about Washington,” Grubb said in November. “Now, going through a full year of it and seeing the support of the community and the kids that are in this program, this place is incredibly special. So I’m excited to be here.”
Grubb’s salary is set to surpass former Husky head coach Jimmy Lake, who made $1.4 million — after, ironically, turning down Alabama — as UW’s defensive coordinator in 2019. And according to USA Today’s salary database, just two college football assistants earned $2 million or more this year — Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken ($2.005 million) and Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles ($1.9 million, surpassing $2 million with incentives).
Grubb would also leave behind a documented history with DeBoer — who he worked with at the University of Sioux Falls (offensive-line coach and run-game coordinator, 2007-09), Eastern Michigan (offensive-line coach, 2014-16) and Fresno State (offensive-line coach and run-game coordinator in 2017-18, associate head coach and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in 2020-21).
“Especially the last eight years, we built the offense together. He’s been very involved,” DeBoer said last summer. “Yes, he was the offensive-line coach prior to becoming the coordinator. But he knew he wanted to be a coordinator, so he was always paying attention and asking questions, and we were developing our system together.
“He’s just really smart, and you mix that with a phenomenal work ethic, and you get a guy that’s organized, that the players believe in, because they see him caring about them as a person and a football player. It’s cool, seeing the trust they’re gaining in him.”
That trust may soon be tarnished.
The secret, it seems, is out.
This story will be updated.