According to a report Monday by Scott Eklund, Nick Saban is scheduled to meet with Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb about Alabama’s vacancy as offensive coordinator dawgmanWashington’ 247 page.
Saban is looking for a new coordinator after Bill O’Brien returned to New England earlier this month.
Grubb recently wrapped up his first season in Seattle, a campaign in which the Huskies jumped from 4-8 to 11-2 and earned an AP top 10 finish. This improvement was fueled by a rejuvenated passing game; Behind transfer quarterback Michael Penix, Jr., the Dawgs jumped from 113th to 10th on scoring offense, 72nd to first on passing offense, and doubled their scoring performance — up from 258 points in 2021 to 516 in 22.
Given that, Saban’s interest in Grubb is obvious. What is not clear at this point is whether this would be an informal gathering to gather information for Saban or a real job interview.
What we do However, they know that this is not a ploy by Grubb to get more money out of Washington. He earned $1 million a year after succeeding Fresno State head coach Kalen DeBoer, and in November earned an extension of the school’s record $1.45 million in 2023, up from $1.67 million in 2025.
Then, last month, his salary went up again after the field reported interest from Texas A&M. He is now set to receive $2 million a year for the next three seasons. (O’Brien earned $1.1 million a year during his two seasons at Alabama.)
For Grubb, the meeting was about professional development, not to top up the bank account.
Grubb has been under DeBoer’s wing almost continuously since 2007. The two have worked together at the University of Sioux Falls, in eastern Michigan, in Fresno state and now in Washington. When DeBoer was offensive coordinator, Grubb was his offensive line coach. When DeBoer became head coach, Grubbs was his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The last time Grubb worked outside of the Kalen-DeBoer orbit was in 2006 when he was the South Dakota State wide receivers coach.
Needless to say, getting the Alabama OC job would be quite a step up for Grubb.
This winter is the ideal time for Saban to reconsider his offensive approach.
The Tide not only loses O’Brien, but also the only Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in school history. Alabama has yet to pursue a quarterback in the transfer market, content to roll into spring with sophomore Jalen Milroe and redshirt freshman Ty Simpson as the main contenders vie to replace Bryce Young. Alabama also signed two 4-star recruits in the 2023 class, both of whom are already on campus, but Saban has only started one true freshman quarterback (Jalen Hurts, 2016) in his 16 seasons at Tuscaloosa.
Barring a late transfer (who wouldn’t even be there for spring training as of this writing), Milroe or Simpson are the likely candidates to replace the best quarterback in school history, and that conundrum will fuel Saban’s search for his next offensive coordinator.
Will this pursuit lead Saban to Seattle?
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.