UW passes on Grubb; OC expected to join Bama

Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will not be the Huskies’ next coach, he announced on social media Saturday night.

Grubb, sources told ESPN’s Chris Low, is expected to instead join former Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer at Alabama as the new offensive coordinator.

“Though I wanted to be, I will not be the next head coach at the University of Washington,” Grubb said. “With tears in my eyes, I know my last day in Husky Stadium has come.”

Grubb orchestrated the Huskies’ top-ranked offense the past two seasons.

He has been coaching alongside DeBoer since their early days at the University of Sioux Falls, where Grubb was the Cougars’ offensive line coach from 2007 to 2009, under DeBoer, and the school’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2010 to 2013.

The two reunited in 2014 at Eastern Michigan — Grubb as offensive line coach and DeBoer as offensive coordinator — and at Fresno State during the 2017-18 season and the 2020-21 season.

When DeBoer took the top job at Washington in 2022, following a one-year head-coaching stint with the Bulldogs, Grubb was his choice to be the team’s offensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Any doubt that Grubb was once again going to follow DeBoer to Alabama was only clouded by the possibility that Grubb could be retained to lead the Huskies into the Big Ten. That’s longer the case.

On Saturday, DeBoer, who has a 104-12 head-coaching record, was formally introduced as the Crimson Tide’s new coach and said he understood that his experience in the SEC was limited and that “there needs to be some SEC ties [on staff] that can bridge the gap.”

No assistant hires have yet been made for DeBoer’s staff. Alabama’s cornerbacks coach, Travaris Robinson, was hired by Georgia this week to be the Bulldogs co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach.

Following DeBoer’s departure, Washington president Ana Mari Cauce said the school would be focused on finding a replacement “who can build on these successes as we enter the Big Ten and ensure the long-term excellence of our program.”

“We have one of the best head-coaching jobs in all of college football,” Washington athletic director Troy Dannen said. “Our search for a new head coach is underway, and I am excited about what comes next for Husky football.”