Ryan Grubb is going to find future success, but he is unlikely to find that in the NFL. His system works quite well at the college level where a decent offensive line helps Grubb's designed plays work better than they ever would against the speed of professional players. One thing is certain, though. Grubb will no longer be working for the Seattle Seahawks as he was fired the day after the 2024 season finale.
The news was first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Grubb was only Seattle's offensive coordinator for one season. The hope was that he would reverse the trend set by former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron where the team was too pass-happy. Instead, Grubb threw the ball at an even higher percentage than Waldron. The question was why?
When Seattle stuck with running the ball more they did better. For instance, when running back Zach Charbonnet ran the ball at least 14 times, the team was 5-0. Grubb inconsistently called run plays and then gave up on the run far too quickly.
Seattle Seahawks reportedly fire offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb
An issue seemed to be that Grubb could never fully transition from his college play-calling that was meant to attack opposing players, especially those who were the weak link on their defenses, to an NFL way of attacking schemes.
In college, the difference between good and bad players is vast. At the professional level, the difference is much smaller. Every player in the NFL is capable of being good or they would not be being paid to play. Maybe Grubb simply did not have the ability to adjust and learn how to attack scheme instead of players.
What we do know is that Grubb's offense digressed from the early part of the season when the team averaged a decent 25.5 points per game in the first four, but then less than 20 the rest of the season. Four times, the Seahawks scored 16 points or fewer. That is not winning football.
Quarterback Geno Smith did not help Grubb at times as Smith led the league in red zone turnovers, but Grubb's play-calling near the goal line also was astonishingly limited as often receivers would run the same routes, allowing defenders to cover more than one receiver at a time.
Seattle's offensive line was also bad, especially on the right side of the unit. Grubb never found a way to help, though. He could have used more play-action or gone with a shorter and quicker passing game. He didn't.
He will probably end up back as a college OC next season, perhaps joining Kalen DeBoer at the University of Alabama. If he does end up there, Grubb will likely be immediately successful.
As far as the Seahawks, a search for an offensive coordinator who is more committed to running the ball is likely. This also allows head coach Mike Macdonald to do a longer OC coaching search than he had last year. The Grubb hire was a mistake, but Macdonald and general manager John Schneider now have a chance to fix that.