Ryan Grubb, how’d you like to come to Gainesville? (Photo credit: Steph Chambers, Getty Images)
We began our series breaking down potential Florida Gators offensive coordinator prospects the other day with Andy Kotelnicki. Today, we take a look at my co-number one choice: Ryan Grubb.
Ryan Grubb
Synopsis
A rather strange move by the Seattle Seahawks to fire Ryan Grubb places him back on the market. True, the Seahawks missed the playoff, but their offense moved the ball fine with QB Geno Smith; evidently having the 14th best offense in the 32-team NFL wasn’t good enough. Before that, though, he’d more than proven his mettle across town as the Washington Huskies’ play-caller under then-coach Kalen DeBoer.
What would a Ryan Grubb offense look like?
The first thing I like about this potential pairing is that Grubb likes to make use of 11 and 10 personnel. This means either three or four wide receivers will have purposeful pass routes to run on a given pass play… or at least the defense will think so, drawing the opposing bandwidth away from the running play that’s coming. Florida, of course, has more than two very capable wide receivers, which is why I despise the 12 personnel looks at Florida in non-goal-line situations.
That, though, is just the shell of a Grubb offense. Once they get the base down, the players have a lot of freedom in Grubb’s scheme—none more so than the QB. If DJ Lagway can learn the system during the spring install period and master it in the summer, he’ll be a new level of dangerous. Grubb trusts his QB to read a defender or even two and then either hand the ball off, throw it, or simply take off running. This, of course, requires a highly intelligent guy at the controls, and Lagway fits that description and then some.
Perhaps the true genius of a Ryan Grubb offense is how the pass concepts are drawn up. A lot of his most effective passing plays feature routes across the middle of the field. Sometimes they come in the form of mesh concepts or delayed releases by a tight end for easy YAC pickups, but more commonly they feature option routes by the X or Z receivers across the middle of the field—another example of the trust Grubb has in his players. On almost every passing play, though, there’s the potential for a downfield shot, as either there is a deep route drawn into the play or one of his receivers has the freedom to run a deep post on his option route.
With Michael Penix at the controls, Grubb rode this philosophy to an easy 5,155 yards through the skies in 2023 at Washington—more than anyone else in the country. Maybe this is why he has somewhat of a reputation as a pass-happy offensive mind.
But while Ryan Grubb may have a preference for slinging the ball deep, his offense is far from one-dimensional or even pass-happy. He can get it done on the ground, too, as evidenced by Dillon Johnson rushing for 1,195 yards in 2023. This is primarily done with his use of zone concepts, and Johnson was excellent at reading the field and picking a hole. But Grubb deserves some credit for calling these plays against off-balance defenses that didn’t expect them, too, especially out of the same formations he sometimes dials up deep shots from.
(Note: you can read more about his run game concepts here. It’s a really good piece.)
And, oh yeah, about that: Grubb has shown a genius for coming up with different game plans for different styles of opponents. Yes, he’ll line up in 12 and even 13 personnel at times—but strategically so, when it’s fourth and two from the opponent’s four, or third and three from the opponent’s twelve. Yes, he’ll run some double-crossing route mesh concepts—if he sees the opponent’s linebackers are suspect in coverage. He’ll even order four or five runs in a row at times—if the opponent has a weak run defense.
The major knock on Grubb with the Seahawks—again, this is nitpicking, the offense certainly wasn’t the Seahawks’ biggest issue—was his lack of play-action passing with Geno Smith. But he’s utilized play-action before in his career, at his college stops, so I feel relatively comfortable that he’ll return to this tendency at Florida if given the role.
So, the TL;DR is that Grubb runs a spread offense, but with pro tendencies; there’s danger with the deep ball, but vacate the box and he’ll happily run out of some passing formations. Grubb has his tendencies and preferences, but he’s a chameleon, perfectly able and willing to adapt to a situation unfolding before his eyes.
How much would Ryan Grubb cost?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there’s a price for hiring someone who’s proven to be really good at his job. Ryan Grubb made about $2 million per year with the Huskies in 2023; having just been fired from the Seahawks makes me think that’s probably a reasonable offer. Plus or minus $100K or year is a solid ballpark to look at.
Would he take the Florida OC job?
This is the two-million dollar question. Ask Alabama fans, and they’ll tell you he’s coming home to Tuscaloosa to be reunited with Kalen DeBoer. Then again, Alabama fans are the same people who anointed Rich Rodriguez as their savior in 2007. So, who knows?
The truth is that both Florida and Alabama are attractive jobs for Grubb for entirely different reasons. Alabama gives him the comfortability of familiarity: working underneath DeBoer once more. And, you know, Alabama is Alabama—Saban or no Saban. But Florida offers a generational talent at quarterback, an explosive array of receivers, an above-average-at-worst running back room, and a veteran offensive line to block for all that. With the right guy pulling the levers, Florida is poised to overtake Alabama as the Crimson Tide appear to be falling back down to earth in their post-Saban apocalypse. At least, that’s the pitch that has to be made to him if it truly becomes a two-team battle for his services.
Ultimately, though, if Florida decides it wants to get serious about football and not just hire an OC to check the box and silence the criticism, but legitimately hire the best man for the job, and they offer a compensation package that reflects this, Grubb would have a very difficult time turning them down.
Verdict: Ryan Grubb would be a dream hire
Imagine DJ Lagway being given complete freedom to choose which of the six or seven excellent receivers he can throw to more than 15 yards down the field on more than three or four plays a game. Imagine an offense that utilizes Aidan Mizell’s ability to take the top off the defense, or that gives Tre Wilson the ability to pick which route he runs based on what he sees, or that lets Dallas Wilson make SportsCenter by simply being told to run a creative route deep down the field and executing—because Wilson simply executing naturally means a “WOW” play. Those possibilities are all unlocked with Grubb’s new-age spread/Air Raid/11 personnel hybrid offense, and when you pair that with his highly adaptive situational play-calling, this would be a spectacular hire. For me, flip a coin between Grubb and Kotelnicki. Either one would be a grand slam hire.
