Ryan

Grubb

Grubb is one-and-done as the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator. The Seahawks hired Grubb after two successful seasons as offensive coordinator at the University of Washington, where his pass-heavy schemes helped elevate the Husky’s to one of the top offensive units in the nation and Michael Penix to a first-round draft pick in 2024. Unfortunately, Grubb’s approach fell flat in Seattle. In his first and only season at the helm, the Seahawks’ passing game ranked 26th in EPA per dropback and 20th in dropback success rate. Seattles’ ground game faired better than it’s passing attack under Grubb, but that didn’t stop him from ranking in the top five in the league in both pass rate and pass rate over expected. Look for head coach Mike Macdonald to prioritize an offensive coordinator with a more balanced approach in 2025, who won’t be opposed to leaning more heavily on Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet in the running game after this failed experiment.

ESPN’s Brady Henderson relayed Smith’s sentiments on learning the offense. Smith said “I feel like I’m a dropback passer and I feel like this is a dropback offense...” New offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb came over from the same position with the University of Washington where he was also quarterbacks coach to Michael Penix. Smith is entering his third season with the Seahawks and has had a semi-rejuvenation for his career in Seattle. Grubb’s offense under new head coach Mike Macdonald will be a change of pace from the previous regime under Pete Carroll. Sam Howell is the backup for now with Smith under contract for two more seasons.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald opted to go with an outside-the-box approach at offensive coordinator, luring Grubb, a lifelong college coach, into the professional game. Grubb’s first role as offensive coordinator came at Sioux Falls in 2010 after previously being hired as their offensive line/run game coordinator in 2007 by then-head coach Kalen DeBoer. DeBoer, who is now the head coach at Alabama, would also work with Grubb at Fresno State and Washington and had hired him to his Alabama staff mere weeks ago. Known for his horizontal passing game, Grubb has helped lead some of the top offensive attacks in the nation, with the Huskies ranking seventh and 13th in the nation in scoring during his two seasons. Now with the Seahawks, Grubb has a chance to show his offensive chops on the pro stage, and has a talented group of receivers in Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to work with.