Seahawks reportedly hire Alabama's Ryan Grubb as offensive coordinator

Ryan Grubb was supposed to follow Kalen DeBoer from Washington to Alabama. Now he's heading back to Seattle.

The new Alabama offensive coordinator is taking the same position with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Grubb was reported to be the next Alabama offensive coordinator after leaving Washington last month. He goes way back with DeBoer, with the two having coached together at Washington, Fresno State, Eastern Michigan and Sioux Falls, and he was considered a hot candidate on the coaching market after the Huskies' College Football Playoff run. Grubb was initially a candidate to replace DeBoer before Washington grabbed Arizona's Jedd Fisch.

While Grubb's hire was never officially announced by the Tide, he had reportedly accepted the job and went as far as announcing “I’m Ryan Grubb, I’m your new offensive coordinator” at Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium on Wednesday.

Instead, the Iowa native will join the coaching staff of new Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, who joined Seattle after two years as the Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator. This will be Grubb's first job in the NFL after nearly two decades in the college ranks.

The reports of Grubb's hire weren't a huge surprise, as hours earlier, a Seahawks fan tweeted a picture of Grubb, Macdonald and Seahawks general manager John Schneider sitting together at a restaurant.

This development gives the Seahawks a rising star to call their offense. It also can't be ignored that the Seahawks are looking for a quarterback of the future and have the 16th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, where Washington quarterback and Heisman finalist Michael Penix Jr. could still be available.

Offensive coordinator was the final significant hole remaining for the Seahawks, as they were reported earlier Friday to be hiring Dallas Cowboys defensive line coach Aden Durde as defensive coordinator. Jay Harbaugh, son of Jim, will become the Seahawks' special-teams coordinator under Macdonald, with whom he coached at Michigan, while former Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier will serve as assistant head coach.

Meanwhile, Alabama is again looking for an offensive coordinator as this year's coaching cycle continues to drag on.