Kalen DeBoer took his first hit as Alabama head coach on Friday night when it was revealed offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who followed him to Tuscaloosa from Washington, accepted the Seahawks offensive coordinator opening.
The Tide were hit hard in the transfer portal following former head coach Nick Saban’s retirement. Per On3, they rank 70th out of 70 teams in its transfer portal team rankings. Alabama lost 28 five-, four- and three-star recruits while only acquiring six.
DeBoer should have known those defections were possible, but Grubb’s decision was less forseeable.
The duo has been joined at the hip for the majority of their coaching careers, beginning in 2007 when DeBoer was head coach at Sioux Falls. They also coached together at Eastern Michigan and Fresno State before spending the past two seasons at Washington.
Despite the departures, sportsbooks still like Alabama in 2024. Per ESPN Bet, the Tide (+1200) are tied with Oregon for the fourth-best odds of winning next season’s national championship.
It certainly helps that quarterback Jalen Milroe is returning. DeBoer is also a proven offensive coordinator in his own right, spending the 2019 season at Indiana. There, former Hoosiers quarterback Peyton Ramsey completed 68 percent of his attempts, the highest mark in his four seasons as a college quarterback. Penix Jr., then a freshman, was 110-of-160 (68.8 percent) for 1,394 yards (8.7 yards per attempt), 10 touchdowns and four interceptions.
