Ryan Grubb had accepted that he was going to be in Tuscaloosa. The now-former Alabama football offensive coordinator had followed Kalen DeBoer from Washington, and after not getting the Husky head coach job, he was ready to take on the SEC.

“That’s where I was,” Grubb said Thursday at a press conference introducing him to reporters covering the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. “You know what I mean? That was really the point was to take the job down there and be the offensive coordinator.

“Nothing was set here. Mike (Macdonald) was going through his process and trying to make the best decisions he could for the Seahawks, so nothing was set and I had to keep moving forward with the job that I had taken an that was the Alabama offensive coordinator job.”

But of course, Grubb wasn’t speaking from the podium in Mal Moore Athletic Facility. He was being introduced as the offensive coordinator of the Seahawks, a job he took without coaching a single game for the Crimson Tide.

He had met new Seahawks head coach Macdonald at the 2023 NFL Combine. At that time, Macdonald was the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens.

Fast forward, and Grubb, who had been considering a future, either in the NFL or as a head coach, for around three years, got the chance to stay in Seattle.

“This is like the unicorn event in coaching,” Grubb said. “The fact that I got to stay right here and do it in a city, in a place that I already love.”

Grubb had extensive history coaching with DeBoer. The two had first teamed up back at the NAIA level, at Sioux Falls.

Together they had taken the Huskies to a national title appearance after the 2023 season. Even after leaving, Grubb said he expected big things from the man who replaced Nick Saban at Alabama.

“We knew this day would come for sure,” Grubb said. “I’m excited for Kalen, I know he’s going to do a phenomenal job down at Alabama and I know he’s excited for me for this opportunity.”

DeBoer is reportedly looking internally to fill Grubb’s offensive coordinator job, promoting Nick Sheridan to the spot.

The transfer portal window created by Saban’s retirement closed before Grubb’s departure. The new Seattle OC was asked at the press conference how difficult it was to leave behind some of the players he had coached before, particularly redshirt freshman quarterback Austin Mack, who transferred from Washington to Alabama to join his coaches.

“Austin’s unique in the sense that when I recruited Austin, talking to Brad and Lisa his parents, that he knew this was a possibility,” Grubb said. “Whether it was this year, next year, at some point, I told him that there’s a good chance that I wouldn’t get to see the end of his career. So I think honest conversations like that when you recruit kids help when transitions like this happen.”

Grubb wasn’t the only Alabama coach to make the jump. Scott Huff, who had also followed DeBoer from Washington as offensive line coach, went with him.

On Thursday, Grubb described why it was so important to take Huff along.

“I’ve always felt like Scott was an NFL-caliber offensive line coach,” Grubb said. “He’s had opportunities to leave in the past, so to be able to do it and have our system, I think it really helps the installation process and the beginning points for the team, just to able to help with the translation part.”