Ex-UW OC Ryan Grubb ‘under consideration’ to become new OC of Seahawks

RENTON, Wash. – Almost immediately after agreeing to become the Seattle Seahawks’ coach on Wednesday, Mike Macdonald spent much of the day huddling with general manager John Schneider to begin tackling their biggest task – filling out the rest of the coaching staff.

“We met everybody initially in the entryway yesterday,” Macdonald said. “We literally walked upstairs, and we went to work on staffing.”

Maybe the biggest question is who becomes the offensive coordinator, because Macdonald – the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator the past two seasons – said during his introductory news conference Thursday that he plans to call plays on defense.

Almost immediately after Macdonald’s news conference, an intriguing name emerged – former Washington Huskies offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who recently followed coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama.

A league source confirmed reports that said Grubb could join the Seahawks as offensive coordinator and confirmed that Grubb is “under consideration” for the job.

The first report that Grubb could be considered came from Pro Football Talk, which wrote that “while it’s not finalized, Grubb is definitely under consideration for the job.”

247sports.com also reported that Grubb is being considered for the job.

Shane Waldron, Seattle’s offensive coordinator the past three years under Pete Carroll, recently accepted the same job with the Chicago Bears. All of Carroll’s assistants were told they were free to pursue other jobs when he was let go Jan. 10, though some could be retained.

Grubb also reportedly holds the titles of associate head coach and quarterbacks coach at Alabama.

Grubb, 47, spent the past two years as the offensive coordinator at UW before following DeBoer to Alabama.

Having been closely aligned with DeBoer throughout his career, Grubb has not worked in the NFL but has been DeBoer’s OC for the past five years – three at Fresno State and the past two at UW.

The Seahawks will also have to hire a defensive coordinator.

But as noted, the DC job is maybe not quite as important because Macdonald plans to continue calling the defense in games, though he added he could eventually give that up.

“Yeah, right now the plan is I’ll be calling the plays,” Macdonald said. “Now, depending on who the defensive coordinator is and when that becomes – ultimately, I’m the head coach of the football team, so I want to coach the football team. Right now, the best way that we can win in my opinion is for me to call the plays, and then when it becomes obvious that someone else is ready to go and we see it the same way, then we’ll make that change.”

There had been speculation that Ravens inside linebackers coach Zach Orr could follow Macdonald to Seattle as the DC. But Orr was promoted to take Macdonald’s spot as the Ravens’ DC.

That leaves the OC job, and Seattle could cast a wide net – or maybe a narrow one if Grubb accepts the job.

There had been speculation that Seattle could lure Mike Kafka from the Giants – he interviewed twice for the Seahawks’ head-coaching job.

But reports Thursday indicated Kafka is staying in New York.

Macdonald spoke with the media before the Grubb news broke. But in an answer to a question about whether NFL play-calling experience is vital in finding an offensive coordinator, Macdonald seemed to foreshadow that he could take a chance on a college coordinator.

“That’s not nearly top of the list,” Macdonald said of finding an OC who has called plays in the NFL. “We are looking for the right person to come in here and build this thing, so we want someone that is open-minded, that has a growth mindset, that can connect with their players and build a system that’s unique to the Seattle Seahawks that’s going to live here for a long time and is going to be the one spearheading it.”

As for what he’s looking for in an offense, Macdonald said he isn’t married to any specific scheme or strategy, responding to a question that noted the Ravens have annually been one of the top rushing offenses in recent seasons – in part due to the presence of dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson.

“The percentage of when you run the ball and how much, that’s all adjustable,” Macdonald said. “To me, it’s going to mirror our football team. We’re going to be a physical football team. We’re going to have answers. We’re going to try to be explosive and really build it around the players that we have.

“We’re going through the process right now of who’s going to be helping design that and ultimately calling plays. To have a specific answer for you what it’s going to look like, I can’t do that now, but that’ll come into focus here sooner than later.”

Seahawks will face decision on Geno Smith soonWhen it comes to the team’s personnel, one issue Macdonald and Schneider must address soon is the status of quarterback Geno Smith.

Smith’s contract includes a clause that says if he is on the roster Feb. 16, his $12.7 million base salary for the 2024 season becomes guaranteed. If that date passes and Smith is on the roster, that indicates the Seahawks are planning for Smith to be part of the team in 2024.

Smith also receives a $9.6 million bonus if he is on the roster March 18, five days after the beginning of the NFL free-agency signing period.

Backup Drew Lock, meanwhile, is an unrestricted free agent, meaning Seattle also has a decision to make there.

Asked about the QB spot Thursday, here was Macdonald’s response: “Well, we’ve played against Geno (a 37-3 Ravens win Nov. 5),” he said. “He’s a really good player. Pretty sure he’s at the Pro Bowl right now. But we’re going to build around the quarterback. You’ve got to. Just like we say on defense, we build the system around the players on defense, we’re going to build it around the players on offense, and the most important player is the QB. We’ll see how the whole situation shakes out over time.

“But excited to get to meet those guys, Drew (Lock). I talked to Geno briefly after our game and told him how much I respected him, not anticipating I’d see him in six months or three months or however long it’s been, but yeah, really just excited to meet the rest of the guys, especially the QBs, and get to know them and kind of see what makes them tick so we can start to build the system around them.”