Kalen DeBoer revived his two-man band with Ryan Grubb. How will it compare to one of the best duos of all time? That’s Nick Saban and Kirby Smart.
Ryan Grubb will be tasked with reviving an Alabama offense that transitions to quarterback Ty Simpson.
Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb go way, way back, and working with his consigliere might give DeBoer more comfort in his second season.
Let’s rewind to the peak years of Nick Saban’s Alabama dynasty and identify an important truth.
Batman worked best with his trusted Robin.
Chief lieutenant Kirby Smart helped Saban build an unforgiving defense, turning the Crimson Tide into an unrelenting thresher that ate up opponents and spit out their bones.
Don’t misunderstand, Smart didn’t make Saban. Many would say it’s the other way around, but I’m not sure that’s right. Each independently proved himself a great mind and an elite recruiter. Working together, they delivered four of the six national championships Saban would win at Alabama.
“He’s the best assistant coach we ever had,” Saban said of Smart during SEC media days last summer.
Smart previously worked for Saban as an assistant at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins.
I’ve been thinking about Saban and Smart lately, after Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer smartly rekindled his union with Ryan Grubb.
Grubb will coordinate Alabama’s offense this season. If there’s reason to be bullish about DeBoer’s second season at Alabama, start there. Maverick and Goose fly together again, after a year apart in which neither individual flourished. Maybe, the familiarity of working with Grubb will help DeBoer accelerate in the SEC.
Kalen DeBoer’s offseason message leads him to Ryan Grubb
DeBoer’s offseason messaging hinges on a five-word theme: Control what you can control.
DeBoer controlled how he’d revise his coaching staff after a turnover- and penalty-filled season throughout which Alabama’s offense regressed.
Batman, phone Robin.
Saban thought highly enough of Grubb that he tried to pluck him off DeBoer’s staff while they worked together at Washington. Grubb stayed with DeBoer, and he followed him to Alabama for a short stay that ended when the NFL came calling last winter.
The Seahawks fired Grubb within 11 months, and it seemed obvious DeBoer would demote offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan and make room in the driver’s seat for Grubb to ignite Alabama.
What to expect from Grubb’s offense?
‘Aggressive. We’re gonna be aggressive,’ Grubb told reporters Wednesday.
I’m not suggesting Grubb provides the sole brainpower within DeBoer’s operation, but even Saban’s success became linked to coordinators, whether it be Smart or Jeremy Pruitt on defense or Lane Kiffin or Steve Sarkisian on offense. In those rare instances Saban didn’t get his coordinators quite right, the product showed blemishes.
Grubb worked with DeBoer at Sioux Falls, Eastern Michigan, Fresno State and Washington.
Maybe, the DGB – DeBoer Grubb Band – will revive the hits.
“He is one of the best offensive minds in the country,” DeBoer said of Grubb.
They said the same about DeBoer, until last season, but let’s acknowledge he had a lot on his plate – replacing Saban and all – and losing Grubb last February to the NFL left him in a pickle he failed to adequately solve.
Now, with DeBoer’s honeymoon long gone and the pressure mounting, here’s his one and only mulligan.
Ryan Grubb, Ty Simpson will influence Alabama season
DeBoer issued no cry for patience – he’ll leave that to Hugh Freeze at Auburn – and he won’t attempt to convince you last season counts as a success.
I respect DeBoer’s straight talk, but if you combine that with 50 cents, you’ll have 50 cents. That’s not enough for college football’s gold standard.
“We need to be that championship program,” DeBoer said during a recent Fox News appearance.
Grubb can help. Sheridan will coach quarterbacks, leaving Grubb to cook up solutions for an offense that ranked in the middle of the SEC. In Alabama’s perfect world, he’d serve a dish looking more like Washington’s offense in 2023 that took the team to the national championship game and less like what we last witnessed from Alabama. Circus music would have been the appropriate accompaniment while the Tide blundered into three turnovers and just 13 points in a bowl game loss to Michigan.
Too bad Grubb couldn’t bring Michael Penix Jr. with him. He’ll inherit a quarterback depth chart featuring a combined 31 career completions. Grubb might come to wish DeBoer had added a transfer to a quarterback competition headlined by career backup Ty Simpson.
“We’re in a much better position,” DeBoer told Fox News of his program when compared to a year ago.
That’s probably true of his coaching staff and of the roster at select positions. Notably, DeBoer added Miami transfer Isaiah Horton to upgrade the Tide’s wide receivers. At quarterback, jury’s still out.
At least DeBoer’s got his consigliere back at his side to help to fix the position. If DeBoer and Grubb pull this off, it’ll be a reminder of that old lesson from Saban’s tenure: Even sharp minds benefit from a reliable wingman.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all of his columns.