The Seahawks will once again be looking for a new offensive coordinator in the offseason.
Despite a 30-point performance from his offense in the Seattle Seahawks’ regular season finale against the Los Angeles Rams, Ryan Grubb’s first season as an NFL offensive coordinator will be his last for the foreseeable future.
Grubb, who rose to prominence as the Washington Huskies offensive coordinator from 2022 to 2023, is out as Seahawks play-caller. Adam Schefter reported the news on what is commonly referred to as Black Monday, the day when head coaches and assistants get fired after the regular season ends.
Seahawks fired offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb after one season, per sources. pic.twitter.com/0sOSrbRjUy
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 6, 2025
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald seemingly indicated on his radio show that this does not mean that offensive line coach Scott Huff, who was also with Grubb at the University of Washington, will also be let go. But everything is still under consideration, so hang tight on that front.
For clarity:
Question: Fair to say Scott Huff is tied to Ryan Grubb as well? Or is everything still in consideration?
Macdonald: “It’s still in consideration. I would say it’s fair (to say) they were aligned coming in, but now he’s a Seahawk.” https://t.co/VDa0CNZFx1
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) January 6, 2025
Seahawks offense posted uninspiring numbers under Ryan Grubb
Grubb’s strong background of high-scoring success in college football did not easily translate to the pros. While there were extenuating factors like (as usual) a bad offensive line, adjusting to rule differences between college and the NFL, and facing one of the more difficult schedules of opposing defenses, Grubb’s unit was a major disappointment.
The Seahawks had their fewest points per drive since 2011, continued to struggle in the red zone, and ranked near the bottom in the NFL in explosive play rate.
Ryan Grubb rarely used play action
In a big change from the past few Seahawks offensive coordinators, Grubb sought a straight dropback game with Geno Smith. Seattle ran play action at one of the lowest rates in the NFL. Even when the Seahawks did utilize play action, the results were poor and had a tendency to be predictable based on formation tells.
Seahawks were extraordinarily pass heavy
Hopes of a revitalized running game never turned into reality. The Seahawks not only lacked a potent rushing attack, but they seldom tried to commit to a run game. Grubb called one of the most pass-centric offenses in the NFL and relied heavily on shotgun, although his usage rate of shotgun did decline a bit after the Week 10 bye.
Geno Smith finished the season fourth in pass attempts with 578, and it could’ve easily been north of 600 if not for an injury against the Green Bay Packers that took him out for much of the 2nd half.
History repeats itself for the Seahawks
Believe it or not, this is the fourth straight time the Seahawks have changed offensive coordinators following their new head coach’s first season.
Pete Carroll moved on from Jeremy Bates following the 2010 season, hiring Darrell Bevell the following offseason. Greg Knapp, Jim Mora’s offensive coordinator in 2009, was obviously not retained by Carroll after Mora was fired. Mike Sherman was Mike Holmgren’s first offensive coordinator when the Seahawks hired him in 1999, only for Sherman to return to the Green Bay Packers to be their head coach. Sherman was replaced by Gil Haskell, who remained Holmgren’s OC for the duration of his Seattle tenure.
The last first-year Seahawks head coach to retain his offensive coordinator for multiple seasons was Dennis Erickson, who had Bob Bratkowski at the position for the entirety of his four-year stint.
And now the search is on for the Seahawks’ third offensive coordinator since firing Brian Schottenheimer at the end of the 2020 season.