Over the last two years, one of the best offenses in all of football resided in the Pacific Northwest. Not professional football. College. Under head coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, the Washington Huskies finished second and 13th (out of 131 teams) in yards per game, and seventh and 13th in points per game.
DeBoer was hired this offseason as the new head coach of Alabama, and at first, he brought Grubb there with him. But then the Seahawks came calling, and Grubb moved back to Washington to take on the role of offensive coordinator under new Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald.
And it appears that during the offseason program, he is breaking out some really interesting concepts. At least, that's the case according to quarterback Geno Smith.
"In the past two weeks, I've seen plays that I have never seen before, and that's something to say for a 12-year veteran," Smith said during an appearance on "The Jim Rome Show." "Coach Grubb, he's come right in, and like Coach Macdonald, he's laid it out for us. He's set the tone. He's got high expectations. We got high standards. The guy, he's got some plays. I can't wait to get out there and show the world, but not too soon. Not too soon, but when the time is right, we'll be able to unleash this offense."
Seattle's offense took a step backward last season after emerging in 2022 as one of the NFL's most pleasant surprises. The Seahawks went from 13th in yards and ninth in points, to 21st in yards and 17th in points. Perhaps some of that can be attributed to the loss of quarterbacks coach Dave Canales, who, in 2023, seemingly revitalized Baker Mayfield's career in the same way he did Smith's the year before. Now, Grubb will be tasked with helping Smith recapture what he brought to the table in his breakout season. And Smith is confident the new OC can do that.
"You've seen that at UW and even the colleges that he was previously at. He's just always had a really good offense," Smith said about Grubb. "Schematically, it's going to be great. It's really going to be good and I think it's going to help all the players. We're all going to fit into the (scheme)."
