According to Mike Florio, Ryan Grubb could be Mike Macdonald’s offensive coordinator. It’s since been confirmed by a number of other reporters and seems to have some legs. This is gaining a lot of momentum very quickly.
Grubb was never officially announced as Alabama’s offensive coordinator and made it clear he wanted the Washington Head Coaching job, but they preferred Jedd Fisch. This would be a way for him to return to Seattle.
A year ago, Nick Saban tried to appoint Grubb as Alabama’s offensive coordinator but he chose to stay in Washington. Macdonald’s old team, Baltimore, hired Todd Monken from Georgia a year ago (although Monken had extensive prior NFL experience).
Most of you will know I visited the UW facility before the Apple Cup. Firstly, there is a tremendous amount of respect for Grubb in that building. The staff speak about him in the most glowing of terms. I also had an opportunity to go into his tape room. It’s not a large room, with a huge screen on the wall and the rest of the space mostly taken up by two hefty treadmills. I was told he works out while watching tape — which I thought was impressive.
Grubb called plays at Washington and Fresno State for Kalen DeBoer.
Another potential plus is he seems connected to the PNW. It might be important if the intention is to try and find someone who is prepared to stick around for at least a few years, rather than bolt for the first Head Coaching job available.
Mike Garafolo was on KJR with Puck & Jim this afternoon and said the Seahawks are looking at several candidates in the college ranks. This may include current Head Coaches, given Boston College Head Coach Jeff Hafley quit to take the Packers’ defensive coordinator job yesterday. He cited how NIL’s had changed college football, made existing within it miserable and I sense a lot of coaches feel this way — including the now retired Saban.
Could a promising offensive-minded Head Coach or coordinator in college try and get in the NFL instead by coming to run Seattle’s offense? It’s plausible.
Garafolo had already revealed that Arthur Smith had been lined up to go with Mike Macdonald if/when he got a Head Coaching job — but when offered the Steelers gig he opted to take that instead, given the guaranteed offer of employment. Everyone else is an unknown. You’re plucking a QB coach, a passing game coordinator or a tight ends coach to come in and call plays. If you take someone who at least has a history of calling plays in college, that’s a bonus.
I had a recent conversation with a highly respected talent evaluator recently and he complained about the limitations in Washington’s offense. It’s a lot of pre-determined calls, with the quarterback just having to do what the sideline says. You have to be more complex than that at the NFL level — even with the college game and spread offenses having more influence than ever.
The Seahawks looking to college could also mean Chip Kelly. A reminder, this week I was told by a source I trust that the Dan Quinn and Kelly combo rumours were true, if Quinn got the Seahawks job.
Earlier today reporters in New York said Mike Kafka is expected to stay with the Giants, seemingly ruling him out.
I do think a couple of things about Michael Penix Jr. One — he’s going to be available later than people think. Two — John Schneider is going to love Penix Jr’s arm. If they end up hiring his old college play-caller, it increases the likelihood of the Seahawks targeting the Washington QB. That doesn’t mean at #16 either, it could be later.
EDIT — It’s now being reported by Albert Breer that the Seahawks have requested an interview with Tanner Engstrand, Detroit’s passing game coordinator. This was the first name I thought of yesterday. They clearly had interest in Detroit’s offense given they interviewed Ben Johnson. This would be an opportunity to potentially still bring it to Seattle. Engstrand is bright, young and worked closely with the tight ends (Sam LaPorta). He is well worth an interview, even if — unlike Ryan Grubb — he has no playcalling experience.
For more thoughts on the coordinator search and Mike Macdonald’s first press conference, check out the video below:
So it’s Penix’s OC. To quote Sgt. Schultz: verrrry interesting!
(and if you get that reference, you are indeed old)
” I know nothink…”
Old, but sharp if you know that it’s actually Wolfgang (Artie Johnson) from Laugh-In that you’re thinking of 👴🏼
Oh man you’re right! Damn it
and the zillenials all go whoosh. The world before cell phones doesn’t exist to them.
I don’t mean this disrespectful but I don’t believe Sargent Schultz ever said that. It was Artie Johnson on Laugh In who said it. Schultzy said “I know NOTHING” and yes. I’m OLD!! 😂
Grubb was also being wooed by Nick Saban last year to come to Alabama, but decided to stay in Washington.
Given how that OC position has been quite the platform over the years, that is a pretty strong endorsement of him as well.
I will add the Saban line to the piece
Interesting about Grubb. If he called the plays and did not give Penix the latitude to change at the LOS, does it mean lack of confidence in him to read/react to the initial defensive look? Great arm or not, I wonder if that means they’d rather go elsewhere for someone who can play QB in the NFL.
No — this is just how virtually every college offense operates these days — including Stroud’s
Much easier for the coaches in the booth to see the defensive alignment and get that info to the QB and OL. Just makes it simpler for the QB and more likely to be the right adjustment.
Penix had the ability to call plays. 4th down on own 29 during Apple Cup he told Grubb he wanted to go for it and they had three plays to choose from based on what Penix saw. Grubb makes calls but also trusts his players.
I would definitely welcome Penix but i do have concerns about our own Oline. He excelled in college in part to his top tier Oline. So that causes me to pause because, unless its addressed, he wont get that here.
Then address it
But if they like a QB they have to strike
Thats what i was saying…
I’m tired of being a wet blanket, but a guy running a spread-like offense with little or no reads by the QB does not excite me. This sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Remember the Run-n-Shoot? David Klingler and his rocket arm…? Ugh!
Hell no to Chip Kelly. I’d rather bring Darrell Bevell back than that…bubble screens forever!
Grubbs UW offense too much like Kingsbury’s for me to get excited about. You’d think Seattle could find a guy with some NFL experience to take the job…and a young rookie coach needs someone who really knows their stuff…
Hold on to your butts, this could get bumpy…
I agree with you on this. I’m not a big fan of bringing Grubb on. Especially if it is to help with Penix.
I don’t need an offense that makes a quarterback lost when it falls apart, one that holds their hand the whole time.
I’d rather have Penix and someone else. I didn’t see hardly enough of them together to give me confidence of it translating to the NFL. Didn’t like it as a college offense, can’t see it being any more appealing when it’s harder.
I’m fairly noncommittal on Penix. He has something but he gets lost in the occasions where I’ve really paid attention.
Great arm.
That’s not that unique if trait to me. Two years ago I heard all about Geno’s deep accuracy. I rarely if ever think of Mahomes’ awesome arm. And he has one. It’s everything else that makes him great.
I think with this situation, I’m more worried about Penix coming in and running the same offense. I wasn’t impressed seeing him run it. Or seeing it work too well at the next level.
Penix needs to be challenged and pushed to do more and take over more of an offense. He’s had the same offense since he’s been in college and I don’t know how much it helped him develop.
I think they would be too married together: OC, qb, and offense.
College offenses are mostly predicated on the athletes with the ball being better than the athletes trying to tackle them. Chip Kelly’s is entirely reliant on missed tackles, which is why it was useless in the NFL and stalled against SEC opposition but looked great when Oregon’s future draft pick WRs and RBs were running up the score on young men and boys who would never play on a Sunday.
It’s fair to say that tackling is becoming a lost art in the NFL, but I’m definitely hoping we aren’t hoping to import a college offense on that basis.
He’s a coach and probably has been changing his offensive schemes for sometime. Just because he ran an open. “air raid” style does not mean he can not adjust his scheme for a pro team. I think the experience he does have, will allow him to adjust to the NFL quite easily. If you got “it” you got it.
I think that’s very interesting. You’re taking more or less the best parts of each national championship contender and putting it in Seattle. That UW offense, as mentioned at length here, is QB friendly and took advantage of UW’s elite playmakers. If you’re dealing with Geno as a starter, or some rook, I think there’s value in that offense (or some flavor of that offense) in Seattle -taking advantage of your WR playmakers, utilizing TE, and both RBs. Just need a sound O Line to make that better.
Will it work in the NFL though?
And last year our run game sucked, despite two very good backs…and UWs run game wasn’t amazing either. Can Grubbs fix the run game too?
Big questions to answer for Grubbs if he gets the gig. Will certainly be interesting…
I think the DeBoer/Grubb offensive principles of simple QB reads, extensive motion and misdirection (already hallmarks of MacDonald’s Raven’s D), getting playmakers in space and playing to their strengths can work with our current roster – while obviously adjusting for NFL Athleticism and defenses.
That said, not sure what they would do with the run game. UW had a 1,000yd+ rusher last year, but I’m not sure how that translates to the NFL.
UW ran the ball well with a best of a RB — so I liked that
Once he was healthy Johnson had a great season. He rushed over 1000 yards. Too bad he got re-injured on the last UW offensive play in the Sugar Bowl and their first play of the CFP.
Now I cant see him doing it but I would much rather a veteran OC and Grubb being a passing game coordinator/associate coach. That way he can get his NFL feet under him. If its Grubb I certainly hope the DC is a veteran who can mentor MacDonald. Otherwise its a massive, massive gamble.
Hmmm….ask Ravens fans right now what they think about their Offensive Coordinator who just finished his first year with the team. I understand that Todd Monken runs a different scheme than what Grubbs does, but it is still concerning.
Monken ran one of the NFL’s best offenses this year.
He then abandoned nearly everything that made it good in the AFCCG.
It was a disaster reminiscent of Vrabel’s AFCCG in 2019.
Great observation. Just a couple of weeks ago I was all about Monken as a dark horse HC candidate. Championship game was just awful, had to wind myself back on that.
I think Monken outsmarted himself, trying to reinvent the wheel. Obviously, he should have attacked KCs weakness and relied on his offenses strengths–especially with KCs fast LB out. But instead he tried to fake KC out. I bet KC was relieved: nobody is terribly scared of Lamar in pass-first mode, down by 7 plus. Lamar running, using play action and rpos…that scares every team.
Historic screwup.
KC has taken the mantle from New England as the team that rattles the other team so much they either make mistakes or overthink their entire strategy.
Come to think of it, KC is the same team that took Vrabel completely out of his gameplan in 2019 too.
From Senior Bowl twitter https://twitter.com/seniorbowl/status/1753104018203672626?t=uGIIX5IWnK1ynifCSI3AtA&s=19
@themikepenix out of @UW_Football showing athleticism outside the pocket on a scramble reaching 19.20 mph which would be the fastest by a QB amongst all practices this week and 2nd fastest among all players today. Via: @ZebraSports #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️
I saw the play.
So, I’m leaving the Senior Bowl when I get to my car and standing there having a conversation with some radio guy from Tennessee none other than Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus. They were talking about how good T’Vondre Sweat moved laterally. I jokingly asked him to guess his weight. He said, “378.”
The next 15 minutes of conversation was all a blur that left my head spinning.
I will have today’s video up sometime tonight.
The clips i’ve seen of Sweat on the twitters would agree with that. He looks like an absolute beast. He was going through people, not around them.
https://twitter.com/BlakeMunroeOTF/status/1753202559278358742?t=XVDkEnXQ1zofDl93WDeE1w&s=19
Another couple clips
https://twitter.com/nickbaumgardner/status/1753017219229814801?t=BWQNqcOyJtBFcKcKR1gVbQ&s=19
https://twitter.com/Sam_Phalen/status/1753135067155558491?t=fFF4sWv0dMk8pEf9a46mPw&s=19
The nameless Tennessee radio guy I was talking to today suggested that now that Dan Quinn is gone Dallas should switch to a 3-4, draft Sweat to play the nose, and move Micah Parsons to a Lawrence Taylor role.
I think they already have their Sweat in Mazi Smith (he has to play better though)
I agree with you. I’m telling you what other people are saying.
Would you put Mazi Smith in a Red Bryant role and move him to a 5-tech from DT?
That’s what Gus Bradley did.
Sweat has been OK
Yeah, I saw that live. Everybody went, “Oooooooooooooh!!!”
Not that it matters that much to your story but Sam Monson didn’t go to the Senior Bowl it had to have been Steve Palazzolo (the giant 6’8″ guy with curly hair, not the short bearded bald guy that wears rugby jerseys all the time), I watched their podcast this morning.
Pretty sure Trevor Sikkema (youngish blond dude) was also there from PFF but he is mostly does his own draft focused podcast called NFL Stock Exchange, one of the better ones out there at least for me. He is occasionally on the PFF podcast as well, as a fill in guy or draft specialist, he’s now the one that does their big board rankings now.
I hope whoever has the leavers sorts out the NIL system in college football. It encourages young players to become mercenary, self centric in a team sport. It will narrow the competitiveness of the competition.
I don’t think it’d be unreasonable to cap a college players earnings from all sources to something around $750 000 per year (including agents fees!). They can choose charitable projects for the extra income, above the threshold, earned from their image rights. The player will have the right to earn the money, but not keep it all for themselves above a certain amount. The player would have to make a declaration like any other to the NCAA with all receipts and a duplicate could be sent from the client to the NCAA, to verify the endorsment. Players found flouting the system, could face a competition ban?
You can’t, the Supreme Court ruled colleges and the NCAA can’t limit earning potential from NIL.
Because the NCAA hasn’t paid them yet.
But can say they don’t qualify until 12 months on a roster or with a minimum GPA…or money goes into escrow until graduation?
For those who aren’t as familiar with Grubb as us that are both diehard Dawg and Hawks fans, he has a pretty wide ranging back ground coaching on offense. He played RB and WR in college has coached both of those positions, but also has an extensive background in coaching the offensive line and as a running game coordinator.
I think he called the plays in a way DeBoer wanted his offense run. Yes, it was pass heavy, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to run.
When interviewing with Schneider and Macdonald he is going to have to show them how he can translate what he has been doing in college to the NFL.
Exactly. If he is brought in it won’t be to run his Washington offense for the Seahawks it will be because he was able to sell his vision for how to attack NFL defenses in multiple ways.
If Macdonald is as smart as everyone says he is he will know how to evaluate a potential offensive coordinator.
Just an idea:
What if PC is really staying as advisor? It’s most likely just a title, but he could help with player relations and head coaching things to MM and stay clear of personal decisions and strategy and all those things. If it could work like that, it could be good for MM and the org. Especially if they go young and/or inexperienced for every coach.
Another thing: I read a trade scenario where the Hawks give Lockett, #16, 2024 R4, 2025 R5 for #7 to draft Daniels. Rob rates him really high (#2), but if the board falls a bit differently and rumors go around that he can be available at #7 is it a possible trade? Or even without Daniels in the equation – Lockett+16+R4+next year’s R2 for #7 could be a realistic trade or bollocks?
Carroll’s ‘advisor’ title is a way of saying he was fired without embarrassing him and spreading out the cost of the final year of his contract
Secondly, you have absolutely 0% chance of getting Jayden Daniels with that deal and he won’t last to #7 anyway
Even Madden wouldn’t accept that trade. Look at what SF gave up for Trey Lance. It would have to be something in that ball park.
Re: trade
It would only be accepted if the Lockett we give them was a 21 year old Lockett.
Or if by Lockett you mean DK Metcalf.
Personally, I wouldn’t want Pete Carroll anywhere near players or coaches. Nor the field crew.
Hard time seeing it workout considering he has zero NFL experience on any level. Worth an interview, but I think he’d have to come off as extremely impressive for John to hire him.
I would be shocked if they havent talked football before. Of course this is likely a more in depth, formal setting plus MacDonald has to be impressed.
Further thoughts: we’ve seen Macdonald’s defense against both Penix and Geno. I’d be very surprised if we draft the former or retain the latter.
I really, really hope that you are right….
It was mentioned in the press conference the Ravens were ultimately beat by one hell of a QB, Patrick Mahomes. Now if only there were a QB in this draft who had a similar skillset, that you might even call a poor man Mahomes…
Now obviously I’m projecting here, since I have my preferences.
Thought that the entire time I watched a quarterback for a certain domesticated fowl college team…
If you can’t beat ’em, draft the closest thing to them. We have the same preferences hahaha.
It just makes sense that, as a defensive coach, you’d want the type of guy who gives you trouble on your team, not the one whom your defenses have torn to shreds. They should be able to put 2 and 2 together. Hopefully. Plus if you don’t pick him, someone else will and you’ll have to play against him.
It needs to come off that he can run an offense that is complex, adapting, challenging. Not what the Washington offense was. Hopefully what they ran was all down to DeBoer.
But even if it was, where’s the proof that Grubb is capable of running a complex offense? Not sure what they did at Fresno State, but I can’t imagine it was an NFL style offense. I’m not against the hire per-se, but I think it’d be taking one hell of a leap of faith.
Fully agree. He would have to talk them into it, rather than have physical proof or tape. Too much of the same thing and it makes me nervous.
And then add in the crazy Husky fans that already think you need to trade 4 1st rounders to get Penix….
Not this Husky. I’m worried he’ll get banged up too easily and we saw how that changed his game in the NC. Not even worried about major injury, just the small nagging ones that will wreak havoc his mechanics and make him trust his arm too much.
Hiring Grubb gives you a new wrinkle to the NFL offenses not in the McShanahan tree. He’ll be able to make the best use of the 3 WR’s and RB’s we have now but can he adapt is the question john has to ask him . The amount of good OC candidates left are not great why not try to find a gem that no one looked at in the college ranks. With the hiring of McDonald why not trust John in his OC hire too so far John has not missed with the hire yet. I would trust John’s next hire either Grubb or someone else.
Looking toward innovative college coaches how to find some creative play designs and tactics that may not have been seen in the NFL yet. Whether or not they end up hiring Grubb, all manner of innovative offensive schemes exist in the college ranks. They certainly don’t translate to the NFL w/o the dedication to finding which core principles work given the players you have and the creativity of thought to design plays that attack the different defenses you’ll face each week. When you have a new creative defensive mind as head coach, you’re a step ahead in figuring out how those schemes that worked well in CFB can be adapted to beat the best defenses in the NFL, and conversely you have a great perspective on ways your defensive scheme can be beaten with offensive creativity that’s not necessarily rooted in systems that have been around the NFL for years.
I agree that Penix will last. When you have a good QB class, evaluators are looking for red flags to differentiate prospects.
JJ McArthy is not as talented as Penix, but he has like 0 red flags. Rattler does have a red flag (perception of immaturity).
Penix has a clear one. An injury history as long as Penix’s will push him a round down at least. You aren’t using a 1st rounder on a guy you aren’t sure can take a hit and last.
Add in his left handedness. There’s only one lefty QB currently and you can count on your hand the amount of lefties that have significantly made an impact in the NFL. Maybe not the biggest “red flag”, but right or not, it is a differentiator when you have 2 good prospects.
Add in that he is not the most accurate in the short to intermediate, and he is left with probably a 3rd round grade on most teams boards.
I personally feel that’s where his potential and value match. He has a dynamic arm. He has just enough movement skills to escape and avoid sacks. He is a calm leader. He has Schneider’s preferred big hands.
You can imagine an offense highlighted by running the football and explosive plays over the top, lead by Penix.
I personally like the risk-reward of Penix in the 3rd as opposed to Nix in the 1st.
If you nail it and build your team around Penix’s strengths, it can work. And if it all hits, your ceiling is higher. If not, it’s only a 3rd rounder and you move on and keep cracking at finding that QBOTF.
McCarthy has a red flag: can’t pass very well.
C’mon man, zero passes attempted in the 2nd half vs. Penn St. would beg to differ. I mean how can you say he can’t pass when he doesn’t even attempt one?
/s
Exactly.
When your game’s highlight reel includes incompletions, you might just have a red flag
If Harbaugh turns and looks at you and says “now JJ remember what we talked about…less than 8 attempts is the sweet spot,” ….that’s a problem
Mr Drucker in hooterville said,
Are you sure that’s not a white flag? Where’s Pete?
I would love a lotto pick on Penix at the 3rd but I doubt he lasts that long. With his arm talent and athleticism I bet a team will take him in round 2 at the latest, even with his injury red flags.
Heard Garofolo say Johnson didn’t interview well and pissed off the Commanders saying he’s out while they were on their way to see him. Might be one of those great coordinators who won’t pan out as a HC.
Yes, heard that too. How he wasn’t high on either team’s list as the interview process went on. Wild. His subsequent reports about being loyal and wanting to win a Super Bowl were such BS.
Well, one of yhe things I discussed today with Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus. * ahem * was how hatd it is to find good coaches for left handed quarterbacks.
And how I can’t spell.
I’m left handed and have thrown a football with that hand.
I’ll take the job, but I’ll only do it for $15m a year. (I learned that at the Ben Johnson negotiating seminar I went to last weekend)
Responding to Blitzy’s question from a previous post about how Payton Wilson looked physically up close, now that I had time to think about it. Remember Ted “The Mad Stork” Hendricks from the Raiders back in the70s? Kind of like that. Kind of a like Jack Lambert/Ted Hendricks kind of build. Tall, long, rangy and fast.
The Mad Stork was a badass.
Mike Macdonald is “juiced.”
I guess that’s the young persons term for “pumped!”
Love how the first thing he says is “my wife and I.” Then goes on to talk about his family and looking up to his two big sisters.
Nicely done Milke!
Not gonna lie I don’t like Grubb, I was hoping for someone from the NFL, but okay, I’ll take it, but please don’t draft Penix, not at #16, I’d rather JJ McCarthy in the 3rd round than Penix tbh and I don’t like JJ , people only say Penix because he was the QB of the Huskies, if he had been the QB of another team like Georgia Tech I doubt that Seahawks fans would really like him
They wouldn’t be talkiing about him if he went anywhereelse. And how I know this is last year tons of fans didn’t even want to talk qbs.
And this year there’s tons of people carrying water for geno still and Penix is the only name that’s acceptable to talk about.
We’d be talking about him similar to how we talk about Bo Nix
Tbh, has there ever been a QB out of GTU?
From what I have seen Rattler has been the best QB at the Senior Bowl and he does not have Penix injury background.
He would be a much better pick IMO and you could likely trade back in Rd 1 and still get him.
There hasn’t been much buzz around him in R1 from what I’ve seen. I’d figure at the most they could trade into R2 and get him, maybe even wait until R3. The interview process will be important in determining where he goes, IMO.
OK — I watched half the practise session from the Senior Bowl. I have notes from that but need to watch the other half when it’s released in dribs and drabs on YouTube. So notes will come tomorrow
But I am going to do a video on the Macdonald presser, the Grubb link and some other things in a bit
Working on that right now.
Awesome!
Having trouble uploading today. Please be patient.
Okay, I have three up. A large part of the PM practice I didn’t record because they were either wasting time, working out kickers, or both.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvliqwz_dF7beS1VJ8UjqsQ
Uploading more now.
Okay, 4 is up and apparently there is a duplicate. My phone is pissing me off today and I’ve had a couple drinks. But the last one is uploading right now. I am exhausted by incredibly happy. It’s been an amazing three days. Now I just got to figure out how to mail a hat to England.
All 5 are up now.
Rob’s got his wish!
https://twitter.com/AlbertBreer/status/1753202025284706550?s=19
Now THIS has me more excited!
I knew
It’s just an interview
But I like it
Like it
Yes I do
That’s awesome.
So pumped for this, get Ben Johnson’s offense without Ben Johnson.
Now If only they didn’t have to rush because Klint Kubiak is another guy I would love to see brought in. However, Engstrand, would just need to be made OC, bring Kubiak over as QB Coach/Passing Game Coordinator and Asst. HC. The best of both worlds.
Just to add on Engstrand is another Harbaugh guy, coached with Jim Harbaugh in 05 and 06 as a head assistant at San Diego. Also in 2018 as an offensive analyst at Michigan before heading to Detroit.
Might be the connection for it to make sense and happen 👍
Oooh, good details! Thanks!
Johnson and McDonald represent the cutting edge of creativity in football.
I can’t imagine McDonald would pick a classic offense. He will pick a coordinator that can be as dynamic as his defense, or at least try.
Let’s go!
Possibly best of both worlds: leader of men as head coach and innovative minds on both defense and offense.
Even if Grubb is hired as OC for the Seahawks, I find the “then we’ll draft Penix” narrative just as lazy and uninspired as the “Seahawks will hire Dan Quinn” narrative.
That would be telegraphing draft intentions in such as way as to be madness.
Grubb seems well regarded and if that’s they guy then so be it but let’s not automatically assume Schneider wants Penix.
Or that either want Penix.
Maybe they both think Penix is amazing. That would be cool.
Or maybe when you’re the OC and don’t pick the players you just build to them and make them shine. But you’d like someone else.
Added some thoughts to the end of the piece about the Seahawks wanting to interview Tanner Engstrand for the OC position
Great call. I tabbed Mark Brunell figuring Seattle might draft a QB early.
Two very interesting candidates being reported now. I would have been thrilled with Arthur Smith given how great those TEN offenses were and that he is unlikely to get HC consideration anytime soon. But them talking to Engstrand and Grubb shows that they are pushing for an innovative hire – not settling for an old hand. Very promising.
Great short conversation between John and Paul Silvi from KING 5.
https://youtu.be/Hrd_S5gt1Uw?si=XZn-MHm8SW2_lCZB
He mentions how he went in with a ranking system like the draft and that he knew an hour and forty minutes into the conversation that Mike was the guy.
To piggyback off this, interview with Bump and Stacy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCsdOEr-Ia4
Very bummed to find out that Big Mike and I are not in the cards for safety next year. Seems like he’s going to only work with players that give a crap and can play.
Now we both give a crap. But can’t play. Unfortunately for the two current safeties I’m not sure they hit either benchmark.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
This ismy dream!
Gives is a McVay on both sides of the ball.
https://twitter.com/JFowlerESPN/status/1753219403884220852
Remember when I said a few days ago that a legit source I trust told me that the Dan Quinn & Chip Kelly talk was true, if he got the Seahawks job…
That is a Matrix level of dodging bullets. Whew.
Come to Montlake Henry Hasselbeck!
I’m kinda glad these two are getting another shot…also glad it’s not with the Seahawks.
The wording of Fowler’s tweet is perfect: Washington will consider talking to him.
That pretty much sums up the excitement level.
New YouTube video out now:
https://youtu.be/uOD8PhmMr2g?si=AK9EdZ_7A0YZJuvb
Gonna watch now.
Did you get a chance to watch him on with bump and Stacy? Very impressed.
Oh and way better sound quality than whatever is happening at the vmac.
Extremely impressive with Bump and Stacy!
Yep, watched that and heard the KJR interview too
Mike Holmgren was on KJR earlier today with Softy and was asked if the Husky offense was translatable to the NFL. (Holmgren has watched most of their games this past year.)
Holmgren said it absolutely was translatable.
I would love it to be Grubb. Everything we know about Macdonald is that he adapts very, very well. I tend to think if Grubb is the choice we would be getting an adapted Husky offense suited to the NFL.
I’d definitely take The Big Show’s opinion on whether an offense can work in the NFL over most. That guy knows a thing or two about NFL offenses. 🙂
The Ryan Grubb rumors are fun! Who saw that coming?
I certainly can’t guess if he’s their guy, don’t know if he’s even meant to be a pro coach in the end, but I do think that his skills as a coach are pretty solid and that the design of his offense is being underrated.
1. His offensive talent at UW was not based on 4 star/5 star recruits or the splashiest transfer portal arrivals. He made an outstanding college football offense with solid players who were mostly under the radar talent as far as the recruiting wars go, and turned several of them into Senior Bowl participants. “Oh, but they had a great O-line and great receivers” is as much the point as the rebuttal. UW had a pounding running game, as Rob mentioned, and very solid tight end play to add to the mix. They lost to a team with better athletes in the box who were also well coached.
2. College football respects him – Saban’s attempted recruitment shows that the most successful NFL developmental league football coach of all time valued the fundamental soundness of Grubb’s approach to offensive football.
3. Michigan took a deep dive on Grubb’s offense. Where do you think MacDonald turned to get the scoop on Grubb? If MacDonald is truly interested in talking to him then I infer that MacDonald’s Michigan contacts were impressed.
I agree that college offenses don’t always translate well, but I’m genuinely curious to hear any details of what makes Grubb’s offensive schemes undesirable for the pros.
Of the major contributors on offense, Odunze was a four star recruit, McMillan was a high four star recruit, Fatauna was a four star recruit, Rosengarten was a four star recruit, Kalepo was a four star recruit, Buelow was a four star recruit, Bernard was a four star recruit.
Dillon Johnson was a sought after RB portal guy as was Penix and Ja’lynn Polk
They were largely seasoned upperclassmen. It would’ve been hard imo for the offense to have been bad.
Fresno State had a very good offense that continually gave Power 5 teams fits while they were there. They definitely did not have 5* recruits.
They turned Jake Haener into a draftable QB and NFL backup.
I did! I mentioned it in the chat room while Rob was doing the Podcast. My comment was, “screw Alabama, bring in Ryan Grubb”. That was two days ago.
Grubb would be an A+ hire, almost inspired.
It would also signal to me that the offense would be getting a major overhaul/face-lift.
Comments from Mac lead me to suspect that Geno may be part of some trade discussions and that Drew is part of the plan moving forward.
Anyone watching the Shrine Bowl? It is on NFLN right now.
Transposing what I wrote on your youtube channel here, where the real action is:
Now that I’ve had a chance to watch that video (after reading this article), I’ll share my thoughts. As is usually the case, I agree with most of what you’ve said. His comments on Geno, which some online cited as proof that Geno would come back as the starter, to me looked lukewarm or, to use your term, tepid. Like you, I don’t know if he’ll get cut by the deadline but I wouldn’t expect him to be around beyond this season, two at the most. I disagree somewhat, in that I kind of think he is the problem. Not “THE PROBLEM” but he just doesn’t have enough upside and so it holds the team back. I know you’re not sold on Lock. I’m not either but to me it could make sense to give him a chance. I wish he’d gotten a chance last season and the year prior.
Finding the OC is an interesting part of the journey, kind of key and yet there’s no way to predict who will be the right choice. That’s so true of coaches generally. It’s true of MacDonald. But it’s exciting to be on this journey. Finally!
I’ve been beyond pissed over the Williams trade since the day it happened. My harping on that is what led to getting kicked out of the Seaside Joe community, as it pissed some folks off. Seattle types who prefer to sweep unpleasantries under the rug rather than discuss them. Which in turn led me to embrace this community. I appreciate very much how you keep things open for dialog. It’s a mature community, without flaming or anything obnoxious. So it doesn’t need to be managed with a sledgehammer. In some places, dialog gets shut down because, otherwise, people hijack conversations and make them unpleasant. That’s unnecessary here and you hold open space for people to speak their truth.
As for MacDonald himself, I’m impressed and withholding judgment. Maybe I’m gun shy because I was so all-in on DeBoer, thinking he was practically the second coming, the guy who was going to make the Husky program what I’ve long thought it could become. When he began the “I love it here” talk, I was like “Oh, ####, not again!” I actually appreciated Fisch’s press conference, where he refused to answer that question and advised us to invest our affections more in the program itself; less in the coach. Struck me as honest, and maybe that’s just a function of the fact that he and I grew up in essentially the same place.
As the old joke goes, don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining. But other than that — I know, “other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play” — he seemed smart and insightful, articulate and engaged but also rational and laid back. A lot of good qualities, and we’ll see. The proof will show up on the field, and I’m completely on board in terms of giving it a few years to play out. I appreciate your exhortation to avoid rushing to judgment. Fan bases can be unreasonable with their coaches. Honestly, even if he wins a lot in year one, I’m going to try to refrain from over-extrapolating into the future because there’s so much that goes into being a head coach.
Alas, thrilled to be right here, right now, having this discussion.
Just wait. We get pretty immature around these parts.
You missed the pay the iron price era.
And may have missed the peacock era.
And Rob riding a bucking bronco era.
Those were all fun times
No one here is more immature than me. I have been perfecting this art for 54 years.
What’s dead may never die….
Rob inserting the actual peacock 🦚 on a post game stream was the crown jewel.
*video of the actual peacock 🦚
That clip had me rolling!! So good.
I miss talking about a Coffee Cup.
Not sure this will be topped any time soon! 😂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK8-NAIzZ5M
Just curious as to what you said to get “kicked off” another site. On the surface at least, it seems like just being contrarian about the Williams trade would prompt–much less warrant–such an action.
I meant to say “would not” prompt . . .
I have a confession to make.
I have seen none of the Mike MacDonald press conference.
I was at this thing called the Senior Bowl.
Wait what?
You have kept that to yourself the last few days.
Would love any up and coming OC. Even if Grubb called a college offense doesn’t mean he will walk into nfl and bring the same offense. Rather roll with new ideas and creative plays. UW was fun and explosive. Some truly jaw dropping designed plays in big moments throughout season.
I’m all for giving a young guy the reins as OC.
Exactly my thoughts. His creativity, how the team executed, best players got the ball and shined. If he’s the guy ill be cautiously optimistic
Would hiring a head coach or OC from college have a benefit like Carroll coming out of USC and help with the draft since they recruited all these players?
Also with transfer portal they may have more recent knowledge than recruiting just a guy out of high school.
It would 100% be a benefit. I’m pretty on board now with Grubb. More and more NFL offenses are about matchups and space. Grubb has called plays before and can work with young players.
We know it’s QB friendly and WR friendly. We all wanted Ben Johnson because he knows how to utilize offensive weapons. I believe Grubb is able to do that as well.
I was always under the impression that the offense was more of Deboer’s making than anyone else. Not that I’d be against Grubb at all, I think even if it doesn’t work it’ll be a worthwhile experiment if he comes on board since the potential is so tremendous if it can translate to the pro game that its worth the risk.
Grubb has also been with DeBoer almost every step of the way. If the split happens then we’ll see who made who.
Super excited! Let the healing begin🎉🎉🎉🤪
So if Grubbs is OC, can we expect to see Jake Haener soon?
WR1
God forbid he gets the ball in the open field.
https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1753145291883139130
He’d probably still get open against Diggs
I’d forgive his business decision though in that case. 😂
A little off topic , but is that still the “biggest” (😬) piece to the Seahawks 3-4 defense that is missing? That immovable NT to anchor the center of the DLine. It seems like they never really fixed that last year even though they tried to play Reed there. Maybe they surprise everyone and draft Sweat early. He would fit that physical style, especially if Macdonald can whip him into shape.
Sweat is big but he’s not a traditional nose tackle. He’d be better shedding weight and ramping up his athleticism
There doesn’t appear to many traditional NT’s in this draft? M Jackson maybe if Sweat isn’t? That seems to be one of the harder to fill holes on the defense. Especially, with an impact type player there.
What I would say is — there’s a feeling within the league, that I kind of agree with, that you can find players in college who’ve played the nose and they can ‘do a job’. You don’t necessarily need the higher picks. I think they can fill this role with a grizzled veteran frankly on the cheap
In Baltimore they use Michael Pierce who’s on $3.75m a year
Hopefully, they can find that piece this offseason. It seems rather important to the success of the 3-4 scheme they were trying to run. I gotta believe Macdonald will be better at addressing it..
From what I’m seeing on Twitter it sure seems like Grubb is gonna be the guy.
This is the first time in years that I’m so excited. I’m not a Penix girl but Rob nailed it. If they like a quarterback they must strike.
ROB CALLED IT!!!!!!!!!
https://twitter.com/AlbertBreer/status/1753202025284706550?s=19
Id love Chip Kelly as OC… I always get a little nervous about guys coming strait from NCAA, its not exactly transferrable, takes time. Kelly knows the ropes and is super experienced. He is one of those guys who is more successful as a #2.
His offenses were not good at Philly and SF, and haven’t been that good at UCLA
those were HC gigs, as I mentioned, hes one of those guys meant to be a coordinator where he will have the success, not picking players or managing overall orgs…
He also wont bolt, his days of head coaching in the NFL are over. Id be more than happy with him as OC.
They might’ve been HC gigs but it was still his offense and it wasn’t very good. You say he was meant to be an OC. What evidence is there of that? He hasn’t been a coordinator for 16 years
He had success at Oregon thanks to a fairly gimmicky quick-snap, insane athletes at every position style that turned games into a track meet. It didn’t work in the NFL
There’s very little to get excited about his candidacy
Chip Kelly put together his offense that he ran at Oregon, he took it to the NFL and did nothing. He has done nothing since. Once his spread option attack got figured out, he has been a big name coach based on prior success.
IN no way do I want Kelly as the Hawks OC, just like I wouldn’t have wanted them to hire Kliff Kingsbury. Both are big names and that is it, no production to match the name.
Chip Kelly should be persona non grata in the NFL.
His offenses aren’t NFL ready.
His time in Philly was an utter disaster. Wresting roster control from Roseman, making several ridiculous trades, and attempting to bend the organization to his will (there’s probably a book written somewhere about how dysfunctional it was inside the front office), it’s a wonder he lasted 3 seasons.
Softy just put out this out there.
https://twitter.com/Softykjr/status/1753260498806870137
Millen’s opinion is one that I do think is pretty based in facts and X’s and O’s.
I’m really concerned though.
Softy said he was 10,000% ready to be an NFL OC earlier in the day.
Millen said only 1,000% ready.
The numbers are declining rapidly.
Today it’ll be 100% ready. Tomorrow 10% ready.
I’ll take Hugh’s word before Softy’s.
Frankly, I’m a little concerned that anybody is getting over 100%. Are they cloning themselves? Entering the multi-verse and getting their other versions to work in this one?
Of the names we’ve heard rumored for the OC position…..my preferences are…..
1a. Grub
1a2. Engstrand
1,000,000. Kelly
Re: Grubb-
Not sure if its been said already, but it seems plain as day that he really connected with and felt at home in Seattle. The guy seemed crushed when he didnt get the HC job at UW (have you ever seen a heartfelt “i didn’t get the job” post like that?”) Brock mentioned on this morning’s show that supposedly Grubb’s wife really liked living in Seattle. This means something.
To me- this is a guy who would be truly happy to be here for awhile (success permitting). If one the big concerns of hiring a defensive HC is that if the OC he brings on is any good, he’ll get poached in 1-2 years, then Grubbs seems like a goldilocks hire: He might be keen to stay here for awhile AND he’d bring fresh ideas (as opposed to older more established OC’s whose window for HC jobs have likely closed so their not a threat to leave).
Lastly- thanks for all the amazing work you’ve done over the years Rob. Excited for this next chapter!