Kalen DeBoer, Alabama potentially on verge of losing top assistant to old stomping grounds

The Alabama Crimson Tide didn't waste any time in trying to find Nick Saban's replacement after the legendary college football head coach announced his retirement. Stepping in to fill his role is former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer, who has a track record of creating winning football programs.

While the DeBoer is considered a huge hire, the program has dealt with a loss of talent, like quarterback Julian Sayin and safety Caleb Downs. Now, DeBoer is in danger of losing a pivotal member of his coaching staff from a team in Washington.

According to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb could leave Alabama to take the same position with the Seattle Seahawks, who just hired Mike Macdonald as head coach. Florio notes that while the move is not finalized, Grubb "is definitely under consideration for the job."

Alabama OC Ryan Grubb could head back to Washington to become Seahawks OC

Bringing Grubb over from Washington was one of the most lauded moves of DeBoer's tenure early on. This came after Washington opted against promoting Grubb as their head coach.

Grubb was part of the brain trust that created perhaps the most dominant offense in all of college football. It certainly helped that they had talent like quarterback Michael Penix Jr., running back Dillon Johnson, and wide receiver Rome Odunze to work with. The Huskies averaged 462.1 yards of total offense (13th in college), 343.7 passing yards (second in college), and 36.0 points (13th in college) per game this past season.

After removing Pete Carroll as head coach, the Seahawks decided to hire Macdonald, who built the Baltimore Ravens defense as the most fearsome in all of the NFL this past season. While Macdonald has said he will call plays on defense, they are working on a hire for offensive coordinator. Bringing in someone like Grubb to lead the offense could be big. He would have some strong pieces to work with, such as quarterback Geno Smith and wide receivers D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

If Grubb is to leave already, one has to wonder who DeBoer would bring in as his offensive coordinator. Again, nothing is official just yet, but Grubb making the jump back to Seattle could be worth monitoring.