The Seahawks made a quick move to fire offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb less than 24 hours after a season-ending, 30-25 victory over the Los Angeles Rams, head coach Mike Macdonald confirmed on his KIRO Radio show Monday morning.
“I felt like the direction of our offense was going was different than the vision that I had for our team,” said Macdonald, who was the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator prior to being named as Seattle’s head coach on Jan. 31, 2024. “And felt like it was just a necessary decision at this point.”
The Seahawks struggled to find consistency on offense, finishing 18th in the NFL in points scored this season. The running game was especially problematic. Behind a young offensive line, only five teams rushed for fewer yards. Macdonald at times hinted of issues with the offense, more than once saying “we needed a better plan” when discussing specific red zone and goal line situations.
Seahawks right tackle Abraham Lucas, a graduate of Archbishop Murphy High School in Everett, spoke to the media about 35 minutes after he learned about Grubb’s firing.
“I hold no animosity or ill will toward Grubb,” Lucas said. “I think Grubb’s a good coach at doing what he does, and wherever he ends up he’ll be successful.”
Macdonald said no decisions had yet been made on other coaches, including offensive line coach Scott Huff. Both Grubb and Huff were first-year NFL coaches after leading the University of Washington offense in 2023.
“Ryan’s a heck of a football coach,” said Macdonald, who was to speak to the full Seattle-area media on Tuesday. “We did some really great things on offense this year. I mean, (quarterback) Geno (Smith), I think had a bunch of career highs throwing the ball and we did some really cool situation stuff. (Jackson Smith-Njigba) had a great year. so we did a lot of great things. “It’s just my vision for our offense, I think is just ultimately different than where I thought Ryan thought it was going. So we respect the heck out of him and wish him the best. These are tough decisions to make. … But, the team comes first and just thought it was the best for the team.”
Macdonald has shown in his first year that he’s willing to make quick changes. When the linebackers weren’t playing like he wanted, he moved on from Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker. When kick returners Laviska Shenault Jr. and Dee Williams fumbled against the New York Jets on Dec. 1, they were gone before Seattle played another game.
Still, many thought that Grubb would be given another year to develop as an NFL coach. Grubb’s offense was the centerpiece of a UW team that advanced to the college football national championship game last season behind quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and an offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award as the nation’s best. However, the Seahawks’ line struggled to open holes for the running game and protect Smith consistently. Smith threw 21 touchdowns but was intercepted 15 times — including four back-breaking red zone picks.
While questions loom about whether or not Smith will return and the offensive line will remain intact, the Seahawks will search for their third offensive coordinator in three seasons.
“We’re going to open it up,” Macdonald said. “We’re going to do our research and be thorough with it. We want to be efficient — we want to move quickly — but we want to be smart as well.
“We’re just looking for the right fit. The type of person that’s going to come in and lead our offense … definitely looking for alignment and a shared vision about how we want to operate.
This story originally appeared in seattlesportsnow.com, of which Aaron Coe is a co-founder.
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