Ryan Grubb speaks about chemistry with Kalen DeBoer on play calls
The Washington Huskies have gone unbeaten into the championship game against the Michigan Wolverines. Much of that success has been because of the offense. That, in turn, has made offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and head coach Kalen DeBoer two of the best-known offensive minds in the sport.
Ahead of the championship game, Grubb shared how his chemistry with DeBoer impacts his duties as the playcaller.
“I can’t really speak for Kalen, but I would say that for me I’ve always coached our guys, and I think Kalen would align with this somewhat, that I just don’t think you should coach guys to not lose,” Ryan Grubb said. “To me being offensive is just that. We should be the ones on the attack. I think when you are the one that knows the play, you know the alignment, you know when the ball is being snapped, all those advantages have to be incorporated with your mindset as well.”
The Huskies offense was aggressive all season, particularly through the passing game. Washington was first in the country in terms of passes attempted 10 or more yards downfield, with 189. The Huskies were second in 20 or more yards downfield, with 77. This is a downfield passing attack. On top of that, Washington is 10th in fourth down conversions, converting 12 of 17 this season.
Their philosophy is to be aggressive but not reckless. Grubb explained that it’s still important to make smart decisions and remember that there’s a time and place for everything.
“When you think about ways that you want to attack people, you don’t think about sitting back on your heels. Now, there’s a time and a place where you have to make the right decisions, hold on to the football, do all those things that it takes good teams to do. Shoot, the three of our best games we had the football for over 36 minutes, and that took good decision-making. The timing piece and incorporating those shots and staying aggressive at the right moments I think is key, but yeah, it’s always been my philosophy.”
This season, Washington is 10th in the country in total offense, averaging 473.6 yards per game. Much of that has been because of the passing offense, which ranked first in the country with 350 yards per game. All of that has helped the Huskies be the 10th-ranked scoring offense in the country, with 37.6 points per game.
Ryan Grubb has worked with Kalen DeBoer off and on since 2007. That was when DeBoer was the head coach at Sioux Falls. From there, the two spent time at Eastern Michigan and Fresno State together. Now at Washington, it’s the second time Grubb has been DeBoer’s offensive coordinator.
Kalen DeBoer explains why he doesn’t raise voice with coaches, players
For the most part, Kalen DeBoer doesn’t raise his voice with assistants or players. As he explained, it’s part of his philosophy as a head coach.
“But I think when you do have those selective moments, then they realize like, okay, it’s real serious. But I just feel like they know that we’re fighting the same fight as the coaching staff, and I want the same thing for them that they want for themselves. And they know we’re pouring and trust and believe that our coaching staff is pouring everything into them. And we’re in this together. So there are emotional times, there are things. But I feel it’s who I am, and I have to be who I am as a person. Trying to be consistent, that’s just my leadership way of doing things. That’s who I am as a person,” DeBoer said.
“And if I was going to do things that were out of character, then I think they would lose their consistency as well as far as the expectations and accountability. And those big moments, I think, hopefully, there’s a piece where their trust and their consistency and all those things have helped them get through it to where they’re not emotional or overwhelmed in the moment; they can just focus in on what we talk about each and every day and that’s their job and trusting the guy next to him and trusting our coaches are going to make the right calls and make the right decisions and choices.”