Ryan Grubb had an opportunity to leave Washington this offseason. Alabama came calling, trying to lure UW’s offensive coordinator away to Tuscaloosa. Grubb met with the Crimson Tide, but ultimately decided to stay with the Huskies.

There’s a possibility Grubb could lead UW against Alabama for a national championship if each side wins its respective College Football Playoff semifinal games.

When he met with reporters this week ahead of UW’s Sugar Bowl matchup with Texas, Grubb was asked if there’s a sense of satisfaction in sticking with Washington and then immediately helping the team to the Playoff.

“Yeah, very satisfying,” Grubb said. “I think regardless of other opportunities, I think this was the reason I came to Washington. And I know when Kalen and I first started talking about him taking that job, and if I would go with or not, my response was pretty quick to accept the position.

“… I felt like our system would work almost anywhere — just how we relate to people and get the culture right within the locker room, that big things were possible.’

Grubb has been with DeBoer at both Sioux Falls and Fresno State. He was one of six assistants who followed DeBoer from Fresno State to Washington after the 2021 season.

“I think when you’re looking at wherever you’re working, you want to be somewhere where, No. 1, you feel like you can make an impact, where you can be yourself. And those were things that were important to me,” Grubb said. “My style of offense and the things I wanted to accomplish, I didn’t want a bunch of restrictions on that. And I wanted to be able to be more collaborative with the people I was going to be with and have more control of the situation.

“I feel like I do have a lot of input with what happens with the program. So at that point, especially last season, I just really felt like, you know, everything that we had invested with the players and the kids that we had coming back, the talks I had with those kids, like Troy [Fautanu] and Rome [Odunze] and Michael [Penix Jr] just trying to get those guys to stay and be part of it for another year was important.

Grubb called the offensive coordinator position on DeBoer’s staff a “position of growth.” He still feels like he’s growing as a coach. He said the relationship between he and DeBoer is one of trust. DeBoer is a sounding board rather than a critic. They’re both offensive maestros, but Grubb still gets his credit.

It’s a good situation.

And a fruitful one.