Kalen DeBoer, Alabama’s new head coach, has been working hard in the two weeks since taking over for the retired Nick Saban. One of his first orders of business was to assemble a staff.
Although the staff has not yet been completely publicized, the majority of members have modified their social media accounts to reflect their new job. DeBoer still needs to fill one defensive position, but the offensive lineup appears to be complete.
Here’s what you should know about each of Alabama’s offensive on-field assistants.
Ryan Grubb has worked alongside DeBoer in various coaching positions. He helped transform the Washington offence into one of the greatest in the country, with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. emerging as one of college football’s top quarterbacks, finishing as a Heisman Trophy finalist.
He was a candidate for the Washington head coach position following DeBoer’s resignation, but he did not receive it, he stated Saturday. Instead, he travelled to Tuscaloosa, where he would replace Tommy Rees. Grubb has finally joined the Tide, a year after being a much sought-after contender for the same position.
Grubb served as offensive coordinator at Fresno State before joining DeBoer in Washington. He also worked alongside DeBoer at Eastern Michigan and Sioux Falls.
JaMarcus Shephard
Shephard will coach Alabama’s wide outs with Grubb and DeBoer. He had the same function in Washington.
Under Shephard, the Huskies had a great wide receiver group, headlined by Rome Odunze, a consensus all-American in 2023. Odunze declared for the NFL draft.
Shephard joins Washington in 2022 as an associate head coach and passing game coordinator, having previously worked at Purdue, Washington State, and Western Kentucky.
Scott Huff
Alabama’s offensive line struggled at times in 2023. Huff clearly has the ability to help address such challenges.
This past season, Washington’s offensive line won the Joe Moore Award as the best in the nation. Penix battled injuries throughout his career, but in his last season, the Huskies were able to keep him healthy enough to make a run at the CFP.
Huff had been coaching at Washington since 2017, when DeBoer hired him at Montlake. He spent 12 seasons at Boise State before coming to the University of Washington.
Nick Sheridan
Sheridan will coach Alabama’s tight ends, like he did at Washington. In 2022, he joined DeBoer’s crew.
He had previously worked with his employer at Indiana, where he began coaching quarterbacks in 2017, then tight ends in 2019, before becoming co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2020 and 2021.
Sheridan formerly coached at South Florida and Western Kentucky for Willie Taggart.
Robert Gillespie
Gillespie is the last remaining member of Saban’s offensive staff, having joined Alabama prior to the 2022 season. He will continue to coach running backs for the Crimson Tide.
Gillespie is a great recruiter for Alabama. He has extensive SEC experience, having coached at South Carolina and Tennessee and played collegiate football at Florida.
Before joining the Crimson Tide, Gillespie coached running backs at North Carolina.
Leave a Reply