Alabama OC Ryan Grubb Accepts Blame from Week 7 Loss to Tennessee

After the loss to Tennessee, the Alabama Crimson Tide had a lot to figure out.

It was the first time in 13 years that the Tide have lost back-to-back games, and for a team that seemed destined to make the playoffs, now is holding onto their playoff dreams.

A lot of what caused the loss in Knoxville was Alabama’s inability to move down the field in an efficient manner. If you scroll through X, or if you read our takeaways from Saturday, you’ll see a lot of pointing at offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.

And Grubb wasn’t shy about shouldering the blame. In Monday’s press conference, Grubb felt like he had a quality gameplan from the start, and it ultimately wasn’t enough.

“There’s more questions than answers right now, and it starts with me,” Grubb said. “I thought I had a good gameplan; this isn’t a ‘pointing fingers at the kids’ kind of day. We’re pissed off. I thought I had them ready to play and I didn’t.”

Alabama scored its only points in the second quarter and was shut out in the second half.

With the loss, the Tide have only scored a total of three points in their past two second halves.

“Two weeks in a row with [a total of three] points in the second half is pathetic,” he told the media. 

Grubb had also alluded to the fact that Alabama averages three-to-four sacks allowed – which doesn’t equate to championship football.

Head coach Kalen DeBoer later defended Grubb, who he has had a long working relationship with, dating back to Eastern Michigan in 2014, calling him a “great playcaller.”

Next week, the Crimson Tide return home to play a struggling Texas A&M squad that just shut out The Citadel 41-0 last week. However, prior to that game, the Aggies lost three out of their previous four games.

The Tide haven’t played A&M since 2023 where they ended up leaving College Station with a 26-20 win.

But the big thing we’ll all be watching is how this offense operates after getting completely embarrassed in Knoxville. After the loss, DeBoer admitted to the press that there were going to be “some uncomfortable discussions” happening.

Now that it’s Tuesday, what did those conversations address? Does Alabama look to ease Keelon Russell into the game this time? Who steps up as a receiver in the absence of Ryan Coleman-Williams?

Grubb also admitted he was “bummed” that wide receiver Noah Rogers didn't receive as many snaps as he should have. 

It's a telling admission from an offensive coordinator who controls the playcalling and personnel decisions. If Rogers deserved a larger role, Alabama needs to figure out why he didn't get one.

It’ll be hard to have a worse opening quarter than this past Saturday, but that’s why you have those uncomfortable conversations – to prevent a repeat performance.

The Tide are at a crossroads, and next week's matchup with Texas A&M will offer an early indication of whether those conversations made a difference.