Seahawks waste no time undoing Ryan Grubb's biggest blunder at training camp

The Seattle Seahawks had a real problem in 2024. Though the head coach had changed from Pete Carroll to Mike Macdonald, the offensive philosophy had basically remained the same. Macdonald, in his first year as a head coach, was tasked with rebuilding the defense. The offense was in the hands of Ryan Grubb.

It became clearer as the season grew old that Grubb was way over his head. He had never coached in the NFL before, and his scheme was great for college but not for the NFL. Seattle's offensive line wasn't good enough to support Grubb's ideas, but Grubb didn't know how to fix the line.

Macdonald fired Grubb right after last season ended, and the Seahawks hired Klint Kubiak to replace him. Kubiak's design fits more of what Macdonald wants: A strong running attack with efficient passing. Training camp has so far shown a stark difference between Grubb and Kubiak.

Seattle Seahawks players are noticing a stark difference between Klint Kubiak and Ryan Grubb

Players are noticing, too. Not just offensive players, but defensive ones as well.

Speaking after one training camp practice last week, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba raved about Kubiak's scheme, telling the media, "I just love the mentality of our offense. Ground-and-pound, take some shots, mix it up. It’s a very versatile offense, so I’m excited about that."

Of course, JSN saying that is also a vast difference compared to receivers such as DK Metcalf. Metcalf wanted the ball a lot. He had requested to be traded several times because he wasn't getting targeted as often as he would like. Smith-Njigba wants the ball, too, but understands the team succeeds if the offense overall is better.

Star defensive lineman Leonard Williams noted how Kubiak's constantly shifting offense stresses the edge of a defense.

Following one practice, Williams said, "It’s pretty hard for me sometimes getting in my stance, and you don’t know whether the guard and tackle are going to completely run that way or this way...We’re even using a fullback, which is pretty rare nowadays. They’re shifting him from out lined-up like a wide receiver to behind the ball. It just tricks the defense a little bit."

READ MORE: It's only training camp but this Seahawks rookie is climbing up the depth chart

Of course, there is no guarantee that a Seahawks offense led by Klint Kubiak is going to score more than one led by Ryan Grubb, who had a pass-happy scheme that focused nearly solely on the wide receivers, or previous OC Shane Waldron. What Seattle is counting on is less explosiveness as a trade-off for better efficiency.

Mike Macdonald hopes that Kubiak's offense has fewer turnovers than Grubb's in the red zone, runs the ball more and better, therefore eating up game clock, and augments what is expected to be an elite defense. Also, Grubb's offense often bogged down in short-yardage situations. Kubiak's is meant to excel in those moments.

The key is how good new QB1 Sam Darnold will be, and to make sure he doesn't revert to his pre-2024 level of throwing too many ill-timed interceptions, something Geno Smith struggled with last season. Kubiak's offense should help that, though, and coupled with Macdonald's defense, the Seahawks should make a real run at the postseason.