TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ā Almost every member of Alabama's coaching staff stands on the sidelines on Saturdays.
But offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb spent the first 10 games of the season in the box.
Coaching from the box provides a bit of a bird's-eye view of both the offense and defense. It gives a different perspective that a coach wouldn't fully get from the sideline. That said, while you can still communicate via a headset, it's not as personal and messages will need to be relayed to those without a headset.
But Grubb made the decision to coach from the sidelines during this past Saturday's 56-0 win over Eastern Illinois. He shared his experience during Monday's press conference.
āIt was great," Grubb said. "It's something I have been thinking about since, honestly, the beginning of the year. And the last few weeks, it's kind of been adding up on me a little bit. And I just thought that I could make a difference, honestly. Some of it was for me, selfishly, to make sure that my communication with the coaches, the players was where I want it to be so I feel good about the plays that I am calling the next series."
Grubb, who has worked closely with the quarterbacks since his arrival in the offseason, truly enjoyed being able to have direct interactions with them on Saturday, as all three of them saw time on the field.
"Just being down there with Ty [Simpson] and Keelon [Russell] and Austin was great. Obviously I think the world of Nick and trust him. He does just a fantastic job with those guys on the sideline. But for me, just being right there in the thick of it of being able to make the adjustments that I want to make felt really good. It was great being down there."
Grubb said there were "a lot of factors" that went into his decision to go down from the box to the sideline, and he mentioned that he coached on the field a "a few times" as an assistant at Fresno State from 2017-21.
"Some of it has to do with comfort level with two parts. Number one, the people that you have in the box as far as eyes in the sky, and then also where youāre at with the guys on the sideline. So I tend to focus more on the positive part, meaning the guys that are in the box for us, [analysts] Tyler Hughes and Mitch Dahlen, are as good as it gets.
"Those guys both have been in our system for a number of years. So whatever information I need to collect that I donāt think I have a good enough vantage point on, I normally get accurate information from those guys. So I have a lot of confidence with that and I felt like, just again, the collaboration on the field, the in-game adjustments can happen quicker for me and the rest of the guys."
Grubb did not say whether he would be in the box or on the sideline for Alabama's regular-season finale against Auburn in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday. But it seems like he's comfortable either way.
