Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has stirred up more than the usual game-day noise, and this time the pushback is coming straight from the Crimson Tide faithful - including a former Alabama quarterback.
After Grubb took issue with the way fans were being framed to Alabama players, the response poured in through a two-mailbag week, with readers making it clear they felt he crossed a line. The common thread: Alabama fans say they’ve earned the right to be heard, and they don’t appreciate being lumped in with a few frustrated voices in the stands.
One letter came from The Entire Clark Household, which pushed back hard on the idea that the fan base had somehow let the team down. The message to Grubb was blunt: Alabama supporters have spent years buying tickets, donating to Yea Alabama, wearing the gear and planning their lives around football season.
The writer said, “We don’t like Alabama football, we love Alabama football.” The letter also argued that the boos Grubb heard were coming from “a few idiotic bandwagon fans” and not the people who have backed the program for a lifetime.
That same note made another point plainly: “You just showed up, we have shown up for a lifetime.” The writer also said Grubb shouldn’t judge the fan base because of “a few idiots that were probably three sheets to the wind drunk.”
Another reader, Doug, took aim at Grubb’s coaching as much as his comments. Doug said Grubb “DOES NOT coach with an “edge.”” and argued that Alabama has talented players but an “offensive coordinator” problem.
He pointed to the quarterback situation, saying Grubb is turning “one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the nation” into a pocket passer. Doug also said Grubb “NEVER saw a rollout pass play he likes,” and argued that putting the quarterback in motion can confuse defenses.
Doug’s criticism didn’t stop there. He noted that Grubb was fired after one season with the Seahawks and is now at Alabama for “a bargain ($1 million)” because Seattle is still paying him. He also wrote that neither Grubb nor Kalen DeBoer understands “Southern or Alabama culture,” and mocked the sideline wardrobe choices, saying Grubb wears “a black T-shirt” while DeBoer wears “that stupid black hoodie” when Alabama’s colors are “CRIMSON and WHITE.”
Other readers were just as direct. Neal in Huntsville said, “Grubb has no clue.
Fans weren’t booing the team. They were booing, rightfully so, Grubb and DeBoer.”
Scott brought in a Bobby Bowden line to make his point, writing, “You start paying attention to the fans and you will be sitting up there with them.” He added that Grubb should get the “Saban Muzzle” and keep his “post game mouth shut” while working on a faster offensive start.
A former Alabama QB also weighed in, saying he saw fans and students leaving during one of the lightning delays, but that they were back when play resumed. He also said he enjoyed seeing students mock the FSU Seminole hand-waving chant at the end of the game.
The response in the mailbag wasn’t all aimed at piling on. One answer suggested Grubb may already regret taking on the fans and said it might be time to move past the feud and focus on South Carolina. The same response warned against the idea that Alabama fans would start booing after every play call, saying that would be “idiotic,” and argued that not every call is meant to gain a touchdown or even a first down.
That reply also framed football as a long game, comparing it to chess and to Nick Saban’s “game of cat and mouse.” Some play calls are designed to set up future plays, not to hit immediately. The point wasn’t to excuse Grubb’s comments, but to note that a little noise from the stands shouldn’t derail his play-calling.
The mailbag also reminded readers that fans and coordinators have always had a tense relationship at Alabama. Pete Golding was offered up as an example of a coach who took heat from the crowd and then went on to succeed elsewhere. Saban’s own sideline intensity came up too, along with the mention that he used to give Kiffin “butt chewings.”
The final note on Grubb was straightforward: he’s working with a young quarterback, they’re learning together, and Alabama is averaging 50 points per game. The only catch, as the mailbag put it, is that it would help if more of those points came in the first quarter.
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