Nick Sheridan is no longer calling Alabama’s offense, but the former coordinator still holds a vital role on the Crimson Tide’s coaching staff.
After serving as the offensive coordinator during his first season in Tuscaloosa, Sheridan will now be exclusively focusing on the quarterback position this fall. The shift comes as part of a carousel of role changes dating back to last offseason when the two assistants followed head coach Kalen DeBoer from Washington to Alabama.
Grubb, who served as DeBoer’s offensive coordinator at Washington (2022-23) and Fresno State (2020-21), was originally set to take on Alabama’s play-calling duties last year before leaving to become the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks. Meanwhile, Sheridan was initially brought on to coach the Tide’s tight ends after holding that role the previous two years at Washington.
Following Grubb’s departure, Sheridan took over the reins of Alabama’s offense last season, leading a Tide attack that averaged 33.8 points and 410.2 yards per game. With Grubb back in the fold, Sheridan will now oversee Alabama’s quarterback room, as the Tide attempts to find a replacement for departing starter Jalen Milroe.
Having worked together for two seasons at Washington, Grubb is confident Sheridan is the ideal man for the job.
“Nick’s the best, and I mean that,” Grubb said last week during an interview with Tide 100.9’s “The Game with Ryan Fowler. Before Alabama, the communication we’d have and the understanding that Nick had for the quarterback position itself. Recruiting the right kind of guys, he’s got a great eye for talent. And I think there’s a piece there too where the types of players that we look for and the things that we’re looking for quarterbacks to do and be better at, they both match up.”
Sheridan has plenty of experience with the quarterback position. The former Michigan quarterback served as a backup for the Wolverines from 2006-10 before beginning his coaching career by overseeing the position for Saline High School. From there, he coached quarterbacks at Western Kentucky (2012), South Florida (2013) and Indiana (2017-18, 2020-21). He was also in charge of the position last season while serving as Alabama’s offensive coordinator.
Like Grubb, Sheridan has also spent several years with DeBoer, working alongside him during the 2019 season at Indiana before spending the past three years under him at Washington and Alabama. That’s led to a similar line of thinking for the two assistants.
“It’s easy to finish each other’s sentences,” Grubb said of Sheridan. “You’re like, ‘Hey, this guy needs to work on this.’ And Knowledge of the system, too. Nick has knowledge of the system. He’s been in it from all the way back to Indiana when him and Kalen were together, then obviously our time in Washington. You know there’s a level of expectation there being met.”
As for what the two expect from Alabama’s next passer, Grubb listed a pair of “non-negotiables” last week.
First off is being an elite decision-maker.
"You obviously got to have all the physical attributes that the ball can be spread to the right places on the field, but decision-making, command and leadership are non-negotiables,” Grubb said. “Those are things that every great quarterback is gonna have. There's things that we talk about quite a bit that the best guys, the quarterbacks – you wanna have. They make everybody in the facility better. When they walk in, everybody is doing better. … Work ethic and how they approach their days, and everybody looks at them from the same approach."
Next comes consistency
"I think it's really hard to have an elite offense and elite football team, championship-level team when you don't have a guy that's the same guy showing up every day," Grubb said. "That's one of the things we talk about in the quarterback room quite a bit, is just being the same guy every day so your teammates know what to expect. You're gonna push them, you're also gonna support them but it's the same. You don't show up one day and the guy was like, he was on one today. The next day, you're not the same. I think there's a lot of value in that."
While Sheridan will be charged with developing those two traits within Alabama’s quarterback room, he’ll work in tandem with Grubb when it comes to sculpting the Tide’s next passer. That being said, Sheridan’s expertise at the quarterback position and understanding of Grubb’s approach allows the offensive coordinator to feel confident whenever he needs to step away to oversee another position.
“Obviously, I’m in the QB room with him every day for at least part of the time,” Grubb said. “That QB/play-caller relationship is vital. So for me, right now I think just the ground we’re able to cover with these guys is incredible. That’s the part, the freedom I can have within the system and the ability to just go about my day is really important. It’s been a blessing.”
