J.B. Grimes did not see it coming.

When he left Auburn for Cincinnati in Jan. 2016 the offensive line coach figured his time on the Plains was done for good.

But things can change in mysterious ways and occasionally unusual timing. When Herb Hand left for Texas, Gus Malzahn called Grimes, who was at UConn with former Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, and offered him the chance to return.

"I was recruiting in a blizzard in Youngstown, Ohio and I got a call," Grimes said. "That might have had something to do with it too, trying to find a school open, you know. ... This one fell in my lap."

Such is the life of coaching. Some doors open, others close and timing and other factors are not always in your control.

Case in point, Grimes was set to go to Arizona State in 2017 and work with then-offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey before he took the job at Auburn. Once that happened, Grimes joined forces with Lashlee and helped lead a massive offensive overhaul.

In January, Lashlee moved on from UConn to SMU, Hand departed and Grimes returned all in a matter of two weeks.

What Auburn provided off the field, returning to the South, a town he likes and being closer to family, was particularly important to Grimes.

"It's Auburn, and Auburn is a great place to coach. It's an outstanding job and great place to live," Grimes said. "I don't want to say anything bad about where I came from but it's cold. It's cold up there. It's cold. I had an opportunity to come back. I had a chance to come back and get closer to my family.

"I've got two grandkids, a son and a daughter-in-law in Starkville. We have a daughter in Starkville who's about to be Dr. Grimes in biomedical engineering over there. Our son is an English professor there at Mississippi State. He has an undergrad and master's degree in English from Mississippi State, so he teaches there. So that's four hours away. We've got a daughter in Houston and a son in and his wife and little girl, and she's expecting another one, not far from us in North Carolina. Those personal things really helped."

Family is part of what drew Grimes away from Auburn in the first place. He got to work with his son Nick, who he hadn't so much as lived in the same state with for 13 years, while in Cincinnati.

In the five months since returning, Grimes took over an offensive line group that he recruited nearly every member of.

It's a particularly young and inexperienced group that had to make up for the departures of starters Braden Smith, Austin Golson, Casey Dunn and Darius James, but also returns Prince Tega Wanogho Jr., Marquel Harrell and Mike Horton.

"Anytime there's a new coach up front there's going to be new little things in terms of terminology or techniques and all that," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "The great thing, (Grimes is) a guy that's been with us here at Auburn, was with us when we led the country in rushing, was with us last time we won the SEC Championship. A lot of wisdom, the guys have really responded well to him and he's such a great teacher. Really slows things down and really teaches from the ground up.

"As much youth as we have, really thought it was a good time to bring him in and build those guys up from the ground up."

Building is the task Grimes inherits in returning to his old stomping grounds.

It's the most inexperienced group he's had while at Auburn, but the coaching process is what Grimes likes most about the job and he's confident this year's group will do well.

"That 2013 and 2014 group was pretty good; we led the SEC in rushing both of those years," Grimes said. "I really thought the 2015 group performed pretty well but, I'll put it this way, we were really handcuffed offensively in 2015. I think by the time we get this group and polish them up and everything, I think this can be a very competitive (group). I'm cautiously optimistic that this group can be a good SEC offensive line."

James Crepea is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @JamesCrepea.