Todd Grantham needs to worry about coaching, not contract
Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham shouldn't be making an issue of his contract in November. (Jason Getz)
If there is one thing that we have learned this season at Georgia, it’s that Todd Grantham is a pretty good coach. The Bulldogs’ defense has improved almost every week this season, and is miles ahead of what it was a year ago.
But we’ve witnessed, courtesy of YouTube, that sometimes Grantham just does dumb things – and here he goes again.
If you missed the stories earlier this week from our Chip Towers, Grantham’s agent is publicly pushing for a raise and contract extension for Georgia’s defensive coordinator. Never mind that the contract still has 14 months to run.
Agent Michael Harrison has been rebuffed by athletic director Greg McGarity, who says he won’t address coaches’ contracts until after the season. And sorry, but Mark Richt’s contract is a slightly higher priority.
Grantham is a coach. It would be a good idea to stick to that for possibly four more games and worry about his finances in January.
I’ve covered player and coach negotiations for nearly 30 years. Let me tell you how this works. Agents generally don’t go rogue. When they talk to the media, it’s at their clients’ urging and/or approval.
Harrison told Chip that he has gotten “inquiries” from NFL teams about Grantham returning to the league as an assistant. He claims he has gotten “feelers” from college teams about being a head coach.
These soundbites are all orchestrated. I understand Harrison is just doing his job for his client. But the client – Grantham – needs to understand bringing this up now is counterproductive. Seriously. Grantham expects the Bulldogs to make a commitment to a defensive coordinator less than two full years into a three-year contract when they haven’t even finalized the head coach’s future yet?
Consider the importance of Georgia’s potential four remaining games: 1) Kentucky, the potential SEC East-clincher; 2) Georgia Tech, the local rival; 3) LSU (probably), the SEC championship; 4) Bowl game opponent, which finalizes rankings and stature.
Should this really be an issue right now?
I’m guessing somebody said something to Grantham follow Monday’s initial story because by Tuesday Grantham was trying to say the right things. Following practice Tuesday night, he maintained that his focus was on the Kentucky game and not his contract.
But when he alluded to Harrison and said, “You hire people to do a job for you and I let him handle that part of it,” it missed the point. Agents work for their clients, not the other way around. This is a public issue now because of Grantham, not his agent.
One more thing: While it wouldn’t stun me if Grantham winds up returning to the NFL, I don’t buy Harrison’s claim of legitimate head coaching offers, certainly not at a major college. Any coordinator who has a head coaching offer would jump at it rather than worrying about using it as leverage.
In other words, this is all drivel we could’ve done without.
By Jeff Schultz
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424 comments Add your comment
Walker
November 17th, 2011
11:06 am
Get off his back and let him Coach. I am sure this is just some of your crap. You can’t leave the Dawgs along. You love bringing up stuff that doesn’t mean anything to the big picture. Coach G. is doing a fantastic job and wants to be a Bulldog. He has them playing like ERK’s D’s. Look for some other garbage to write about.
Brainiac(Dawg for life)(Richt fan for life)
November 17th, 2011
11:28 am
@Buckhead Dawg: You are a fullfledged idiot(my apologies to fullfledged idiots everywhere), actually King of the Fulfledged Idiots. For you to put out negatives on CTG about whining for more money and dime a dozen DCs, indicates you know less than nothing about DC’s and, just like Schultz you are showing how badly you are uninformed. This space has been full of info from CTG saying he wasn’t even thinking about such until after the season. Not to be outdone though, Schultz comes up with weekold drivel chastising CTG about the MONEY issue when it had already been spread far and wide that CTG was doing exactly what Schultzy was suggesting. We have come to expect this type BS from Schultz but not from one of our own in Dawgnation. The crap you are spewing does nothing but hurt recruiting. Are you sure you aren’t an Alabama trailer dweller with a double/single digit IQ?
Brainiac(Dawg for life)(Richt fan for life)
November 17th, 2011
11:31 am
@Walker: Well said my friend and we don’t need idiots like Buckhead Dawg parroting the same crap that Schultz does.
zbulldawg
November 17th, 2011
11:35 am
Richt’s more with the offense lately ! Thanks to Todd ! Also they are running more That always helps the pass ! I love it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SICK EM
Banned Poster
November 17th, 2011
11:47 am
Oh Schultz….stirring trouble where none exists. Chip talked to TG’s agent and wrote what his agent said (this after his conversation with the AD in which he stated that coaching contract decisions will be made after the season). He followed up the next day with Grantham and he basically said that his focus is on coaching and getting ready for Kentucky. He also said that is why he hired an agent to handle those things so he doesn’t have to worry or focus on it. It is what it is and why don’t you actually take Grantham’s word for it instead of writing this hit piece. You scream there is no bias against the University of Georgia, yet you write this drivel when the team is on the cusp of winning the SEC East after an improbable run and no one else outside of the AJC is even making the coaches contracts an issue. Not ESPN, other UGA beat writers, or even the Athens newspapers are talking about this. Seriously, find another subject on UGA that might warrant the venom or go look at the other school in town and see how their team is doing (hey didn’t one of their players decide to do what poor Kwame Geathers got suspended for and ridiculed by this very paper? Didn’t see many negative stories about that one).
zbulldawg
November 17th, 2011
11:50 am
TIMING IS EVERYTHING !! Let’s get some KITTY KAT then some HONEY and then we shoot for the SUGAR !! Sign & lock in Todd & Richt in time to help recruiting !! And everything will take care of itself !!!!!!!!!!!!!! SICK EM
Steve
November 17th, 2011
11:55 am
I don’t understand why they are getting so huffy and puffy. Preform on the field and you will be rewarded. Shut up and keep coaching like you are fool!
zbulldawg
November 17th, 2011
12:00 pm
GRANTHAM isn’t going anywhere ! HE’s not going to miss what UGA is doing in the future !! THAT’S ONCE IN A LIFE TIME STUFF Then and only then will be time for concern !! SICK EM
Banned Poster
November 17th, 2011
12:02 pm
Oh to fellow UGA fans. If you want REAL news about the Dawgs that doesn’t contain any bias against them, then go thedawgbone.com and look at the articles in the first section. There you will see good articles from the Macon Telegraph, The Athens Banner-Herald, The Chattanooga Times-Free Press, and others not named the AJC. Sure there are times where they can be negative, but that is when the program or coaches deserve it. Not at times like these when Schultz and Co. are over reaching for something to stir the pot.
zbulldawg
November 17th, 2011
12:07 pm
Sallowing that big lump and keeping it down is hard for AJC right now !! THE DAWGS ARE GOOD AND WILL BE GREAT & That’s all there is to it !!!! SICK EM
Snake Doc
November 17th, 2011
12:09 pm
Drivel we could have done without… Like this article?
Bobby
November 17th, 2011
12:16 pm
Get off it Shultz, can”t you do anything atypical? You are what I call a pot stirrer, always trying to make an issue of something that is a non-issue, typical modern media. Write about something interesting.
GTPHISH
November 17th, 2011
12:23 pm
I hope his salary gets bumped up, will only make the pounding SGT. HULKA’s defense takes in the SEC championship game more enjoyable.
The Truth
November 17th, 2011
12:25 pm
Enter your comments here
Muckrakers
November 17th, 2011
12:29 pm
Jeff, baby, you are SPECULATING THAT TG urged his agent to go public with $ talks. THAT is only to get some attention come your way.
CTG has proved beyond a doubt that he can rebuild a D squad from the ashes in the SEC basement in two years. Frankly, he deserves far more $ and we ALUMNI are all for that. He will get a very, very substantial increase as the highest paid D coach in the land and we UGA grads are more than happy to reach in to our golf slacks and hand it over.
If it does not bother us …………………..why does it bother you??? Hmmm???
So ………………your speculation is dull and pointless.
UGA class of 71 & 73
Lawyers are the Death of this Country
November 17th, 2011
12:33 pm
This guy will more than pay for himself. Not sure that CTG is pushing. The agent his like any lawyer and wants more money for himself and could care less what CTG thinks about the timing. Haven’t we all learned that lawyers are the death of this country!!!!
flagboy?
November 17th, 2011
12:51 pm
Dap01
November 17th, 2011
10:56 am
The AJC can’t feel good about these replys (except they are blog hits).
____________________________________________
The AJC, like any paper, hopes to get any response it can these days.
Moby Deek
November 17th, 2011
12:58 pm
So Crowell sits out Kentucky game Jeff ?
Columbus
November 17th, 2011
1:12 pm
Here goes the media hype from AJC trying its best to make something into nothing. This is a NON-STORY. Grantham WILL get a contract extension. It will come AFTER the season. He IS TOTALLY focused on Kentucky and WILL be TOTALLY focused on Tech and The SEC Title game. Case CLOSED AJC. Much ado about NOTHING…..
And to the Tech fans still talking trash and holding out hope….UGA defense is why you have no chance. UGA defense eat running backs for lunch and the game conveniently starts at noon….
Diploma list? You mean the school with the worst graduation rate GT? This is about football not the class room. You want to talk about that then go to a debate or math or science competition…..sheesh!
Instant Dawgma
November 17th, 2011
5:09 pm
Agreed this is something that is hardly publicly done by coaches at the NFL level and should never be public fodder at the college level.
His agent sounds like a Las Vegas con man.
You don’t hear public negotiating with Kirby Smart or other top assistants by their agents. You typically start hearing about assistants and their contracts when they start interviewing for head coaching positions.
This is not the case with Coach Grantham.
Maybe his agent still thinks he’s in the NFL, and if he were I would imagine a conversation with Roger Goodell in order. Maybe Mike Slive along with Adams and McGarrity Five-0 can shut his agent up.
Red Scarlett
November 17th, 2011
5:44 pm
Grantham’s D better shut out everyone from now to the end of the season including LSU & the bowl to match the build up from the blowhards on here.
lavender
November 17th, 2011
7:40 pm
Jeff, ask that Athens coach what the Shawn Williams family thought of him calling their son a dumb #ss is which is in the transcrpts of the Vanderbilt controversy.
John Caradine
November 18th, 2011
2:20 pm
Your writing is great:)
Freehawk
November 18th, 2011
9:22 pm
His defense gave up 48 to the Gamecocks. MVP is whoever set UGAs schedule this season.Maybe the red panties AD?