So is Grantham the guy?
All indications continued to point Wednesday toward Dallas Cowboys assistant coach Todd Grantham as Mark Richt’s latest target for Georgia’s defensive-coordinator job.
What remained uncertain is whether Grantham would accept the job, and when he would feel free to do so.
As I mentioned a couple of days ago, Georgia keeps running into complications in its search. The complication with Grantham -– beyond his decision about whether to return to college football after 11 years of building a strong reputation as an NFL assistant – is that his current team is still playing. Would the Cowboys tolerate a potentially distracting announcement –- or even potentially distracting negotiations –- as they prepare for Sunday’s playoff game at Minnesota?
Grantham hasn’t commented publicly on the Georgia job. Georgia also had no comment Wednesday, reiterating Richt’s refrain that he won’t comment until he has his guy.
But it does appear that Georgia has zeroed in one another strong candidate, this time one whose resume indicates a willingness to change jobs.
Grantham, 43, started his coaching career under Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech and then coached under Nick Saban at Michigan State. Since 1999, Grantham has coached for four NFL teams –- the Colts, Texans, Browns (as defensive coordinator from 2005-07) and Cowboys (as defensive-line coach the past two seasons).
Saban tried to hire Grantham as the Miami Dolphins’ defensive coordinator when Grantham took the Browns job instead in 2005. He was mentioned as a potential head coach in Cleveland in 2006, then fired as defensive coordinator a year later. Such is life in the NFL.
Grantham has one known tie to Georgia -– a vacation home on Lake Oconee.
If you missed it, here’s a blog from yesterday afternoon on Mark Fox, the king of tweeting in the SEC.
And please follow me on Twitter for the latest UGA news and notes.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
260 comments Add your comment
What about...
January 14th, 2010
10:01 am
What about Lance Thompson? He is an Alabama protegee and is currently in limbo up at Tennessee.
shannon1776
January 14th, 2010
10:13 am
Who do we know whos resume shows a willingness to change jobs?///
Brian Van Gorder
CWM
January 14th, 2010
10:16 am
I’m still available!
Saint Augustine
January 14th, 2010
10:18 am
Not sure the Air Force guy can handle the lack of discipline and lack of “service before self” that exists in Athens.
GT Rick
January 14th, 2010
10:20 am
Strike six!
Georgia through and through
January 14th, 2010
10:21 am
What an absalute dissaster!
Will
January 14th, 2010
10:30 am
I think after word got out that Kirby was offered $750k, Brian Van Gordor got interested very quickly. I look for his return any minute.
UglyOld Dog
January 14th, 2010
10:33 am
After Jerry Jones little calls with Turd Petrino (when was w/Falcons) and getting him to pul his S**T & Get Act…who cares what the Cowboys wants..if UGA wants Grantham give him a ultimatum either play or stay!
UglyOld Dog
January 14th, 2010
10:39 am
But since we have so many football scholars on this blog…why not check out Mark Synder, he was Ohio State DC that clamped down on U Miami in Ohio St only NC of last decade…excellent DC, but below to average at best HC, formerly at Marshall
Bill Belichick
January 14th, 2010
10:40 am
Enough about Muschamp. Posters, at least know your Dawg history. We lit Muschamp up when he was at both Auburn and LSU. I would love for him to take the UT job. No, he will stay in a much safer conference. Smart was a big risk too.
toole
January 14th, 2010
10:43 am
I’m tired of UGA waiting to try and hire one of these top named coaches for a defensive coordinator. One guy that has an excellent track record running a defense is Ray Priore. He has been DC at Penn for 10+ years. He may not have the resume some of the FBS or NFL coaches do, but he can certainly coach a defense. I would be happy with him if we can’t get Grantham. We have the talent we just need a guy that wants to coach it.
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
January 14th, 2010
10:49 am
has Sanders (sp?) from the Bills been taken off the “list”?
Sam Robards, Dawg Fan
January 14th, 2010
10:50 am
I’m not worried at all about the search. Richt said it’d probably be near mid-January (or longer), and when that turns out to be true, Schultz and Bradley freak out.
Richt will get the man he needs. I don’t agree with some people that saying re-hiring Van Gorder wouldn’t work. After Tennessee fired Randy Sanders as their OC, they re-hired David Cutcliffe, who helped them get to the SEC Championship game in ‘07 (they also beat UGA the two years he was with ‘em).
However, the more I hear about Grantham, the more I want him in Athens. He’s fresh blood and has different ideas than what we’ve been doing, and his units have shown results (the Dallas D-Line is pretty good). And having a guy with solid NFL experience couldn’t hurt recruiting, either. Yeah, UF got an NFL guy as well, but you know what I mean.
Either way, I’ll be rooting for Minnesota this weekend. Go Favre, Peterson, Harvin & co!
Pitbull
January 14th, 2010
10:53 am
Whatever happened to Coach Willie, I miss having him to kick around. Where is he now? I miss you Wee Willie!
Nick
January 14th, 2010
10:53 am
I just wonder what kind of salary these remaining candidates are going to expect? If I’m Grantham or anybody for that matter, I gotta have that $750,000 Kirby Smart figure in the back of my mind. I mean at this point, why would they accept less knowing the job potentially paid that anyway? I see this all turning into a mess, if it’s not considered so already.
Also, what’s being made of the same situation and its possible links to ours going on at Florida right now? And at Tennessee. I mean, aren’t both of those high profile rival SEC schools still searching for someone at the same position? CMR needs to sh%t or get off the pot here.
UglyOld Dog
January 14th, 2010
10:58 am
Well maybe Richt intends to try to find somebody at the National Coaches Convention…he should be able to find some clown there who will take the job…
Pitbull
January 14th, 2010
10:59 am
Nick, you’re right, I can see a bidding war coming, maybe up to 1 million.
layinlow
January 14th, 2010
11:16 am
Rivals.com premium pay site is reporting that Richt has his man. But I’m not a member of the website and therefore don’t have access to the name. Anyone out there have this service?
After weeks of speculation, Georgia’s search for a new defensive coordinator may finally be coming to a close. UGASports confirmed through multiple sources Wednesday night that Bulldog head coach Mark Richt appears to have settled on who his new defensive boss will be. See the details inside.
GT
January 14th, 2010
11:32 am
layinlow, were the HECK do you get your info??? I dont see his ending anytime soon!!
GT Rich
January 14th, 2010
11:35 am
LOL. The idiotic dawgs can’t stand the wait so they make crap up. It’s comical. They no more have their man than they did 5 weeks ago. No one wants to board a sinking ship!
Saint Augustine
January 14th, 2010
11:37 am
GT Rich,
I totally agree. Love it!
DawgBuzz
January 14th, 2010
11:39 am
After weeks of speculations, Georgia’s search for a new defensive coordinator may finally be coming to a close.
UGASports confirmed through multiple sources Wednesday night that Bulldog head coach Mark Richt appears to have settled on Dallas Cowboys defensive line coach Todd Grantham.
Grantham has an offer and is expected to reach a final decision very soon.
Richt could not be reached for comment and athletic director Damon Evans refused to confirm or deny any impending hire.
“I’m not going to say a thing until a hire is made,” Evans said during halftime of Georgia’s basketball game against Ole Miss.
Calls to Grantham’s agent Neil Cornrich have not been returned.
UGASports also confirmed that Richt did reach out to former defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, but was told that Grantham is Richt’s choice to take over for the fired Willie Martinez.
JS
January 14th, 2010
11:39 am
And who exactly is the GT DC, boys? What?!? You guys are getting boned by Groh.
dap01
January 14th, 2010
11:44 am
GT Rich: If a UGA blog can attract other teams fans like you, surely UGA can hire a coach.
Tech has more issues than UGA. Look at the last two games.
Now go back to that drive through window so that you can earn enough to get those ticket to a Tech game next year. There are still 50 yard line tickets available.
PowerDawg
January 14th, 2010
11:46 am
Nick-
Your not keeping up, dude.
Florida has already hired Strongs replacement. Some guy I’ve never heard of. Hired him on the cheap, too. Can’t be THAT much to him. With the players they lost to graduation plus all the Jr’s that jumped? They’re rebuilding, no question.
Tennessee’s problems are way bigger than ours. They have lost several recruits and will potentially lose more before signing day.
They have to hire a new HC. A permanent one, not the interim they have in place. (Kippy Brown was just hired a month ago)
The new HC will then have to start looking to fill his staff with what’s left over this late in the process…Kiffen really bent ‘em over a stump on this one. The Vols are soooo screwed.
layinlow
January 14th, 2010
11:47 am
GT and the other GT loser, I didn’t make up anything I got that info from Rivals.com. If you need to re-read my post I think it was pretty clear where the info came from. Thank you Dawgbuzz for giving us the info from the rivals premium site.
Technophobia
January 14th, 2010
11:52 am
43 days.
Top Dawg
January 14th, 2010
11:52 am
Go get Mickey Andrews or Chuck Amatto. Two good choices.
GMoney
January 14th, 2010
11:54 am
Get Bob Shopp
DawgBuzz
January 14th, 2010
11:56 am
layinlow – no problem. Grantham or VanGorder would be an improvement.
pants on the floor
January 14th, 2010
12:00 pm
I like Grantham for this. I just don’t think VanGorder could match what he did at UGA before. The game has changed since then. Martinez ran the same defense VanGorder did and it didn’t work that well for him. We need someone new who changes with the game.
Go Dawgs!
toole
January 14th, 2010
12:06 pm
What about Tommy West?
Sweet Home Alabama
January 14th, 2010
12:08 pm
its bad enough to embarrass to conferance but too become a national joke is another.yOU were on the late night show last night.
brucemac
January 14th, 2010
12:08 pm
GT and GT Rich, it really must hurt that you got your azz beat by a worthless DC, no wonder you are obsessed with our search for a real DC. You apparently realize you will never win again once we hire a real DC. Sorry boys, you suck eggs and will continue to do so for years to come. Keep up the camouflage work, maybe nobody will notice that you are wishing you could hire a DC as good as Willie. You are too too funny.
Ned Striker
January 14th, 2010
12:09 pm
just wondering what my brother thinks….
DawgBuzz
January 14th, 2010
12:10 pm
Yeah, Grantham is the guy CMR wants. Looks like VanGorder is plan B if it doesn’t work out. Still beats Willie.
falcondawg
January 14th, 2010
12:12 pm
Either way it goes, Alec Ogeltree WILL turn our defence around!!
Dexter
January 14th, 2010
12:14 pm
funny I heard Grantham was talking to GT too
GT Rich
January 14th, 2010
12:15 pm
brucemac & LayinLow,
whatever. You AH’s said the same thing about KIRBY SMART IS COMING FOR SURE! Hahahahahahahaha. We shall see. LOOZERS!!
Ramon
January 14th, 2010
12:15 pm
Truthfully, I wish we were searching for another OC also. Its just something about Mike Bobo calling plays that never does anything to really surprise you. He runs 8 screens in one game, that total a gain of 5-6 yards, with 3 of the passes being incomplete. The opposing DC’s know they only have to prepare for 12 or 13 plays when playing UGA. Its safe to say last season the teams best coordinator was the special team’s coordinator (and yes I realize we didn’t have one of those, and that is exactly my point!). I remember when Bobo took over play calling for Richt, I really thought that it was going to get better. But it truly hasn’t. Without the fire that Moreno brought 2 seasons ago, how often do you remember the offense delivering a momentum changing play that was designed by the coach? Yea AJ Green made some great plays, but many of those plays would be plays that went for 35-40 yards where his YAC were 34-39 yards of it.
GT Rich
January 14th, 2010
12:17 pm
Think you guys will be preseason number one again next year if you get Grantham? HAHAHAHA! I say you get another taste of 45-42 in your own back yard and another Shreveport bowl. That’s what I’m talking about!
brucemac
January 14th, 2010
12:20 pm
No GT Rich, we are winners. You see when you score more than your opponent (even if they are from the weakest conference known to man), they declare you the winner. Loser would be what you were this November past and also in that embarrassing performance you displayed in the Orange Bowl. Did you give them their money back yet? Ha Ha Ha, yourself.
PowerDawg
January 14th, 2010
12:20 pm
Layinlow-
You have to give mentally challenged people a little slack. These dweebs from GT have nothing better to do than hurls anti-Dawg rhetoric because they don’t have a prayer of ever competing with us…in any sport, especially football.
They hired a dude that graduated before Monte did back in ‘49.
They are desperate.
They can’t even win a freakin’ bowl game, much less establish a true rivalry with us.
When BE-BE and the kids declared for the draft, their chance for repeating as ACC champs went right down the toilet along with ANY chance of competing with us. And big, droopy Johnson knows it!
Cheer up, candle-bugs. You still have the dynamic duo!
Jaybo and Josh…the “Lost Boy” and the best shot-putter in the conference!
SECfan
January 14th, 2010
12:22 pm
I was not sold on Grantham at first. But the more I read about him, he actually would not be a bad hire. He may have not done a great job when he was in Cleveland, but come on it’s Cleveland. They will always suck. But the defensive lines he has coached at Houston and Dallas were awesome. Not to mention the fact that he has coached under some great defensive coaches(Saban and Wade Phillips). If Georgia’s defense is ever going to gain it’s dominance back, they have to get a good rush from the front four. They have not done that since ‘07 when they had Marcus Howard’s speed off the edge. That is the reason the secondary has been so bad is because there is literally no rush from the line. Grantham just might be the guy to fix that problem.
GT Rich
January 14th, 2010
12:22 pm
bruceamac,
What were you at the end of the 45-42 game, in your own back yard, after leading by 16 at half time?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahaahlooozer, that’s what!
how2fish
January 14th, 2010
12:22 pm
GT Rich try talking to 8-1 go ahead explain it…
PMC
January 14th, 2010
12:23 pm
So why do they keep going after guys with complications? Why not try and find a Jim Johnson or Dick Lebeau diciple somewhere?
8 out of 9
January 14th, 2010
12:26 pm
Hey GT Rich or should I say St. Simons,
(((((((((((((((((8 out of 9)))))))))))))))))
(((((((((((((((((30-24))))))))))))))))))))))
(((((((((((((((((73-66))))))))))))))))))))))
Who’s the real loser here?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GT Rich
January 14th, 2010
12:26 pm
how2fish,
That’s 1-1 (Johnson)
Marlon Brown
January 14th, 2010
12:27 pm
Thanks grandma for steering me in the right direction.