UGA hires Grantham for $750,000 per year
(Updated 7 p.m.)
Athens – He last coached on the college level in 1998. He’ll make more money than Georgia has ever paid an assistant coach. He’ll change the Bulldogs’ defensive alignment to a 3-4.
He is Todd Grantham, and he is the answer to the question that dogged Georgia fans for 43 days: Who would coach Mark Richt hire as defensive coordinator?
“We have our man,” Richt said Friday as he named Grantham, the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive line coach, to fill the job that had been open since the Dec. 2 firing of Willie Martinez.
Grantham was known to have been on Richt’s radar for weeks, but at least three other candidates declined the job before it was offered to him. On Thursday night, Grantham accepted the same deal that Alabama defensive coordinator and former Georgia player Kirby Smart rejected three days earlier: a three-year, $750,000-per-year contract.
That salary will make Grantham the third highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football, behind only USC’s Monte Kiffin ($1.2 million plus a $300,000 bonus last season at Tennessee) and Texas’ Will Muschamp ($900,000). Georgia’s highest-paid assistants in 2009, Martinez and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, made $325,000 each, plus bonuses.
Grantham, 43, was an assistant coach at Virginia Tech and Michigan State in the 1990s but has spent the past 11 seasons in the NFL, including the past two with Dallas. His only previous experience as a coordinator was with the Cleveland Browns from 2005-07.
Grantham will begin work at Georgia when Dallas’ season ends. The Cowboys play Sunday at Minnesota in an NFL playoff game.
By phone from Dallas late Friday afternoon, Grantham took a break from preparing for the Vikings to discuss his new job and new team.
He said Georgia will switch from its traditional 4-3 base defense to the 3-4, meaning three linemen and four linebackers rather than vice versa.
“We’re going to an aggressive style 3-4,” he said.
He said two outside linebackers “are going to be coming … are going to be developed as pass rushers.” Two inside linebackers, he said, are “going to be downhill guys to the ball.”
Although the 3-4 will become the base defense, Grantham said the Dogs will use “multiple” defenses “to have the ability to match [the offense's] personnel.”
The end result, he said, will be “an aggressive, physical, attacking-style defense.”
Grantham, who has coached the defensive line for most of his career, said he’ll work instead with the linebackers at Georgia. He said that’s a good role for a coordinator because the linebackers coach spends time on the practice field with both the line and the secondary, depending on the drill.
The only holdover on Georgia’s defensive coaching staff is line coach Rodney Garner. Grantham said they have not met, but “I have heard good things about him, and I expect to be meeting him shortly.”
Two openings remain on the defensive staff — Richt fired three coaches last month — but Grantham said no decisions have been made on who will be hired for those spots.
“Coach Richt and I will be working this weekend and next week to try to iron some of those things out,” he said.
Grantham’s hire capped an arduous process in which Richt was rejected by three highly respected defensive coordinators: Virginia Tech’s Bud Foster, LSU’s John Chavis and Smart. Richt said Grantham, whom he did not know when the search began, was recommended highly by many other coaches during the protracted process. One known to have recommended him was Foster.
After Smart turned down the job Monday, Richt turned the focus to Grantham.
“The overriding factor throughout the entire process is I was very prayerful that in the end we got the right man for the job. And that’s exactly what happened,” Richt said. “It was not something I was trying to do at breakneck speed.
“Sometimes it’s easy to just get a person who is willing to come at the drop of a hat, but when you’re looking at the quality we were looking for, such as Todd, it doesn’t always happen overnight. I’m just thankful we stayed the course and ended up where we ended up.
“I really feel like we hit the jackpot,” he added.
Richt’s six-week search for a defensive coordinator generated extraordinary interest among Georgia fans who have been concerned about the play of the Bulldogs’ defense the past two years. The Bulldogs allowed 34 or more points in 10 of 26 games over those seasons — a culture shock for a program once known for stout defense.
“I think … we can get the defense back to the way it has been in the past,” Grantham said.
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793 comments Add your comment
Dawg Central
January 15th, 2010
8:36 pm
Ga Gator……look at Stafford and Moreno’s paycheck….then look at Harvins…..then go cry with Tim Tebow…..Go Dawgs!!
GT=Best Buy / Geek Squad Employee
January 15th, 2010
8:37 pm
Ohhhhhh little Louie! Now, are we gonna have to make you cry again like the girly-man are? Look here lollipop lips, your Tech “roommate” needs a “back massage”.
Silver Britches
January 15th, 2010
8:38 pm
TDawg is about to bring GATA back to UGA…these boys on Defense are licking their chops and CMR is loving it. Just imagine this “swarming D”. Nice hire and 2010 gonna get ugly. Go DAWGS!
Todd Grantham DC at UGA | The Recycle Bin
January 15th, 2010
8:49 pm
[...] the question that looms for Dawgs fans everywhere – is Grantham a good hire? According to the ajc.com, Grantham, 43, started his coaching career under Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech (1990-95) and then [...]
Louie
January 15th, 2010
9:05 pm
Go ahead mutt mouth. At least we stay dry at high TECH jobs, not like you necks fetching shopping carts at Wally World. Who wanted your Nation wide search for DC? Answer—- NOBODY
L M F A O!!!!!!!!!!!
snoopy
January 15th, 2010
9:10 pm
Reason
I agrre with you all of the snide remarks from fans that do not really folloow the DAWGS. You are right they come in late and half full of their koolaide. Leave before game is over and then we get to enjoy what is left over in the game. It is a shame they do not even respect themselves, much less anyone else. I for one like the hire of DC and we need Garner to stay. Let us support our DAWGS!!!! Let us show respect where respect is due.
GT=Best Buy / Geek Squad Employee
January 15th, 2010
9:28 pm
Sweet Louie, can’t you see the futility of looking in the mirror everyday wishing you were not a pimple faced, pencil neck goober who has a zero chance with women? Sorry there lil fella, but it is time for you to face some facts now that you are all grown up. The world can be a cruel place for people like you, pumpkin.
matty
January 15th, 2010
9:30 pm
By Thursday’s practice, it was clear to Jerry Jones that defensive line coach Todd Grantham would leave after the season to become defensive coordinator at the University of Georgia. Jones could have simply waited until after the playoffs ended to begin filling coaching vacancies, but there was an opportunity head coach Wade Phillips didn’t want to pass up. Phillips wanted Paul Pasqualoni, recently let go as defensive coordinator by Miami.
Believe it
Buckhead Bulldog
January 15th, 2010
9:30 pm
Louie: Who did Tech hire for their DC? Yeah! That is a long term situation. Grab a life, sparky!
matty
January 15th, 2010
9:39 pm
Forget the fighting back and fourth, Tech will NEVER recruit as well as GA. Period.
sthgaboy
January 15th, 2010
9:46 pm
Congrats Louie. Your little teckerhead gets to stay dry at Best Buy!
Dawgs rule the state!
Go DOGS
January 15th, 2010
9:58 pm
Keep dreaming Louie…you will end up as a “high TECH” traffic engineer studying the sequence of traffic lights at intersections for the DOT in THE RAIN. Hey! Tell your buds that I really do like the staggered red light system y’all got going on with the entrance ramps to 285 for rush hour. That took some serious thought…still got some knks in it, though. Maybe, you can hurry up and graduate and help them DOT boys out with your “high TECH” prowess?
Pitbull
January 15th, 2010
10:15 pm
Listen up recruits, Ga’s new Def. Cord has STRONG ties to the NFL. So if you guys want to get to play with the big boys. Ga is definitely the PLACE TO BE! Start counting your money boys!
Septic Tank Rules!
January 15th, 2010
10:19 pm
4th choice DC!!!! Wooohoooo!!!!
Athens still smells……
Tim
January 15th, 2010
10:49 pm
He stinks! Oh wait he accepted…he’s awesome and the one we wanted the whole time.
UGA Fan
January 15th, 2010
10:54 pm
Listen up recruits, this was our 4th or 5th choice and we had to pay him $750k (3rd highest in all of college football) so that when is looking for a job in 3 years that he will have a little cushion to live on.
PMDawg
January 16th, 2010
12:12 am
Louie, back for more abuse I see, lets try not to get too pissy this time okay? Nice hire for CPJ we’ll see if he can do anything for that D. As for Nov. we’ll be ready you can bank on that once you’ve see the Tech offense once its easy to defend.
PMDawg
January 16th, 2010
12:14 am
And to all the haters out there- why don’t you go back to your home state to root for your team? Oh, because your state sucks and there are no jobs, thats understandable…..I guess.
WILLie G
January 16th, 2010
5:25 am
U F BITH OR WHATEVER YOUR NAME IS GEORGIA WILL ALWAYS BE SUPERIOR TO TECH AND ANYTIME YOU WANT TO BET YOUR MINIMUM WAGR JOB MONEY CALL ME I WILL GLADLY TAKE IT IT . WINNERS TODAY SAINTS,CHARGERS, TOMORROW COLTS, AND VICKINGS AND DALLAS WILL BE TO CLOSE TO CALL.THE LAST TIME MINNESOTA WAS A 7 POINT FAVORITE IN A PLAYOFF GAME AT HOME ATLANTA WON SO TAKE DALLAS AND THE POINTS SO GRANTHAM MAY NOT BE AT THE GROUNDS OF ATHENS FOR A WHILE,GREAT HIRE RICHT!
WILLie G
January 16th, 2010
5:32 am
the problem with all other blogs they are not as exciting as uga , tech ,uf,alaabama , you all need to stop ranting you all are scared i would be scared of what is coming to uga this year also GARRISON SMITH WILL TEAR YOUR HEADS OFF WHEN HE GETS TO START see all you idiots wherever the bcs holds its stinking nc next year.
hope
January 16th, 2010
7:44 am
I like the aggressive defense. Willie m was killing me with his zone d. Gooo Dawgs!
DawgNation
January 16th, 2010
8:58 am
The aggressive stance Grantham is telling us he is going to take on the 3-4 defense is fine as long as he also teaches these players how to wrap up on a tackle instead of the stupid arm and shoulder tackling that is prevalent in football now. Who ever he and CMR hire as the DB coach needs to have the knowledge of how to teach tackling.
Louie
January 16th, 2010
9:05 am
Good thing you mutters FINALLY found a breathing body to fill the long void you had.
Now you have to recruit able BODIED PLAYERS to perform.
GT will get the players CPJ AND CAG need to over take this series, TRUST ME.
What will be the excuse we hear then?
Still… L M F A O
Man Enough
January 16th, 2010
9:15 am
To all of you saying that he was our #4 choice, I still say that he is maybe the best choice to start with. I think maybe he was only #4 because of the different style of D he runs. Maybe our staff wanted to stay the same route on our type of D and that was what made him the 4th choice. Allthough I had heard we were already talking to him before the Smart offer anyway. I think he will turn us around and we will be back to contending for the SEC title and even for a NC within the next couple of years. I think with the coaching carousel going on with Tenn. and Meyer’s uncertanty at UF will sway recruits our way, not to mention CTG’s NFL ties and experience. The future is bright for our Dawgs! Sic Em!!!!!!!!!!
Louie
January 16th, 2010
9:26 am
man-nuff. Maybe mutts bank account has a few more pennies left and you can hire Larry Munston to coach up your defense. He could stand on the sidelines and utter those morbid words..
” Hunker down you guys !!!!!!!
Still L M F A O
Jborodawg
January 16th, 2010
9:53 am
I agree with CMR, that it’s a great hire. He’ll bring an aggressive attitude to the D. From reading the dallasmorningnewsdotcom I gather that he’s highly regarded in Cowboys country. Here’s just one comment:
“….Nose tackle Jay Ratliff has been named to the Pro Bowl team the last two seasons and was an All-Pro pick this season. Stephen Bowen, Jason Hatcher and Marcus Spears have all improved under Grantham’s watch, and Igor Olshansky had a career-high 76 tackles, according to the coaches film, in his first year with the team.
“He can really dissect the offenses,” Bowen said earlier in the week. “He really shows you how to do your job but it’s not like you have to play like a robot where you have to do this and have to do that. He brings a lot of confidence to the group…”
Bring back the JYD! Go Dawgs!
Man Enough
January 16th, 2010
10:00 am
Over take the series? You Techies cant even take your boyfriends. 30-24 with Willie, what do you think is gonna happen with Grantham at the helm? 30-24 L M F A O!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dogfan
January 16th, 2010
10:06 am
Let’s get behind this guy and support him. Give him a chance to rebuild the defense.
Dawg Lover
January 16th, 2010
10:12 am
OOOOHHHH Yeah baby! It IS the year of the DAWG again!
DAWGS will win a national title with this change in coaches. Grantham will recruit all the right players, we will dominate the SEC and kick those “City Nerds” EVERY year!!
GOOOOOOO DAWGS! SIC EM WOOOF WOOOF WOOOF
Go DOGS
January 16th, 2010
11:05 am
Louie: What was your excuse for this past year against UGA? 30-24….if Bay Bay would have only caught that pass? Bawa ha ha ha LOSER!
SECfan
January 16th, 2010
12:56 pm
All the ignorant fans who think this is a bad hire because he coaches the d-line prove they do not have a clue about football. As a coach, there is no better person to run a defense than a defensive line coach. Games are won and lost at the line of scrimmage. That’s a fact. And who cares if Cleveland fired him. When was the last time any Cleveland football was worth a crap.
reality
January 16th, 2010
1:50 pm
mark richt is 2-7 VS. our biggest rival. a new DC wont solve the problem there. Richt is the problem. Since when are UGA fans ok with going 2-7 against florida. Am I alone in my outrage?
Dangerous
January 16th, 2010
4:14 pm
Great hire and now the D is in good hands. So now what for the O side of the ball? We are still lacking considerably there!
Go DOGS
January 16th, 2010
4:20 pm
Dangerous: Hello? BimBobo is just lacking “it”. Whatever the heck the “it” factor is, he ain’t got it.
Top Dawg 2
January 16th, 2010
6:01 pm
go Vikings! though I do like that he is going to GEORGIA.
Zeb
January 16th, 2010
8:57 pm
Dam guys….give it a rest. both Ga and GT got their guys. You all souhd like a bunch of pansy ass whiners. I’m a UGA fan but have respect for the GT program.as well. The bullsh!t that is spewed on these blogs makes me sick. Grow the EFF up please. Stop the dam trailor trash and nerd rhetoric that is just getting old. It was so much better on here when you had to pay to get on these blogs. Please bring that back as that will eliminate the 16 yr olds with access to mom’s computer
Gdawg
January 16th, 2010
10:17 pm
Why don’t all of you non-UGA fans get the hell off of this blog and worry about your own back yard. TG was a steal at $750K, and the results will prove me right. UGA is a great program and Richt is a great coach, a coach that brought stability to a program that was reeling for the better part of 15 years, due to Jan Kemp. Bottom line, UGA will be the “Beast from the East” very soon. I want to give a huge shout out to Kirby Smart for turning us down, because we got a lot more value in Grantham. I wish Kirby the best, but in my opinion, he can’t carry TG’s jock strap. Go DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gdawg
January 16th, 2010
10:30 pm
CMR,
I want to thank you for taking your time and making a great choice for DC. I know that on the surface people may seem to think that you did not get your first choice, but I am very impressed with TG’s resume. Also, he has worked for and with some great defensive minds. So, thank you for managing this team effectively, and thank you for making those very tough decisions (letting coaches go). Lastly, I have witnessed first hand, Mike Bobo’s progression as an offensive coordinator. No, he has not been perfect, but he has been more than adequate. I just hope that Bobo hangs with us. Let me suggest that if UGA’s offense has a great year in 2010 that you pay Bobo Grantham type money. I like the fact that you have developed this guy, and I really like his sense of urgency and his approach at doing his job. CMR, I will keep you in my prayers, and I have always and will continue to be a huge supporter of yours and the Dawgs.
Hey recruits, come on up to Athens. It is the most beautiful campus in the nation and you will get to play for some of the best men in the business, while earning a fantastic education.
Sincerely,
Gdawg
PHIL
January 16th, 2010
11:39 pm
GDawg:
You belong on this blog like a gorilla belongs in Antarctica. Very well spoken.
Zeb
January 17th, 2010
12:40 pm
Come on people! The last time I checked this was a free market economy(until Obama get’s his hands in it). Don’t be jealous of what people make, everyone on here has the same opportunity. All of this speculation about who got the best hire is pure conjecture at this point. Be dam happy about who your team signed, get behind them, and hope your season improves next year. After reading some of the comments on here, half of you are either AD’s, HC’s, DC’s or played in college and the NFL……I’m guessing NOT and you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. So how bout you just STFU with all of your “impressing” knowledge of the game of football and let these people run the dam show. Once again AJC…..please bring back the pay blogs………..we used to have a lot of fun in those days.
UGA hires Grantham for $750000 per year | UGA Sports | Breakings New
January 18th, 2010
1:05 pm
[...] here: UGA hires Grantham for $750000 per year | UGA Sports Share and [...]
Headlinin’: And Tennessee whiffs on Cutcliffe, too | Florida Sports Net
January 26th, 2010
1:18 am
[...] • Georgia on their minds. At least somebody in the South is getting their man: Georgia Tech is prepared to bring on ex-Virginia coach Al Groh as its defensive coordinator, which could portend a shift to the 3-4 in Atlanta; and Georgia, after striking out on bigger names Bud Foster and Kirby Smart, has reportedly landed Dallas Cowboys defensive line coach Todd Grantham as its new defensive coordinator — an expensive one, at that — replacing the much-maligned Willie Martinez. [ESPN, Atlanta Journal-Constitution] [...]
Larry
February 19th, 2010
3:12 pm
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