Grantham: Garner will remain D-line coach
Athens — New Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said today that Rodney Garner, the only holdover from the Bulldogs’ previous defensive staff, will coach the nose tackle and defensive end positions.
“As we move forward, that would be what he would do,” Grantham said.
Garner coached defensive tackles in Georgia’s former 4-3 defense, but the team will convert to a 3-4 — three down linemen and four linebackers rather than vice versa — under Grantham. Garner also is Georgia’s recruiting coordinator.
Grantham spoke highly of Garner, whom he had not met until this week.
“I think Rodney is a very passionate guy,” Grantham said. “He’s been here at the University of Georgia and they’ve had success, and I think if you look at where he has been before, they’ve had success there. I think Rodney has value, and I look forward to working with him and letting him help our defense. I really look forward to that.”
With the hiring of Grantham from the Dallas Cowboys as defensive coordinator and Scott Lakatos from the University of Connecticut as secondary coach, one opening remains on Georgia’s defensive staff. Coach Mark Richt fired three defensive coaches last month.
The current plan is to fill the remaining opening with an additional linebackers coach, said Grantham, who also plans to coach that position.
“It’s not etched in stone right now,” Grantham said, “but [the final hire] is probably going to be a linebackers coach. . . . That’s kind of the direction we’re heading right now.”
As for a timetable on making that hire, Grantham said: “I think we’re very flexible on it. It could be soon; it could be late. I think as [Richt] and I talk over the course of the next few weeks, we’re going to get the right guy in here so that we can have a solid staff from a teaching standpoint. Because I think teaching is very critical.”
If an additional linebackers coach is hired, that person would coach either the inside or outside linebackers, with Grantham coaching the other. Grantham said he has no preference between coaching the inside or outside ‘backers.
Lakatos said today that Richt told him special-teams coaching assignments would be sorted out after the staff is complete and recruiting is finished.
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143 comments Add your comment
Uncle Willie
January 22nd, 2010
1:32 pm
What makes you think that Grantham is going to be better than kirby; bitterness? His defense certainly didnt show up against Minnesota!
a
January 22nd, 2010
1:32 pm
pollack’s future is in tv and radio? are you kidding? all the guy does is spread baseless rumors and claim to have inside connections – case and point, the kirby smart thing wouldn’t have been that big of a deal unless he had made it one. tv and radio personalities are supposed to understand journalistic practices, standards and ethics – pollack understands none of the above.
Uncle Willie
January 22nd, 2010
1:34 pm
what kind of crap do you think that these guys we are reading is. pollack will be great and is already on several natl shows.
PowerDawg
January 22nd, 2010
1:35 pm
Very few D-1 college teams have a designated full-time special teams coach. They are limited on the number of staff they can hire. It’s not like the NFL where there is a coach for everything.
Many times several of the coaches have some experience in the area of ST. We did pretty good in the bowl with GA’s. It is not a necessary hire.
Besides, we have the best punter and one of the top three place-kickers in the country. And nobody has a kick returner any more dangerous than Boykin…nobody.
Gray, Thomas or Smith will handle punt returns. That leaves punt and kick-off coverage. This has already been addressed by CMR…better athletes and more SPEED. (No more walk-ons on the kicking teams like Fabris was famous for!)
My question to the guy that wants Van Halanger fired is why? He is doing a good job with these kids. They are in the top five among SEC teams as far as growth and strength increase percentages. Their average muscle-mass gain and total weight increase are among the best in the league. Their strength increase percentage, (how much weight they are able to lift) are also well above the league average. What else do you want?
This ain’t prison, dude. They can’t lift weights all day, every day. They have to go to class, attend meetings, practice, do homework, eat, sleep…
Get real.
Uncle Willie
January 22nd, 2010
1:36 pm
Van Halanger(aka powerdog) quit tooting your own horn.
a
January 22nd, 2010
1:37 pm
pollack is a hack job, uncle willie. you know it, i know it, we all know it.
Uncle Willie
January 22nd, 2010
1:39 pm
a, yea but at least he beat those nasty gators once in his career.
Cunk Rogers
January 22nd, 2010
1:40 pm
Grantham needs to make sure he gets a linebackers coach who can teach, motivate and inspire the GATA ATTITUDE. Go Dawgs!!!!!!!!!!
bamadawg
January 22nd, 2010
1:47 pm
Georgia ranked 117th in kick-return defense and 82nd in punt-return defense last year. They gave up, on average, 22-yards per kick return. How much of that was due to the decision to use directional kicking is uncertain, but it definitely didn’t help matters much.
IT is our ST DEFENSE that is so bad guys…look at the facts…we need help!!! why put the D in a hole after practically every kickoff!!! I’m just sayin…it is so obvious…duh?
a
January 22nd, 2010
1:47 pm
good point, uncle willie. good point.
Grandad
January 22nd, 2010
1:54 pm
What about Andy McCollum, Ga. boy [Marietta] and according to Rex, he wants to be here.
bamadawg
January 22nd, 2010
1:55 pm
UncleWillie…the Dallas D-line showed up not the safety’s and corners…remember Farve had 3/4 td passes…line was not the problem dude…get on your GT nerd site you bug us…
Cunk Rogers
January 22nd, 2010
1:55 pm
Gator Cadets baby!
Cunk Rogers
January 22nd, 2010
2:02 pm
Grayson Thompson would make a Helluva Great LB Coach!
alphadawg
January 22nd, 2010
2:02 pm
No need to get in a hurry though. It’s good that they haven’t announced this hire yet, maybe it will be Jones, who knows? But it looks like from way back here that CMR and CTG are making the decision jointly, which I’m taking as a positive sign. So far, so good…
Dawg 3/20
January 22nd, 2010
2:04 pm
He knows who is daddy is, he can introduce Coach Grantham to him on October 30th.
Bama Dave
January 22nd, 2010
2:05 pm
Garner is a hired gun!!! He will NEVER amount to anything in the coaching ranks and will never be a D1 HC or DC. It’s bad that the barn would not even hire him with all the openings they have had in the last few years???
If Saban wanted ole Rod, he would walk to Tuscaloosa to be on a winnning team!!!
Roll Tide!!! NC’s baby!!!
bamadawg
January 22nd, 2010
2:09 pm
BTW…Adrian Peterson was held to 6oish yards by the Dallas D-line…now smoke on that stat unclewillie dude
Nerd Central @ North Ave
January 22nd, 2010
2:09 pm
I’m back, baby!!!!!! Your coaches can assemble all the staff they want. They are still going to get beat on the last week in November by the boys from North Ave. Get ready for it; you know its coming! Oh, and……..(((((((45-42)))))))!!!! You know how much it still burns because you love to bring it up all the time.
bamadawg
January 22nd, 2010
2:10 pm
Adrian Peterson held to 60ish yds. pretty good D-line play
Cunk Rogers
January 22nd, 2010
2:10 pm
Take the sucker out your mouth Bama Dave when you are speaking to ADULTS!
Eat and Tweet
January 22nd, 2010
2:12 pm
Is that so powderdawg? Then tell us why is it that teams like vandy and kentucky push our guys around on the line of scrimmage? Why do players like Jeff Owens eat at fast food restaurants every day ?
Grantham Talking And Garner Staying At UGA | MrSEC.com
January 22nd, 2010
2:15 pm
[...] look at where he has been before, they’ve had success there. I think Rodney has value, and I look forward to working with him and letting him help our defense.”It’s expected that Grantham will hire another [...]
Not That There Was Much Doubt « The Grit Tree
January 22nd, 2010
2:20 pm
[...] 2010 Uncategorized Leave a Comment …but Coach Grantham officially states that Garner will indeed coach D-line next year. This includes the nose tackle and defensive ends in the new 3-4 [...]
BobDog
January 22nd, 2010
2:24 pm
What is the deal with the strength and conditioning coach. I know that Kevin Butler and Buck Belue have both had things to say about player strength and development. The S&C coach was brought in from FSU, where they had a fair amount of success. Has he forgotten what to do?
bamadawg
January 22nd, 2010
2:26 pm
Bama Dave…Go SEC, but you go home to your trailor park in Tuscaloosa…do you have amnesia or just stupid…Shula guided you too a brilliant 26/23 record earlier this decade and then Franchione left you for Texas A&M like Kiffin did to Tenn., oh, and then your famous strippergate head coach – Mike Price…beware, only a fool forgets where they came from!!!!!111
RxDawg
January 22nd, 2010
2:26 pm
Good post power dawg. You actually sound like you know what your talking about
Uncle Willie is an Idiot
January 22nd, 2010
2:29 pm
The Dallas offense did not show up! The defense actually kept them in the game. Romo is terrible.
Nerd Central are you serious? 30-24!!!!!!!! 8 out of 9, bug man!!!!!! PJ is not as great as you think he is. We will continue to assemble an exceptional staff and continue to pound on your head every November because Ealie and King, “Run this state!”
Eat and Tweet
January 22nd, 2010
2:29 pm
Gosh sounds like we have some blind homers for the S & C coach just like they were for ole Willie.
PowerDawg
January 22nd, 2010
2:36 pm
Uncle Willie- it’s PowerDawg! Get it right, genius!
BamaDave- Do you even know what the context of the term “Hired Gun”means?
Eat and Tweet- Neither one of the teams you mentioned “pushed us around”. We beat Vandy and TO’s cost us the game against the the kitties. By the way, tweetness…your boyfriend wants his boa back.
maddawg
January 22nd, 2010
2:37 pm
Bama Dave,
Did they have a teacher furlough day over there today or did you just skip?
1eyedJack
January 22nd, 2010
2:37 pm
Nerd Central….Go somewhere.
Eat and Tweet….Big men love Big Macs.
Caleb King…..First Down!!
Washaun….TOUCHDOWN!!!!
Travis Jones…..I’m with you fellas!
shannon1776
January 22nd, 2010
2:39 pm
NatureBoy, you said: “Natureboy809
January 22nd, 2010
12:43 pm
sswinfordawg- hiring a ST coach would be a waste?!?! Have you watched UGA cover kickoffs lately? Special teams are 1/3 of the game.”
With all due respect, ST’s are NOT 1/3rd of the game. They are roughly 14% of the game. 3/4 of the ST area were great by UGA last year. So, appx. 4/5 plays per game need to improve, so you want to waste money on having a coach deal with that ? When a LB coach would eal with appx. 50% of the plays???????
That is crazy. You want a LB coach trying to get stud defensive recruits in here? or do you want a special teams coach doing that???????????????????????????????????
CJJScout
January 22nd, 2010
2:45 pm
Like what he says about teaching being critical. Our tackling has been lacking the fundamentals.
Case Quarter
January 22nd, 2010
2:49 pm
Not to say it is impossible, but I doubt we are getting anymore NFL assistants, who currently have jobs, and are expected to make a lateral move to college (i.e., Travis Jones). Unless we definitely know to coach wants to move back to college (for lesser pay)… I doubt it.
Mirna from smyrna
January 22nd, 2010
2:50 pm
Travis Jones is making 500K in the NFL.
It ain’t going to happen! I wish it would but don’t count on it.
cajdawg
January 22nd, 2010
2:51 pm
Travis Jones has a great resume but wouldn’t it make sense to get a LB coach that has coached 3-4 LBs?
Cunk Rogers
January 22nd, 2010
2:52 pm
Good one maddawg! The only item I find wrong in your posting is that you allude that they indeed have “Teachers” in Alabamie. You first have to have folks with IQ’s higher than 50 to teach. That my friend they are in short supply of!
Dawg in Augusta
January 22nd, 2010
3:00 pm
I like what I am reading about this guy and the 3-4. If the opposition is left to guess which linebacker is going to run at the QB, it will create confusion…especially for inexperienced college QBs. It should be fun to watch.
And….yes, Coach, many of us Dawg fans love to bark when a defender lays the wood! Give us a reason!!! Please! I love to watch an offense fear a defense. We haven’t had that in quite a while. I, for one, will bark louder.
maddawg
January 22nd, 2010
3:02 pm
Nerd Central @ North Ave or Saint Simons or whatever name your posting under this week,
from your post at 2:09 PM
“Get ready for it; you know its coming!” That’s what Paul Johnson said to you last night.
“you know how much it still burns” that was your reply
maddawg
January 22nd, 2010
3:05 pm
Cunk,
They’re only that high along their eastern border!
Cunk Rogers
January 22nd, 2010
3:08 pm
Maddawg, he also added “you knows I likes it dat way”!!!
Mirna from smyrna
January 22nd, 2010
3:12 pm
Anyone know if Willie caught on somewhere else?
maddawg
January 22nd, 2010
3:24 pm
We need to go after Grayson Thompson!!!!!!!!
He’s from Santeee Cooper and knows the SEC as well as anybody.
That would be the final icing on the cake.
Go get him CMR!!!!!!!
CPJ
January 22nd, 2010
3:33 pm
Somebody find me Al Groh’s viagra … HE MY FRIDAY NIGHT THANG BABY!!!!
To: BamaDawg
January 22nd, 2010
3:35 pm
BamaDawg ……….you said it exactly right. Alabama had about 45 coaches within a three year span. That Mike Price thing was a hoot. Stripper /Cheapo Motel Gate and he was gone in 45 seconds. When Nick bails (and he will next year) they will be in the wilderness again for 10-15 years. There are very few Sabans and simply 0 Bear Bryants of the world.
Bama fans …………enjoy your over due success but always remember were you came from.
Go Dogs.
CPJ
January 22nd, 2010
3:36 pm
Oh yeah … and bring me that vibrating 8uttplug Urban Meyer gave me for Valentines Day last year ….
It’s delicious …
Knuckle Sandwich
January 22nd, 2010
3:36 pm
I certainly probably hope that the D is better next year
The NFL, per Coach Groh
January 22nd, 2010
3:43 pm
As a big time HS recruit, imagine being spoken to by Tech’s Groh. He will recall the 1958 Baltimore Colts ( yes Baltimore ) and the NY Gaints ( they were in NY too ) and how wonderful that game was with Don Amechi and Lenny Moore and Frank Gifford and of course, Unitas.
The recruit? He will be thinking, “um coach must be talking about the Super Bowl of 1981 or something.” When Groh mentions the KC Chiefs vs Vikings 1970 Super Bowl, and he speaks of Francis Tarkenton, the kid will wonder if they allowed gals to play in the NFl in the good ole days.
Recruiting is all about building a repoire and communication. With the 1958 NFL Championship game memory and the 1970 Super Bowl and Hank Stram, Groh will really connect with today’s kids. HAHAHAHAHA
Vince's Dooley
January 22nd, 2010
3:49 pm
Damon and Mark, have you heard anything back from the Jenny Craig folks on us pitching Todd to them as a spokesman? I’d rather not call Subway, if possible. Thanks