UPDATED: McGarity meets with Grantham, SEC reviews confrontation at Vanderbilt
Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham (R) confronts Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin after Franklin allegedly yelled at one of the Bulldogs' players at the end of Georgia's 33-28 win in Nashville on Saturday.
UPDATED WITH COMMENTS FROM VANDERBILT COACH JAMES FRANKLIN (1:33 P.M.) AND GREG McGARITY AT TOUCHDOWN CLUB OF ATLANTA MEETING (1:45 P.M) .
UPDATED WITH COMMENTS FROM TODD GRANTHAM (11:25 A.M.). . .
ATHENS — Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity has already met with defensive coordinator Todd Grantham regarding the postgame confrontation with Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin on Saturday and the Southeastern Conference is in the process of reviewing the incident.
McGarity, who was in Nashville on Saturday, said he discussed the situation with Georgia head coach Mark Richt by telephone on Sunday, then met with Grantham face-to-face at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall early Monday morning. Meanwhile, both Georgia and Vanderbilt have been asked by SEC Commissioner Mike Slive to submit written reports to the league office for review.
“I spoke with the Commissioner earlier today and they are in a sort of fact-finding process now,” McGarity said. “We’ll submit a report either verbal or in writing. I’m sure Vandy will do the same and then, basically, we’ll see what happens at that point in time.”
As for his meeting with Grantham, McGarity said, “I’d just say those discussions will remain private, but I’ve addressed it with both Coach Richt and Coach Grantham. There were lessons to be learned here. Obviously the conduct that was displayed was not representative of how we want to conduct ourselves after a hard-fought game.”
Grantham and Franklin were caught on video in a heated, finger-pointing exchange immediately after Georgia’s 33-28 win over Vanderbilt had concluded. Moments before that, Franklin is observed yelling at Georgia safety Shawn Williams.
The Bulldogs were flagged three times for personal fouls in the game and, in one instance, it appears Georgia noseguard Kwame Geathers tries to punch a Vanderbilt player. But McGarity said UGA’s reports to the SEC will not address anything that took place during the game.
“The conference does that anyway,” he said. “That’s part of their normal, standard operating procedures where they’ll go through it. Each team submits plays to review and they review things without either team submitting them. That’s just basic standard operating procedure there, things that happen during the game. I’m sure they’ll review the clips and I’m sure they’ll review the personal fouls. They do that all the time. That’s part of their weekly tasks.”
SEC Associate Commissioner Charles Bloom confirmed the postgame confrontation is being investigated.
“The conference office is gathering information from all parties about the incident,” Bloom said via email. “Too early to comment on it.”
Bloom indicated the SEC might have a response by Tuesday.
Grantham, in his second season as the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator, was reprimanded by UGA last year after directing a choke signs toward Florida kicker Chas Henry before he tried a game-winning field attempt in overtime.
Grantham told the AJC Monday morning he regretted his actions after Saturday’s game.
“First of all, I love my players and appreciate their hard work and investment in our program,” Grantham said. “I feel a responsibility and loyalty to protect and stand up for them. However, I feel it’s important to educate them in all areas of life. While my intentions were genuine, I feel it was unfortunate that things escalated to a confrontation. However, I’ll use it as a learning experience for myself as well as my players so that we all become better men.”
Meanwhile, Franklin was asked at his weekly news conference on Monday if he had followed up on the incident. He said he Richt talked via telephone about the situation on Sunday and indicated there had been some correspondence with the SEC office.
“We have a very, very talented commissioner and they’ll do their job and do what they think is right and we’re going to move forward,” Franklin said as video of his 1 p.m. news conference was streamed live via the school’s website. “I have tremendous respect for the University of Georgia, their history, their program, their coach. We had a hard fought battle with a lot of passion, with a lot of emotion. . . . Some things got a little bit out of hand and I know myself and Coach Richt — I don’t want to speak for him — would have liked for the game to have ended a little differently and been able to just walk off the field.”
Asked specifically if he had any personal regrets with the way he behaved at the end of the game, Franklin said: “I’m not a guy who really has a whole lot of regrets. I’m pretty calculated and pretty well thought out for the most part with the things I do. I am an emotional guy, as you guys know.”
Speaking to the Touchdown Club of Atlanta today, Greg McGarity had more to say about the matter:
“I think the whole story will come out at some point in time. Right now both institutions are basically filing a report to the Southeastern Conference office on really what happened from Todd’s standpoint and, I’m sure, from Coach Franklin’s standpoint. That will go to the commissioner, and then we’ll see where things go after that. But I don’t think there’s any question that . . . at the end of the day that’s not the way you want to end athletics competition. It’s kind of like Mark said after the game: ‘At the end of the game, you want to go over there and shake the opponent’s hand and move on to the next game.’
“I won’t get into specifics, but I think if you ask Todd if he had to do it over again, I think he definitely would do some things differently. I think that’s not the way you want to represent your institution on either side. At the end of the day, I think you’ll see that. But I know Todd is in the process of making a statement. We want to get ahead of this and deal with it up front to where there’s nothing out there that we need to be worrying about the rest of the week.
“It was kind of like we saw at the end of the NFL [49ers-Lions game] yesterday –- I think we had a situation there with a couple of coaches. Things get heated. There probably are a lot of things people would like to take back, but at the end of the day that’s not what needs to happen in college athletics. We need to talk about the student-athletes and what they did that day — and not reduce it to where things off the field are the topic of discussion during that day. So it’s something we’re really not proud of, and we’ll deal with it and learn from it and also teach our student athletes on the positives and negatives of situations like that.”
AJC reporter Tim Tucker contributed to this report.
|– Chip Towers and Tim Tucker
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714 comments Add your comment
GBR
October 17th, 2011
3:39 pm
The Vandy coach sounded like he had a chip on his shoulder. His comments could also serve to goad his players to playing close to what is allowed by the rules because they have been the whipping boys for so long. As for Geathers punching the guy while on the ground, the punch could have been the result of chop block or even several of chop blocks.,.
Move on
October 17th, 2011
3:40 pm
gt4ever,
thats big talk after a spanking by Virgin-ia.
lol
TampaDawg
October 17th, 2011
3:42 pm
CPJ
October 17th, 2011
3:33 pm
Tampadawg….check what Vandy did to your great D.
————————
Yeah, did you see what your great offense did to UVA? And your defense? That scoreboard is speaking volumes right now.
nwfladawg fan
October 17th, 2011
3:44 pm
i did think both coaches need to go to the corner and come out fighting….but game was like that….
beat vandy dawgs ….and we did…gators next…and todd will go after will…musrat
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 17th, 2011
3:47 pm
Well Grantham got over excited again
Richt will put him in timeout
so our defense will revert back to crap for a few games
Hope Bobo can score inside the 30 for once we will need it since we have to deal a milk toast D for several games
Dawg Gone
October 17th, 2011
3:47 pm
@CPJ news flash Bug Vandy is better than your Bug bunch…
Word on the street
October 17th, 2011
3:48 pm
is Grantham is about to get a two game suspension from the SEC.
oakwood dawg
October 17th, 2011
3:51 pm
just when i thought we had a pretty good team, especially the defensive side of the ball Vandy, of all teams, shows me that we are mediorce at best. the gaytors, as usual, will beat us and so will auburn, ga tech and possibly kentucky. lets face it—we have very good talent but not a very good team. I see us winning no more than 7 games this year.
Big Dawg
October 17th, 2011
3:51 pm
Observer and others yes Coach Russell was a gentleman with fire, but I can tell you from first hand experience because I played at Georgia for Coach Dooley and Coach Russell he would have done the exact same thing that Coach Grantham did except he probably would have punched Coach Franklin out somewhere after the game. You did not mess with or say anything bad to one of his players. Next Coach Grantham showed these players that he has their backs and will not let them be harasshed by opposing Coaches.
Coach Franklin insitigated this and should be reprimanded and punished by the SEC for unethical conduct in saying anything of a derogatory nature to an opposing team player. The correct manner would have been to meet privately with Coach Richt and Grantham to discuss. There were flagrant personal fouls by both teams, plus chop blocking by Vandy.
Go Dawgs
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 17th, 2011
3:51 pm
gt4never
You ready for the beatdown coming to a theatre near you.
The Movie is entitled
Mighty Miami and The Triple Option That Couldnt
Southgadawg
October 17th, 2011
3:52 pm
I would vote for ctg for president of the usa
lomelt
October 17th, 2011
3:53 pm
Coach Grantham admits he got caught up in the moment and should of handled things a bit differently. I don’t think anyone out there has not done something like that in their life. Hind sight is always better, right? I think there are bigger problems here that led to this event which involves more that CTG, but more on CMR. I support CMR and think he is the best coach UGA has seen in many years and would be very difficult to replace, but he needs to address the personal foul problem, there is no reason for punching in a football game unless it is on the street. We have to get that through to all the players. Secondly is when are we going to hire a great offensive co.? Bobo is not even a good coach but we need someone who is great. That is the only way we will ever see the likes of a National Championship or even SEC these days. I went to school with Bobo and i thought he was a mediocre QB and now as a coach he makes bad play call decisions. Example first possession against Vandy on 3rd and 5 from the 40 or so we go for the endzone??? why??? we could have just went for 5 yds and not asked Walsh to kick a 50 yd fg and took more time off the clock. He does sh** like that all the time. CMR and McGarity need to address this far more than CTG and i hope they will at the end of this season.
Move on
October 17th, 2011
3:54 pm
no way anyone gets any suspensions after the game. No one threw any punches. they just yelled at each other. Whats wrong with that? geez do we need to buy them some pink sweatbands and tell them that its ok to wear them cause its breast cancer awareness week…. where are the men anymore. we got a bunch of pansys
Tater Tot
October 17th, 2011
3:55 pm
Bob Kelly
October 17th, 2011
2:54 pm
I have been a season ticket holder for many years and the actions of this coach over the last two years have been unacceptable
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Go stick a sock in your mouth Mr. Ungratefull
TampaDawg
October 17th, 2011
3:57 pm
oakwood dawg=IMPOSTER DAWG FAN. No one bought it dude. Go trolling with the other techies on the clemson blogs.
Leg Humping Mutts Stink
October 17th, 2011
3:57 pm
Your players are dirty, lying cheats, and the video will prove it. Stupid mutts…..
Mike
October 17th, 2011
3:58 pm
RIght or wrong in his behavior… Coach G made it clear to his players that he has got their back. They will remember that moment.
Truth
October 17th, 2011
3:59 pm
Bob Kelly played on the UGA National Championship team. He deserves your respect Most of you posters sre a bunch of trailer trash that has never seen the inside of a claasroom at UGA.
ATL Barb
October 17th, 2011
4:02 pm
Wish Coach Richt had some of Coach Grantham’s fire! Maybe then the players would play with a better attitude…not look as though they are defeated before game begins. Once I’d like to see them play with ATTITUDE when the game begins. Bobo needs to go & a new play caller come in. Also Richt needs to be more aggressive with 4th down calls.
TampaDawg
October 17th, 2011
4:02 pm
Leg Humping Mutts Stink
October 17th, 2011
3:57 pm
Your players are dirty, lying cheats, and the video will prove it. Stupid mutts…..
————————
The only thing the video will prove is that you’re still an idiot who turned the tv off as soon as it became apparent that the DAWGS were about to win another game.
rdawg
October 17th, 2011
4:02 pm
CTG has brought fire and passion to the defense at Georgia that’s why so many recruits wanna play for him in his system. He is the reason Georgia is doing so well. Its like this if you where to yell at one of my daughters for something that you didn’t approve of I’d clime your ass to thats my job and thats what Grantham did. As a head coach Franklin was in the wrong take care of your team and your players not ours. We obviously have the right defensive coordinator now if we had an offensive coordinator with half as much fire as CTG we would be putting up big numbers and finishing drives. You no why we have the best punter and place kicker in the league, because no other teams kickers are used as much as ours. I say GATA and don’t apologize make these other teams respect us
RMH
October 17th, 2011
4:04 pm
Georgia’s number 36 came to the Vanderbilt sideline after the game and began taunting (in his face)Coach Franklin. Coach Franklin told Grantham about it and it escalated from there. (I attended the game and saw it).
Tater Tot
October 17th, 2011
4:08 pm
DawginLex
October 17th, 2011
3:26 pm
We really ned IGNORE buttons on these blogs.
We REALLY need to be able to post under one e-mail/IP address with a blog monitor working full time.
Without it, these blogs are bcoming a big joke and not worth anyone’s time
———————————————————–
Your not kidding. We sure do. I at times wonder if some of the posters are actually the reporters at AJC bored off their ying yangs with nothing better to do than to stir the pot under aliases being they have the power to ban you off here as well if what is said is not to their liking. Just my two cents.
Water Boy
October 17th, 2011
4:08 pm
Bulldog brothers, we have ourselves a defensive coordinator. What is NOT shown is the behavior of Coach Franklin. If Grantham is dynamite, Franklin is the lighted fuse who caused the situation to blow up. Now, take that passion to Jacksonville and let’s GATA!!
Tater Tot
October 17th, 2011
4:10 pm
RMH
October 17th, 2011
4:04 pm
Georgia’s number 36 came to the Vanderbilt sideline after the game and began taunting (in his face)Coach Franklin. Coach Franklin told Grantham about it and it escalated from there. (I attended the game and saw it).
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Why are you reposting this from another blog. I read them all on here. I highly doubt you attended the game except in your drunken state of mind.
TampaDawg
October 17th, 2011
4:11 pm
RMH
October 17th, 2011
4:04 pm
Georgia’s number 36 came to the Vanderbilt sideline after the game and began taunting (in his face)Coach Franklin. Coach Franklin told Grantham about it and it escalated from there. (I attended the game and saw it).
——————————-
Williams was telling Franklin about his displeasure with the ankle twisting under the pile, the chop blocking, eye gouging and the attempts to achieve maximum wedgies. I was the camera guy standing next to Franklin and I saw it.
Actually, let’s just let the video show what happened. Seeing as how parts of your story already don’t line up with the video.
DAN
October 17th, 2011
4:12 pm
Vandy guys were taking cheap shots all night. UGA guys feel prey to the “he who retailiates gets caught” maxim. Vandy players are just an extension of no-class their coach. Have you ever seen a head coach go after an opposing player after the game? My hat is off to Coach Grantham.
And, for crying out loud, isn’t it kinda funny to be talking about Vandy as cheap shot aritsts?
gt4ever
October 17th, 2011
4:12 pm
Big Dawg,
Pure HORSECRAP…. Erk would have never lost his cool with another coach!
Brian Asselstine
October 17th, 2011
4:12 pm
If Franklin made any comment, Grantham should have dropped his butt on the 50. McGarity needs to stand by his coach. If TG was wrong, McGarity should handle it behind closed doors. UGA defense, though not perfect, has shown signs of maturity. Over the next year or so, they have poetential to be a top D in the SEC. Still not close to LSU or Bama but much improved. Didn’t everyone rip CMR for no emotion or fire? Well this guy has it and it looks like players are finally getting his scheme and playing hard for him. We have not seen that since Van Gorder left.
Buzzzzzzzz
October 17th, 2011
4:13 pm
Georgia Tech has the nation’s highest average SAT score for football players, and also the highest average high school GPA.
UGA, on the other hand, had one of the very lowest SAT averages, as well as a very low GPA average. As a result, three-fourths of UGA players are “special admits,” when means that they can not meet the minimum educational and intelligence requirements for admission to UGA, even as low as that is.
Yes, it would be great if Tech was more competitive with UGA, but most Tech fans are proud of our heritage of having intelligent, responsible athletes who go on to rewarding careers and contribute to society.
Contrast this with the very unintelligent t-h-u-g-s that UGA recruits. The 45 arrests over the last four years is proof enough, not to mention winning the Fulmer Cup. Most of these goons are tossed out after their eligibility is over, and many end up on welfare.
UGA is clearly just a football f-a-c-t-o-r-y dedicated to winning at all costs, and most UGA fans are okay with this, with no concern about the embarrassment this brings to the State of Georgia.
Mark Richt is the architect of this situation. With his $3.5 million salary, he will continue to recruit the illiterate brain-dead t-h-u-g-s who he thinks will win. Unfortunately for UGA fans, he’s not remotely in the same league with the top coaches in the SEC.
So the bottom line is that Georgia Tech – win or lose – does so with honor and integrity, while the lowlife gangbangers in Athens continue to embarrass us all.
DawginLex
October 17th, 2011
4:14 pm
This is all part of Richt’s master plan
Good cop-Richt
Bad cop-Grantham
Behind closed doors they are laughing.
Playing out exactly like they want it.
McGarity is in the room laughing with them
Half Century Dawg Fan
October 17th, 2011
4:14 pm
Big Dawg
October 17th, 2011
3:51 pm
Well said Big Dawg
icedawg
October 17th, 2011
4:15 pm
Should not be so surprising in this day and age. Civility has been thrown out the door. Being a “gentleman” is no longer fashionable. It’s all about being in your face and intimidation. Macho is the best. We’ve become a “wrestler” culture.
LCDawg
October 17th, 2011
4:16 pm
Franklin started the whole thing. He started screaming at Shawn Williams after the game and Grantham stepped in. Of course if Shawn Williams hadn’t acted like he made a super bowl saving tackle after every hit the whole thing would have never happened.
DIT
October 17th, 2011
4:18 pm
Oh, here comes the tek rhetoric. We have better gpa’s than UGA. Must really stink to get clocked by an unranked, irrelevant football program like UVA.
It’s a football blog. If you can’t handle the football blog, go to back to your cooking blog.
TampaDawg
October 17th, 2011
4:19 pm
Buzzzzzzzz …. snoooooozzzzzzzzzzzzeeeee. Same tired, debunked, baseless and mostly factless crap. Way to hit the vomit button on your keyboard. If we are the “football factory” how come the buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz keeps getting hit with probation?
Woodstock Dawg
October 17th, 2011
4:22 pm
Please do not compare Erk Russell to Todd Grantham. Erk was a gentlemen. You would never ever ever see an assistance of Vince Dooley address an opposing coach in that manner. It ain’t about who started it. They were both out of line. Grantham is a jerk. If the last 24 months havn’t told you that you have your head in the sand. Mark Richt has a 750K per year ticking time bomb on his hands. Erk represents the days when wasn’t about the money. I miss him.
rdawg
October 17th, 2011
4:24 pm
@buzzzzzz Really lets see I don’t remember any of our players burglarizing anything or robbing anybody (Auburn and Tennessee ringing a bell yet) about half the players we recruit tech recruits at the same time and so do about 20 other schools. Its just they wanna play in the SEC not the ACC its ok to be mad I’d be mad to if my team lost
DAWG4LIFE
October 17th, 2011
4:26 pm
Show me a you tube video or tell me of a time in the last 10 years two NCAA coaches had to be separated? UGA is setting itself up for a lawsuit if this crazed man puts his hands on a player now.
Magic
October 17th, 2011
4:26 pm
Hey…Grantham can create a diversion while UF pounds the hapless Bulldogs into the ground.
TampaDawg
October 17th, 2011
4:31 pm
BUG4LIFE “UGA is setting itself up for a lawsuit if this crazed man puts his hands on a player now.” .. Crazed man? Really? So the guy going after a PLAYER is in his right mind, but the guy defending HIS player is a crazed man? How does tech even pass the SAT with people thinking this kind of logic?
No news
October 17th, 2011
4:32 pm
Grantham is a JERK.
the Bulldogs
October 17th, 2011
4:33 pm
will be on suicide watch if UF pulls the upset this year. I am an nfl man myself, But will take the Gators cause them boys got nothing to lose at this point.
Magic
October 17th, 2011
4:34 pm
Obviously TampaDawg is not a UGA grad….maybe not a college graduate.
really?
October 17th, 2011
4:35 pm
I saw a statistic that said UGA has the 2nd most fans who have never ever been to Athens, right behind UT fans that have never been to Knecksville.
Tater Tot
October 17th, 2011
4:38 pm
Buzzzzzzzz
October 17th, 2011
4:13 pm
Georgia Tech has the nation’s highest average SAT score for football players, and also the highest average high school GPA.
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I need to shave down here………….Buzzzzzzzz
RGP
October 17th, 2011
4:38 pm
Schultz you must be a Tech fan or Tech grad. Every article you write regarding UGA has a negative spin on it. If Franklin started the yelling and finger pointing at a UGA player then Grantham has every right to protect his player.
dawgfan
October 17th, 2011
4:40 pm
Hey 4th & 57,
Thanks for the advice!
We’ve all decided to lower our expectations! D***Head!
Penelope B
October 17th, 2011
4:40 pm
UGA fans are the biggest crybabies in the conference… last year we heard what amounted to nothing but “big bad mean Auburn, dirty ole Auburn.. we are so classy! ” because Nick Fairley got a well deserved penalty for a late hit– articles in the newspaper about how the QB was sore and beat up after the game because Auburn was so mean… where is your class now UGA? How many penalties did you get? Who tried to punch someone in the pile?? WWJD afterall, you bunch of hypocrites that hold up your coach’s religious beliefs and mission trips…. what a bunch of whining losers … there is no defending any coach, Vandy or UGA , in this situation– but Grantham looked like a NUTJOB — add it to the oh so classy choke signal from last year…. Oh UGA– you are SO CLASSY! Makes me want to vomit..
GTBob
October 17th, 2011
4:40 pm
If Franklin made any comment, Grantham should have dropped his butt on the 50.
Do you really think this is how adults in the real world operate? If that happened then Grantham would have already been relieved of his duties, and half the UGA team would be suspended for the Florida game. Not to mention that Grantham would have probably got beat up pretty good by several Vandy players. That is what you wish would have happened?