Todd Grantham, Florida's new defensive coordinator, produced dramatic results in his only season at Mississippi State. (Photo: Courtesy of MSU Athletics)
A Closer Look: Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham
Thursday, November 30, 2017 | Football, Scott Carter
The veteran defensive assistant has split his career between the college and professional ranks.
They also know Todd Grantham, whom Mullen announced Thursday as the Gators' new defensive coordinator.
"He understands what it takes to build a physical and aggressive defense at the highest of levels,'' Mullen said a season ago when he hired Grantham away from Louisville.
Gator Nation remembers Grantham for a different reason, of course. Grantham took his place in Florida-Georgia lore in 2010 when, as Georgia's defensive coordinator, he gave a choke gesture to UF kicker Chas Henry prior to Henry's 37-yard game-winning field goal.
TV cameras caught Grantham's attempt to distract Henry and the gesture had its 15 minutes of fame on the blogosphere after Florida's 34-31 overtime win over the Bulldogs.
Henry, pardon the pun, got a kick out of the fuss at the time. He admitted blowing a kiss in Grantham's direction after the Bulldogs called a timeout.
"It's in the middle of the game. It's an intense game," Henry said a few days after the game. "I think it's ridiculous that people are trying to say he should have to apologize for it and that he should be fined or anything. He's a great coach. Look at his record. It's just an intense game."
Seven years later, the well-traveled Grantham is a Gator.
— Todd Grantham (@CoachTGrantham) November 30, 2017
*****
Five notables to know about Grantham:
-
In his only season at Mississippi State, Grantham spearheaded one of the country's top defensive turnarounds. The Bulldogs finished ranked 10th nationally in total defense (302.0 yards per game) after ranking 110th (459.1) in 2016. Mississippi State also trimmed 11.4 points off its scoring defense, surrendering 20.4 points game in 2017 compared to 31.8 in 2016. He takes over a Florida defense that allowed 349.3 yards per game – the highest total since 2007 – and 27.3 points game, which is the most allowed by UF in records dating to 1946.
-
This is the third Southeastern Conference stop of Grantham's career and his fifth school overall. Grantham also has vast NFL experience with coaching stops in Indianapolis, Houston, Cleveland and Dallas. As the Colts defensive line coach from 1999-2001, Grantham coached ex-Florida standout Ellis Johnson, who recorded 16 sacks over Grantham's three seasons. In addition, ex-Florida linebacker Mike Peterson began his NFL career for the Colts during Grantham's first season in Indy.
-
Tony Grantham, Todd's brother, recently completed his first season as defensive coordinator at Western Illinois. The Grantham brothers worked for three seasons together from 2014-16 on Bobby Petrino's staff at Louisville.
-
Alabama head coach Nick Saban, during his time as Michigan State's coach in the 1990s, hired Grantham in 1996 to serve as the Spartans' defensive line coach. Saban promoted Grantham to assistant head coach in 1998. Jim Mora hired Grantham the following season to join the Colts.
-
Grantham uses aggressive 3-4 defenses that rely heavy on declaring the pass rusher once the defense sees the offense's formation. "There are two types of 3-4. There's the New England type, where you've got a big massive guy up front,'' Grantham told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution when he arrived at Georgia. "We're going to be a one-gap team. In Dallas we had Jay Ratliff make the Pro Bowl. We'll have a standard [at nose tackle] as we go forward, but we also have to have position flexibility."
*****
QUOTE OF NOTE I
"Todd is a bright guy and very knowledgeable. He's hard-working. He's got common sense. He's tough and competitive. I hired him on staff when he was a graduate assistant and some people thought I was crazy. But I knew." – Former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer in 2005 to The Palm Beach Post
QUOTE OF NOTE II
"I've always been really close to Todd professionally and personally. 'If you're going to rank assistants, he's one of the two or three best I've ever had on our staff." – Saban in 2012 to The New York Times
Florida Volleyball | Jordan Byrd GETS UP for the BLOCK ✋
Thursday, November 13
Florida Men's Basketball | Rueben Chinyelu and Thomas Haugh Post Double-Doubles
Thursday, November 13
Florida Football | Interim Head Coach Billy Gonzales Media Availability | Ole Miss
Wednesday, November 12
Florida Women's Basketball | Jacksonville Recap
Wednesday, November 12
