GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two nights after
Dan Mullen was introduced as Florida's head coach on the afternoon of Nov. 27, 2017,
Todd Grantham said goodbye to Mississippi State fans after only one season in Starkville via a heartfelt post on Twitter.
In a 30-year coaching career that includes multiple stops in college and the NFL, his one-season stint at Mississippi State was a first even for the well-traveled Grantham.
Grantham made it official Thursday that he is not a one-and-done at Florida.
The 52-year-old Virginia native returned to campus to resume his role as the Gators' defensive coordinator following a mutual courtship with the Bengals, who interviewed Grantham on Tuesday and Wednesday to become their defensive coordinator.
Despite the interest from Cincinnati first-year coach Zac Taylor, Mullen and Gators Athletic Director
Scott Stricklin had reason to believe Grantham might stay at UF. Following Florida's victory over Michigan in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl to cap a 10-3 turnaround season, Stricklin knew there could be interest in Grantham from other schools or the NFL.
Taking a pro-active approach and working in-step with Mullen, the Gators extended Grantham's contract through 2022 and increased his salary to $1.8 million annually, placing Grantham among the five highest-paid defensive coordinators in college football.
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In only two seasons together, Mullen and Grantham have developed a good working relationship and have mutual respect for either other's expertise – Mullen's offensive shrewdness and Grantham's attacking 3-4 defense.
In their first season together with the Gators, it was on the road against their former team that the combo made an early statement. In what proved to be a pivotal win on Florida's road to success, Mullen went to his bag of surprises by calling a trick play for the winning score –a 20-yard touchdown pass from receiver
Kadarius Toney to tight end
Moral Stephens in the 13-6 victory over then-No. 23 Mississippi State. Meanwhile, Grantham made some key adjustments at halftime with the Gators trailing 6-3.
The Bulldogs, after gaining 159 yards on 31 plays in the first half, were limited to just 43 on 27 plays in the second half. To finish the Bulldogs off, Grantham called a safety blitz with Mississippi State facing fourth down at UF's 48 with a little over a minute left in the game. Donovan Steiner rocketed into the Bulldogs' backfield to sack quarterback Nick Fitzgerald for one of Florida's most memorable plays of the season.
Grantham's return is important on multiple levels.
Following a dismal 4-8 season in 2017, the Gators improved in essentially every major defensive category, most notably from 69th nationally in scoring defense (27.3) to 20th (20.0). The Gators also ranked 11th nationally in forcing turnovers (26) and finished with 37 sacks -- 16 more than the previous season – highlighted by
Jachai Polite's team-leading 11 sacks and six forced fumbles, which led the nation.
Grantham's accomplished background as a former NFL defensive coordinator and successful college stops at Georgia, Louisville and Mississippi State over the past decade, drew instant respect from the players.
Many took to social media this week to campaign for Grantham's return as questions about his future surfaced in the media. In addition, Grantham is close to linebackers coach
Christian Robinson, one of UF's top recruiters and a former player of Grantham's during his time at Georgia.
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While Mullen quickly moved to hire
David Turner to fill the defensive-line coach position vacated by Sal Sunseri, another member of Mullen's inaugural staff with NFL experience and who recently rejoined Alabama, replacing Grantham this late during the spinning of the coaching carousel was not an ideal scenario.
Stricklin and Mullen recognized that possibility last month and moved quickly to try and keep Grantham should someone make an overture. When the Bengals did, it made sense for Grantham to explore what they had to say.
He was basically in a win-win situation. In the end, the Gators turned out the big winners.
They took a preemptive approach to keep Grantham before anyone came calling. It was a smart move and one that keeps their momentum under Mullen from taking an unwanted detour.
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