Todd Grantham in his final game as Gators defensive coordinator on Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: A Loss That Reshaped Final Stretch of Season
Monday, November 8, 2021 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In a season that had quickly gone off the rails and on a chilly night nobody saw coming, there was a story unfolding.
You knew it would be a whopping late-season development for the Gators, considering the outcome Saturday night at South Carolina and the mood of Gator Nation. In his postgame press conference following a 40-17 loss to the Gamecocks, UF head coach Dan Mullen was asked if he had reached the point of making any staff changes.
Mullen deflected the question.
Around 18 hours later, reports surfaced that Mullen had fired embattled defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy. The Gators made it official Monday morning with a news release after Mullen held an 8 a.m. meeting with his team to discuss the changes.
The scene in the immediate aftermath of Florida's dismal visit to Williams-Brice Stadium provided a glimpse at the action starting to evolve. Still, the story's conclusion remained unclear.
Following his press conference, Mullen and UF athletic director Scott Stricklin walked down a corridor away from the locker-room exit where the equipment staff raced to pack a moving truck, and players and coaches grabbed to-go bags of food for the trip home. The two spoke privately for a few minutes amidst the usual hustle-and-bustle following a road game.
Most of those who saw them probably thought the same thing: wonder what they are talking about right now?
In that same corridor about 30 yards away, Grantham stood with a travel bag slung over his shoulder while glancing at the stats booklet. It was not pretty for the UF defense. For the first time all season, the Gators gave up more yards than the offense produced, this time against a South Carolina offense ranked 115th in the country. South Carolina, averaging 327.9 yards, scorched the Gators for 459, including 284 on the ground.
A few minutes earlier, Grantham had exited the field while glancing into the stands at the South Carolina student section mocking the Gators. He quietly disappeared into the tunnel. The veteran defensive coordinator's time at Florida ended with a loss to first-year Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer, a longtime acquaintance, and son of Grantham's college coach at Virginia Tech, Frank Beamer.
Longtime Dan Mullen associate John Hevesy on the sideline during Saturday night's loss at South Carolina. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Meanwhile, offensive line coach Hevesy was the last assistant to depart the field Saturday, whether intentional or by instinct. Hevesy strolled to the far corner from Florida's locker room as a group of players joined the band for UF's postgame ritual of singing the alma mater. As Jon Clark, assistant AD of football operations, waited for all players to clear the field, Hevesy limped to the locker room alone while several Gators sprinted past.
Hevesy and Grantham both arrived at UF with Mullen from Mississippi State. While Grantham spent one season in Starkville on Mullen's staff, Hevesy's relationship with Mullen runs much more profound. The two served together on Urban Meyer's staffs at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida, and when Mullen became head coach at Mississippi State after the 2008 season, he hired Hevesy to join him. The two have spent the past 13 seasons together.
With three regular-season games remaining, their streak is over.
Grantham seemingly was stuck in the cross hairs of Gators fans most of the time, but Hevesy had built collateral from his days on the staff during the glory seasons of the late 2000s. Both assistants were in the final year of their contracts.
"Seeing John Hevesy go kind of caught me off-guard,'' former UF receiver Chris Doering said on the SEC Network.
Still, in attempting to explain what transpired against the Gamecocks, Mullen acknowledged the Gators were beaten on both sides of the line of scrimmage, allowing the Wildcats to run wild, and at the same time, limit the Gators to a season-low 82 yards rushing.
Whatever moves perhaps loomed shortly – if any – they likely were in their infancy Saturday night outside the Gators' locker room. It was apparent the loss marked a new low for a team that started the season ranked as high as No. 10.
If there was a positive for the Gators, the flight to Columbia is only about 45 minutes from Gainesville. The flight home was quiet and somber as the Gators dropped to 4-5, 2-5 in the conference with three regular-season games remaining.
They didn't know it at the time, but when Grantham and Hevesy touched foot on the tarmac, they had coached their final game at Florida. The business of college football can be as brutal as getting whipped at the line of scrimmage play after play.
Two veteran coaches suddenly didn't forget how to coach. But circumstances gobbled them up.
Both will be fine, respected by their peers, and have ample experience to land new jobs if they desire. We find out Saturday whether the Gators are OK or not.
They return home for the first time in more than a month to host Samford. A few weeks ago, no one could envision the Gators struggling against the Bulldogs of the Southern Conference, and it's more a wait-and-see approach today.
The biggest story of the Gators' season took place after Saturday's loss. They need to make sure it stays that way.
