Tag: todd grantham

Cameron Jordan on why Saints had to make a change at DL coach

Cameron Jordan shared his views on former Saints defensive line coach Todd Grantham, and why change was needed to get more out of the unit:

The New Orleans Saints had a difficult 2024 season, to put it lightly, and one of the more notable issues on the team was the defensive line’s struggles. The unit was solid at generating pressure, and occasionally was around league-average in the sacks department. However, when it came to run defense, things got ugly. Here are some key stats that predominantly start with the defensive line:

  • Tied-15th fewest sacks accumulated (39)
  • 2nd-most rushing yards allowed (2,404)
  • Tied-7th most rushing touchdowns allowed (20)
  • Tied-3rd most 20-yard runs allowed (18)
  • 2nd-highest yards per carry allowed (4.9)

This poor performance led to defensive line coach Todd Grantham being re-assigned out of the position, and ultimately ended up moving on to become the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.

Veteran defensive end Cameron Jordan of the Saints discussed Grantham and his points of emphasis at a few points throughout the season/offseason, and this continued recently as Sports Illustrated had chronicled his season, and heard more about their relationship.

Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated paraphrased what Jordan had said regarding former Saints defensive line coach Todd Grantham, stating:

“All season, Jordan had stressed patience, while he tried to adapt to a new role — pass rusher primarily rushing from the interior. He says, more than once and for months, that his position coach, Todd Grantham, wasn’t focused on teaching players technique, tweaking form throughout a season, or development in general.” 

This would be followed up with more information regarding what he said after Week 9’s loss to the Carolina Panthers, the team’s seventh defeat in a row:

“At one point in another stinging defeat, Jordan says he told Allen and others he wouldn’t speak to Grantham anymore, that all communication needed to come from someone else. “I reached my threshold,” he says. “Threshold of — he doesn’t know what respect looks like, or he doesn’t know how to treat a man as a man. If anything, I’m a warrior. There’s ways to go about things respectfully.” 

Ultimately this is not the most surprising development to hear, as the progress of young defensive ends Isaiah Foskey and Payton Turner has been slow to nonexistent, and coaching plays a large hand in that. With neither player living up to pre-draft expectations, and a veteran stating the coaching focus was not on cultivating technique, it is fair to assume the Saints made the right move in letting Grantham walk.

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8-time Pro Bowler considered forcing his way out of New Orleans

Tensions got so high in 2024 that lifelong New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan almost took his father’s advice and requested a trade:

Cameron Jordan has been a Saint for the last 14 years, and has often expressed a desire to finish his career with the New Orleans Saints. His father, Steve Jordan, played his entire career with the Minnesota Vikings, and the younger Jordan hoped to do the same. But for the first time in his career, his hope wavered.

The 2024 season was a frustrating one for Jordan, especially early on. One of the notable low moments of the season came after the Saints’ loss on the road to the Carolina Panthers. Instead of joining his teammates in the locker room, Jordan was spotted walking alone down a hallway at Bank of America Stadium, frustrated after a seventh consecutive loss and having to be calmed down by Derek Carr and Alvin Kamara. In that moment, Jordan thought about pushing for a trade.

Jordan reflected on the incident in a feature with Sports Illustrated: “At the end, I was like, ‘Man, this has to end this way?’ I was about to, you know, force my way out of there; really, I was contemplating that for the first time ever.”

It wasn’t a fleeting thought, either. Jordan’s father had supported it and he spoke to his agent about a trade. Ultimately, they decided options weren’t viable. He wanted to go to a contender and that wasn’t likely with his contract.

One of the biggest catalysts of Jordan’s frustration was feeling poorly-coached and lied to by Todd Grantham, who reduced his playing-time in favor of younger teammates who weren’t producing. The tension boiled over to a point where Jordan told Dennis Allen he wouldn’t speak to Grantham any longer because of a lack of respect shown to Jordan.

It wasn’t until Allen was firing Brian Young that became the defensive line coach that things began to turn around. Jordan began to see more snaps and the the fundamentals and technique were emphasized along the defensive line, which helped those younger pros like Payton Turner make more plays.

Jordan is still a part of the Saints’ roster, and we’ll see how long that lasts. They have a decision to make about that contract this offseason (his $20 million salary cap hit is second-highest on the team), but it’s interesting to know he and New Orleans nearly parted ways earlier in 2024.

“There will be major talks that happen after the season, I’m sure,” Jordan told SI. “My mind, and how I take things, is: I’m either all-in or all-out.”

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Changes at defensive line coach paying off for Saints’ stars

The move to Brian Young as Saints defensive line coach has produced an uptick in Bryan Bresee, Cameron Jordan and Chase Young’s performance:

The changes at head coach and defensive line coach have been the most impactful changes of the New Orleans Saints’ season.

Switching from Dennis Allen to Darren Rizzi gave the team a needed shift in mentality and energy. One of the biggest moves Rizzi made was making the shift from Todd Grantham to Brian Young as the defensive line coach.

Since Young has taken over, the stars of the unit have blossomed in the pass rush. 10 sacks are in reach for Bryan Bresee. Cameron Jordan is making plays again. Chase Young is putting together consistent performances.

We look at the last two games, but you can trace the bump in consistency to the moment Brian Young took over, and Jordan and Chase Young have been the biggest benefactors.

Chase Young had sacks in back to back games after the coaching switch, only time this year. He later delivered a multi-sack game as well. Jordan’s first sack of the season came in Brian Young’s first game as defensive line coach.

While this may all feel coincidental, Jordan credited the coaching change for the Saints’ strong performance on the defensive line. This came on the heels of sacking Jayden Daniels eight times.

It’s not a coincidence. The Saints just have the right man leading the unit.

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Oklahoma State hires former Georgia defensive coordinator

Former Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is Oklahoma State’s new defensive coordinator

Former Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator Todd Grantham will become the defensive coordinator for the Oklahoma State Cowboys under coach Mike Gundy. ESPN’s Chris Low first reported the move via social media.

Oklahoma State is coming off a brutal 3-9 season. The Cowboys had one of the worst defenses in the country and allowed at least 38 points in each of their final eight games, all losses.

Grantham became the New Orleans Saints’ defensive line coach in 2023, but the Saints fired coach Dennis Allen in early November, so Grantham’s future was uncertain at best.

Grantham served as the defensive coordinator for the Florida Gators from 2018-2021 before becoming an analyst for the Alabama Crimson Tide under Nick Saban in 2022.

Grantham was Georgia’s defensive coordinator from 2010-2013 during the Mark Richt era. Grantham, who played college football as an offensive lineman at Virginia Tech, has extensive college and NFL coaching experience.

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Grantham previously coached in the NFL from 1999-2009. He was the defensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys during his time in the NFL. He served as the Cleveland Browns’ defensive coordinator from 2005-2007.

Former Saints defensive line coach heading to Oklahoma State Cowboys

A former New Orleans Saints defensive line coach is heading to the Oklahoma State Cowboys to team up with head coach Mike Gundy

Chris Low of ESPN has reported that the Oklahoma State Cowboys and head coach Mike Gundy will be hiring former New Orleans Saints defensive line coach Todd Grantham as their defensive coordinator. Grantham had moved from the defensive line coach position to a senior advisor role in early November after Darren Rizzi took over as the interim head coach. The defensive line for the Saints had been struggling mightily with stopping the run in the early phases of the season, and this ultimately led to the move of Brian Young taking over as defensive line coach.

Grantham will join long-time Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy as he looks to facilitate some staffing changes on his team. Gundy had recently just agreed to a restructured contract to remain with the Oklahoma State Cowboys according to ESPN, which will include the former Saints defensive line coach as a start.

Todd Grantham’s responsibilities are changing under Darren Rizzi

Todd Grantham’s responsibilities are changing under Darren Rizzi. He’s moving from defensive line coach to an advisor role:

Todd Grantham’s responsibilities are changing under New Orleans Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi. He’s moving from defensive line coach to a senior advisor role after the team dismissed Dennis Allen. Rizzi says Brian Young, a 15-year coaching veteran on staff as a pass-rush specialist, will run the defensive line room.

“It’s a shuffle. Shuffle the deck there a little bit on defense,” Rizzi told reporters Wednesday, when asked whether he would characterize these  changes as a demotion and promotion. “You have to understand the workload change because Dennis got removed. Dennis was, daily, in the defensive staff rooms so we quote-unquote lost a defensive coach. Not only a head coach, we lost the play caller. Now Joe, who is doing his stuff, he’s now coordinating, his workload changes. His day-to-day workload the fans may not understand completely, we just re-divvy it up. I just felt this was the best way to shuffle the deck there.”

Grantham’s focus will be advising defensive coordinator Joe Woods as he begins calling plays in Allen’s stead; it’s a less hands-on role than what he’s had here before. That isn’t the only change on the defensive side of the ball, but it is the most notable. Young will work with linebackers coach Michael Hodges to coordinate the defensive run game each week.

But change was needed. The Saints were on pace to set an NFL record for the most yards allowed before contact on running plays, which was a direct reflection on Grantham’s unit. The defensive line was getting pushed off the ball and not making plays. The lack of development for young draft picks like Payton Turner and Isaiah Foskey speaks for itself, even if Rizzi took the high road here.

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Raiders sign former Bengals draft pick after he visits with Saints

Former Bengals third-round pick Zach Carter visited the Saints this week. He played for their defensive line coach in college but ultimately signed with the Raiders:

This is interesting. The Las Vegas Raiders announced Thursday they had signed defensive tackle Zach Carter to their practice squad, just days after he visited with the New Orleans Saints, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill.

Carter, 25, was a third-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2022 NFL draft but was waived last week. That’s after he played for Todd Grantham, the Saints’ defensive line coach, for three years in college at Florida. So clearly that relationship wasn’t enough to seal the deal, even though the Saints have a vacancy on their practice squad right now just like the Raiders.

Maybe Carter sees more opportunities to get on the field with Las Vegas. Bryan Bresee is seeing the lion’s share of snaps at defensive tackle for the Saints (225 in five games), followed by Nathan Shepherd (176 in five games) and Khalen Saunders (58 in two games). John Ridgeway (61 in three games) and Khristian Boyd (51 in four games) have been competing for that fourth spot in the rotation each week, and Kendal Vickers (21 snaps in Week 1) remains on the practice squad.

None of them are currently listed on the injury report, so this may have just been an opportunity to try and improve depth rather than a real search for more help.

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Saints’ Todd Grantham works out DL Braden Fiske at FSU pro day

New Orleans Saints defensive line coach Todd Grantham has been busy. After visiting Texas, he stopped by Florida State to work out Braden Fiske:

The New Orleans Saints are on the look for more defensive line talent, as they worked out defensive tackle Braden Fiske at Florida State’s pro day on Friday per Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy. Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline reports it was defensive line coach Todd Grantham assigned to check in on one of the 2024 draft’s rising stars.

Fiske dominated the Senior Bowl and then went on to have a great combine. Fiske finished with a 9.89 Relative Athletic Score after a blazing fast 4.78 40-yard dash. He’s a little light, weighing in at under 300 pounds, but makes up for that with his athleticism and skill. He had 19.5 sacks in his college career (which started with a four-year run at Western Michigan before he transferred to FSU). The Saints could use all of the pass rush help that they can get on the defensive line. A duo of Fiske and Bryan Bresee could be fun to watch in black and gold.

Grantham has been busy on the pro day circuit. He also visited the Texas Longhorns last week and was very complimentary of nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat. Both defensive tackles are projected to be picked in the middle of the second round this year, so maybe one of them winds up going to New Orleans at No. 45 overall.

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Saints DL coach says T’Vondre Sweat ‘made some money today’ at Texas pro day

T’Vondre Sweat earned high praise for his performance at Texas’ pro day, particularly from Saints defensive line coach Todd Grantham:

Texas Longhorns defensive lineman T’Vondre Sweat is on the New Orleans Saints’ radar, which assistant coach Todd Grantham made that very apparent at the school’s pro day this week. Scouts and position coaches are out in force on the pro day circuit as the 2024 NFL draft draws closer.

Hank South of 247Sports noted Grantham catching up with Sweat after his workout, commenting that the 22-year-old “made some money today.” Having weighed in at 6-foot-4 and 366 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine, those in attendance were wowed by Sweat’s movement skills as he completed athletic drills on Wednesday.

There are areas on the defensive side of the ball the Saints are looking to improve this offseason, including their inconsistent run defense which struggled to stop mobile quarterbacks. A player like Sweat could help to remedy that issue if the Saints are to make that a priority when they’re on the clock in April.

Sweat, who largely projects as a late first-round or early second-round pick, finished out the 2023 season with 45 total tackles (18 solo), with 5 passes defended and 2.0 sacks. His stock has been ever-rising throughout the pre-draft process as he also recorded a standout performance at the combine with a 5.27-second 40-yard dash. Sweat recorded a 26-inch vertical and an 8-foot-2 broad jump in the same event.

It will be interesting to see if he carries this performance over to the Big Easy, ready to bring an instant boost to whichever NFL team ultimately picks him up.

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Saints were well-represented at Texas Longhorns pro day

The Saints were well-represented at the Texas Longhorns pro day, and the coaches present give us an idea who they were scouting:

The New Orleans Saints were well-represented at the Texas Longhorns pro day, per Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy, who says the team’s defensive line and linebackers coaches were in attendance. That likely means Saints assistants Todd Grantham (defensive line) and Michael Hodges (linebackers), though Adam Gristick (assistant defensive line) and Brian Young (pass rush specialist) may have also made the trip. Either way, we can tell which positions they were most interested in.

So which 2024 draft prospects were on their radar? Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy is widely projected to be picked in the top half of the first round and he could be an option for the Saints at No. 14. His teammates Edgerrin Cooper (a linebacker) and T’Vondre Sweat (a nose tackle) are both seen as second-round picks. Linebacker Jaylan Ford also has a draftable grade, and Jett Bush hopes to join him.

Of that group, Murphy and Cooper best fit the athletic thresholds the Saints value with Relative Athletic Scores of 8.96 and 9.26, respectively. Ford told 247 Sports’ Jeff Howe that the Saints are one of the teams he’s had the most contact with through the pre-draft process, so they’re clearly keeping tabs on him. Howe’s peer Hank South overheard Grantham complimenting Sweat, saying that the 366-pounder “made some money” after impressing with his movement skills during his workout.

New Orleans showed some vulnerabilities in run defense last year. The Saints ranked 11th in rushing yards allowed both per-carry and per-game, and they particularly struggled to guard mobile quarterbacks. If Dennis Allen thinks someone like Sweat or Ford can help turn that weakness into a strength, it shouldn’t shock anyone to hear their names called in April.

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