Tag: todd grantham

Could Todd Grantham join Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama?

You’ve got to be kidding me.

I do not know exactly how to put this to you fellow Gators fans, but according to John Brice of Football Scoop, former Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is “considering (an) offer to join Nick Saban’s staff” with the Alabama Crimson Tide per a report published on Thursday night. The article noted that Grantham’s potential role is yet to be determined.

The 55-year-old defensive guru was among the highest-paid assistants in college football in 2021 before getting sacked midseason by Dan Mullen — who would also experience the sharp blade of the ax a few weeks later. The performance from the defensive corps in Gainesville during his tenure left a lot to be desired, to put things lightly. His side of the line of scrimmage was the Achilles heel for a 2020 squad that had a record-setting offense and 2021 exposed his scheme as a failure during the SEC schedule.

So why would Nick Saban and Tide want a castoff like Grantham on their sidelines? It is extremely unlikely that they do, but one never knows when it comes to college football. This is probably much ado about nothing until corroborating reports come out. Until then, do not hold your breath on this news.

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Todd Grantham was one of highest-paid assistant coaches in 2021

It’s pretty ludicrous how much Grantham made considering the results.

The 2021 college football season has been a tumultuous one for head coaches and their coaching staff, with the sport seeing unprecedented turnover on the sidelines of teams from top to bottom. For the Florida Gators, this has involved the purging of a pair of assistants in the middle of the season, as well as the dismissal of their head coach, Dan Mullen, just weeks later.

USA TODAY Sports recently published its database of college football assistant coach salaries, which included a familiar name to the Gator Nation. As it turns out, ex-defensive coordinator Todd Grantham — who had earned the ire of the fanbase long before his departure — was among the top-paid assistants in 2021. In fact, he brought in the fourth-highest salary in the nation.

Tom Schad at USA TODAY Sports put together a list of the top 10 and here is what he had to say about Florida’s erstwhile DC.

4. Todd Grantham, Florida defensive coordinator

Total pay: $1.801 million

Verdict: Overpaid. The Gators fired Grantham on Nov. 7 after a dismal three-game stretch in which his defense gave up a combined 123 points to LSU, Georgia and South Carolina. When you’re the third highest-paid defensive coordinator in the country, that’s just not good enough.

To say that Grantham was overpaid is an understatement. In 2021, the Gators ranked No. 46 nationally in total defense, while he and the rest of the staff were not exactly lighting it up on the recruiting trail either, lagging far behind their SEC competitors before his dismissal. Suffice to say, the former DC failed to live up to his expectations both from financial and outcome standpoints.

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Florida officially announces departure of Grantham and Hevesy

Todd Grantham is out as defensive coordinator at Florida and offensive line coach John Hevesy is headed out, according to the university.

After rumors turned into verified news on Sunday, the University of Florida’s football program officially announced that both defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy would no longer be with the team on Monday.

Grantham’s departure was the more expected of the two, but head coach Dan Mullen seemed to prefer to wait until after the season to make that kind of change. An embarrassing 40-17 loss to South Carolina on Saturday accelerated that timetable and the move was made one day later. Linebackers coach Christian Robinson is set to take over the playcalling on defense and special assistant to the head coach Paul Pasqualoni will now have an on-field role for the rest of the season.

Mullen brought Grantham with him from Mississippi State after spending a year together in 2017. In 2019, Grantham’s second year with the Gators, Florida allowed the second least yards per game on average in the Southeastern Conference. Those numbers quickly fell off in the following years, and several teams began to read to Grantham’s defense easily (see LSU and South Carolina this season).

Gators fans have been clamoring for this change for a while, and it seems like Grantham’s departure is also being noticed by some players (both current and incoming). Senior defensive lineman Zach Carter took to Twitter to say “nobody cares! keep going,” later clarifying that his message was for players to be wary of outside noise. Sophomore defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen added “control what you control” on social media as well.

Hevesy had been with Mullen since 2001 at Bowling Green but was in the final year of his contract and recruiting poorly. The Gators missed out on most of their top offensive line recruits with Hevesy leading the charge and recruiting had already become a hot topic before the South Carolina loss.

Four-star offensive tackle Malik Agbo weighed in on Hevesy’s departure calling it “shocking” for the Gators to make a move at this point in the season. But Agbo also understands the business side of football and still plans on taking his official visit to Florida, according to 247Sports.

Michael Sollenne, a graduate assistant that’s been with the team since 2020, will work with the offensive line for the rest of the year.

Firing Hevesy and Grantham ultimately takes some heat off of Mullen, the sixth-highest paid coach in college football. Florida is below .500 for the first time since Mullen arrived in Gainesville, and to say that his seat was anything but hot before the South Carolina game would be lying. With things scalding after the loss, there was really no other option for Mullen but to make a change.

Still, Florida’s head coach has seemed despondent at times this season and is far from being in safe waters. This is the SEC and moving secondary coaches only buys you so much time. Sources told ESPN that Mullen made these moves because he needed to “create a spark” for the remainder of the year. If that spark isn’t big enough, more changes could follow after the season.

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Florida fires Grantham — former Georgia LB to run the defense

Todd Grantham out at Florida. Former Georgia LB to assume defensive play-calling duties.

The Florida Gators have officially parted ways with defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, head coach Dan Mullen announced on Monday morning.

In addition to Grantham, Mullen also fired running game coordinator and offensive line coach John Hevesey, who has coached with Mullen since 2001.

The bigger news is the firing of Grantham, who previously held the same position at Georgia from 2010-13. While at UGA, he had a similar relationship with Bulldogs fans as he has had with the Gators fan base since he went to Gainesville in 2018.

Via GatorsWire:

The fanbase has long soured on the fourth-year DC stemming back to last season when the program wasted a historic offense due to defensive inadequacies that all boiled down to Grantham.

Florida announced in a statement that linebackers coach Christian Robinson will assume defensive play-calling duties for the Gators. Robinson is a former Georgia linebacker (2008-12) who played under Grantham at UGA and was a member of the Bulldogs’ team that came just short of beating Alabama in the 2012 SEC Championship Game.

Sep 18, 2010: Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham talks with linebackers Akeem Dent (51) and Christian Robinson (45) during the first half against Arkansas. Arkansas defeated Georgia 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Paul Abell-USA TODAY Sports

Robinson then held graduate position coaching jobs at Georgia (2013-14), Ole Miss (2015-16) and Mississippi State (2017) before being appointed linebackers coach at Florida in 2018.

Robinson not only played for Grantham at Georgia, but coached with him at Mississippi State and then followed his former coach to Florida.

The Gators are 4-5 overall and 2-5 in SEC play this year. Georgia beat them 34-7 on October 30.

BREAKING: Todd Grantham, John Hevesy axed by the Gators per source

There you have it, Gator Nation! Just like you asked for, Todd Grantham is gone according to a source.

It certainly took long enough, but the Florida football team may have finally given defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy their walking papers, according to The Athletic’s college football writer Bruce Feldman in a tweet sent out on Sunday night.

The fanbase has long soured on the fourth-year DC stemming back to last season when the program wasted a historic offense due to defensive inadequacies that all boiled down to Grantham. While the 2021 campaign had a few brief moments that one could see some improvement if they squint their eyes really hard, that all evaporated starting with the Kentucky loss.

Hevesy came over from Mississippi State with head coach Dan Mullen when he migrated to the Sunshine State to be his offensive line coach and has left a bit to be desired in his tenure. Interestingly, the Gators’ O-line had a strong first-half, earning a mention on the Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll as well as placing among the best in the nation when it comes to the running game. However, the team has steadily declined on the ground leading up to Saturday’s sub-100-yard showing against the Gamecocks.

It is possible that more moves could be coming, but for now, the fanbase should be content with Grantham’s removal if this comes to pass. Hopefully, their replacements can right a ship that has been sucked down into a whirlpool of despair this year.

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Six Florida players feeling the pressure as fall camp gets started

Here are six Florida players The Athletic believes face the most pressure this season.

Coach Dan Mullen and the Florida football team kicked off their fall camp Friday to prepare for the 2021 season. The Gators’ first game is versus FAU on Sept. 4 in the Swamp. Heading into the new season, Florida enters as a heavy underdog. Only seven out of the 134 voters at SEC Media Days picked the Orange and Blue to repeat as the East Division winner and only one pegged the program to become SEC Champions.

As fall camp kicked off Friday, there are a handful of players trying to cling to their starting spot or prove they deserve to be the No. 1 running back or wide receiver. Here are six players The Athletic believes are feeling the most pressure heading into fall camp.

Why Florida’s defense is unlikely to bounce back from a rough 2020

Only time will tell if UF’s defense will improve in 2021. But looking at the numbers from the last three seasons, it doesn’t seem likely.

The Florida Gators fanbase became quite perplexed when head coach Dan Mullen elected to keep defensive coordinator Todd Grantham on staff after such a porous season on that side of the ball. Instead of letting Grantham go, Mullen opted to fire cornerbacks coach Torrian Gray and safety Ron English hoping that will fix the defense.

Only time will tell if those changes will pay off, but Will Miles of Read & Reaction looked back at Florida’s defensive stats from the last three seasons. He came away with one main conclusion that the 2019 season was more of an outlier than the trend.

The 2019 Gators defense was the best unit Grantham has had in Gainesville. The team only surrendered explosive plays 10.05% of the time and allowed about 5.05 yards per play versus SEC opponents.

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Florida’s defense in 2018 was also strong that had them ranked top 30 in points allowed and yards per game nationally. But diving deeper, the numbers suggested that the 2018 defense was eerily similar to 2020.

The 2018 squad gave up explosive plays 11.64% of the time compared to 2020s 10.73%. The trend continued when looking at yards per play allowed. The 2020 unit surrendered 5.69 versus 2018s 5.72. The only significant difference between the two years is the fumble recovery rate where 2018 came up with the loose football 62.5% compared to 48.2%. It’s difficult to repeat that success because fumbles are usually a 50/50 proposition.

The only reason the 2018 team fared better statistically is due to cupcake games. Florida played Charleston Southern, Colorado State, Idaho and a down Florida State team. The Gators in 2020 played an all-SEC schedule.

Because of these numbers, Miles is right that 2019 seems like more of an outlier than the trend and therefore, it’d be surprising to see Florida make major strides on defense in 2021.

This Gators cornerback trusts his physicality to win DC Todd Grantham’s trust

The transferring defensive back brings toughness to his new role in the SEC as he tries to earn the confidence of Todd Grantham.

The Gators absolutely need to improve their defensive secondary before the 2021 college football season kicks off. For as experienced and athletic as their starters were last season, their on-field product was simply inexcusable. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham was given another year to turn the ship around, and he’s not going to fail for a lack of trying.

One of the players the Gators brought in-house was Missouri transfer cornerback Jadarrius Perkins. The JUCO product was only with the Wildcats for a little while before and after their spring practice before hitting the transfer portal again. He landed with the Gators in late May, expected to compete for a role as one of the starting defensive backs.

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Fans of the program got a better idea of who Perkins is through a story written by G. Allan Taylor based on interviews with and about the newest addition to the team.

“I wanna press. I can play off, but I wanna press,” Perkins said to Taylor. “I’ve got faith in my ability that I won’t get beat.”

That bully attitude fits well with the kind of gritty, high-effort defense that Grantham wants to execute in his revamped defensive unit. It also meshes well with the man coverage ability of his fellow defensive backs Kaiir Elam and Jason Marshall Jr.

However, when the rubber meets the road, Perkins will be in direct competition for playing time with that duo. Despite eventually deciding he wasn’t a fit for the Tigers, he counts his time with Mizzou as valuable in preparing him for the Gators.

“All of the reps were valuable because you only get better by playing. It helped me get accustomed to the SEC and helped me know where I was against other SEC athletes with me coming from JUCO,” said Perkins.

The 2021 season will be one that presents Perkins with opposition tougher than he’s faced before and no guarantees about his role on the squad. His mentality and experience give him an edge, but with Grantham setting a high standard and facing the SEC for the first time, he’ll have to put up a good product on the field.

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This Gators cornerback trusts his physicality to win DC Todd Grantham’s trust

The transferring defensive back brings toughness to his new role in the SEC as he tries to earn the confidence of Todd Grantham.

The Gators absolutely need to improve their defensive secondary before the 2021 college football season kicks off. For as experienced and athletic as their starters were last season, their on-field product was simply inexcusable. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham was given another year to turn the ship around, and he’s not going to fail for a lack of trying.

One of the players the Gators brought in-house was Missouri transfer cornerback Jadarrius Perkins. The JUCO product was only with the Wildcats for a little while before and after their spring practice before hitting the transfer portal again. He landed with the Gators in late May, expected to compete for a role as one of the starting defensive backs.

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Fans of the program got a better idea of who Perkins is through a story written by G. Allan Taylor based on interviews with and about the newest addition to the team.

“I wanna press. I can play off, but I wanna press,” Perkins said to Taylor. “I’ve got faith in my ability that I won’t get beat.”

That bully attitude fits well with the kind of gritty, high-effort defense that Grantham wants to execute in his revamped defensive unit. It also meshes well with the man coverage ability of his fellow defensive backs Kaiir Elam and Jason Marshall Jr.

However, when the rubber meets the road, Perkins will be in direct competition for playing time with that duo. Despite eventually deciding he wasn’t a fit for the Tigers, he counts his time with Mizzou as valuable in preparing him for the Gators.

“All of the reps were valuable because you only get better by playing. It helped me get accustomed to the SEC and helped me know where I was against other SEC athletes with me coming from JUCO,” said Perkins.

The 2021 season will be one that presents Perkins with opposition tougher than he’s faced before and no guarantees about his role on the squad. His mentality and experience give him an edge, but with Grantham setting a high standard and facing the SEC for the first time, he’ll have to put up a good product on the field.

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CBS Sports’ Sallee thinks the days of ‘Third and Grantham’ are over

CBS Sports writer Barrett Sallee “spring football overreaction” for Florida is that “Third and Grantham” is over.

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Throughout nearly his entire tenure as a collegiate defensive coordinator (at multiple stops) Florida’s Todd Grantham has been criticized for his aggressiveness in the blitz on third-and-long situations. Often, his teams get beat over the top on passing plays in these situations, causing a lot of frustration among fans.

The Gators may not have had a spring game to show off their improvements, but based on what coach Dan Mullen said throughout the spring, it sounds like the defense has improved. In his list of post-spring practice overreactions for each SEC team, CBS Sports college football writer Barrett Sallee said that he thinks “Third and Grantham” will be a thing of the past.

Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has been a lightning rod for criticism after a lackluster season in 2020. That has changed … at least according to head coach Dan Mullen. It’s nearly impossible to have a steadfast opinion on Florida’s spring due to the lack of spring game and access. But Mullen touted Grantham’s defense after every scrimmage, which is music to the ears of Florida fans. If that translates to the fall, then look out, SEC East.

The Gators have to replace a number of starters on defense including cornerback Marco Wilson, both safeties in Donovan Stiner and Shawn Davis and defensive tackles Tedarrell Slaton and Kyree Campbell. UF will instead have to rely on players like graduate transfer defensive linemen Daquon Newkirk and Antonio Shelton, as well as returning starters like Kaiir Elam.

In terms of yards allowed, Florida was ninth in the SEC in 2020. The Gators still managed to win the SEC East due to phenomenal offensive play, but with a new quarterback under center in 2021 in Emory Jones, that may not be the case this time around. If UF wants to avoid a major dropoff this season, it will hope Sallee is right and the defense takes a leap forward.

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