Todd Grantham goes back to school

By Tim Tucker

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATHENS -- Over the years, Georgia coach Mark Richt has been "a little bit leery" -- his words -- about hiring assistants from the NFL.

His concern has been that given the frequent turnover in NFL jobs, a coach in search of work "might seem very sincere" about a college position, only to "be gone" as soon as another pro gig beckons.

Richt had to overcome that leeriness to hire Todd Grantham, formerly the Dallas Cowboys' defensive line coach, as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator.

It helped that Grantham didn't need a new job, coming off a 2009 season in which the Cowboys won the NFC East championship and finished second in the NFL in scoring defense. And Richt was convinced that Grantham had good reasons for wanting to return to campus life after spending the previous 11 years with four NFL teams.

"He felt like it was a very good thing for his career but also for his wife and kids to be in a collegiate atmosphere," Richt said. "I've got peace that he wants to be in college."

As Georgia wraps up spring practice this week, culminating in Saturday's G-Day intra-squad game at Sanford Stadium, Grantham hardly is settled in. He's living temporarily in a downtown Athens condo. His family remains in Dallas until the end of the school year. He's missing his daughter's soccer games and his son's baseball games.

But when he's at work -- and that's where he tends to be from 7:30 in the morning until 11:00 at night -- Grantham seems at home, enthusiastically and painstakingly installing his vision for Georgia's defense.

"Actually, it's probably best that [his wife and kids] aren't here," he said. "Because I don't feel guilty [about the long hours]."

Grantham, 43, says a myriad of reasons drew him from the NFL to the SEC, from Dallas to Athens. He had thought for years that he someday might like to return to college football, where his coaching career began, but each time an opportunity arose, either the timing or the situation seemed not right.

This time, things seemed right.

"Being able to be a coordinator at a program like this was exciting to me," Grantham said. "When I was first approached, I kind of got a feel for [Richt] and the program. I truly believe in his leadership style, in the way he handles his program, and I wanted to be a part of that.

"And I like to be aggressive on defense, like to attack, like to be relentless and ... basically intimidate and dominate the opponent. I knew you could recruit those kind of players here. Some places you can't do that. ... Because I had evaluated them, I knew the kind of players who were coming into the [NFL] from Georgia, not only from [UGA] but from the state. I knew if you could get those guys to come here, then you could play that style."

Even Georgia's drawn-out hiring process, which saw Richt pursue Virginia Tech's Bud Foster, LSU's John Chavis and Alabama's Kirby Smart, worked in Grantham's favor, keeping the job in play while he focused on finishing the Cowboys' regular season and preparing for the playoffs.

Three days after Smart said no to a three-year, $750,000-a-year offer, Grantham said yes to the same deal Jan. 14.

The last time Grantham coached in college, he worked for Nick Saban at Michigan State from 1996-98. Between that job and this one, he worked for the Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns and Cowboys -- all as defensive line coach except for a three-year stint (2005-07) as the Browns' defensive coordinator.

He seems unfazed by dealing with younger, rawer players this spring.

"He's got an infectious personality. He communicates extremely well," said Richt, who had never met Grantham before interviewing him for the job. "He's got a purpose. You can tell he's got a plan. He thinks things through. I think he probably thinks faster than most people. ... He's got a good demeanor on the field. I think guys respect his knowledge, respect his energy and respect where he's been."

Said outside linebacker Justin Houston, whose position is coached directly by Grantham: "He's a teaching coach. He takes you step by step and makes sure you learn the material. You have much respect for him because he came from the highest level of football and a great team at that."

By all accounts, Georgia's defense looked lost in the early sessions of spring practice as it transitioned to Grantham's 3-4 alignment. But for the past couple of weeks, Richt said, the practices have settled into a balance where on any given day the offense or the defense might get the better of the other.

"The players have responded," Grantham said. "But it's like anything: If you've been doing something a certain way for a while, it takes time to change."

He seems comfortable with the pace of the progress.

"We haven't put everything in by far," he said, "but we have put enough in that I think we could go out and play with what we've got and play effectively."

It's as if Grantham had been gravitating toward Georgia for a while. Five years ago, he and his wife bought a lot on Lake Oconee, an hour's drive from Athens. One year ago, they finished building a vacation home there.

And how many times has Grantham made it to the lake in the three months he has worked in Athens?

"One," he said.