Former Cougar and Hokie Todd Grantham while with the New Orleans Saints. (File photo)
Staff Report
Longtime coach and former Pulaski County Cougar and Virginia Tech Hokie, Todd Grantham is the new defensive coordinator at the University of Alabama – Birmingham.
Big Dawg Sports Talk’s Rick Watson was first to report the hiring locally.
According to Watson, Grantham has a strong personal relationship with new UAB head coach Alex Mortensen.
According to Alabama news website AL.com, the two coaches worked together in 2022 as analysts for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Mortensen, the son of the late ESPN NFL reporter Chris Mortensen, was the former offensive coordinator for UAB. He was promoted to interim head coach in October following the firing of Trent Dilfer, and was named the new head coach Dec. 5.
Grantham, 59 comes to UAB after spending part of last season with Oklahoma State. Grantham left the Cowboys following the firing of longtime OSU head coach Mike Gundy.
Before OSU, Grantham has worked previously as defensive coordinator with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns as well as Georgia, Louisville, Mississippi State and Florida in the college ranks. He’s also worked primarily as defensive line coach for numerous other NFL teams.
According to AL.com, during his 13 seasons as defensive coordinator in college football, Grantham has produced four top-10 defenses and six top-20 defenses.
In 2017, while at Mississippi State, Grantham was nominated for the Broyles Award – an award given to the best assistant coach in college football.
That year, AL.com reports, the Bulldogs were ranked 10th in the nation in defense. The previous season, the Bulldogs were ranked 110th.
