Georgia's long and Georgia Tech's brief hunt for defensive coordinators ended in a virtual dead heat Friday when the Bulldogs hired Todd Grantham of the Dallas Cowboys and the Yellow Jackets landed Al Groh (left), late of the University of Virginia.
Let's compare and contrast.
The searches: Georgia's lasted six weeks as Virginia Tech's Bud Foster, LSU's John Chavis and Alabama's Kirby Smart all declined to take a lateral move to replace Willie Martinez. Each can send Mark Richt a thank-you card for helping them get raises. . . . Tech's was technically one week since Dave Wommack was fired last Friday, but head coach Paul Johnson said he'd decided to can Wommack earlier. Groh's name surfaced immediately as his replacement, suggesting he and Johnson had discussions before Wommack was shown the door.
The salaries: Grantham's deal is reportedly three seasons for $750,000, meaning the Bulldogs are the latest shameless contributor to the out-of-control salary escalation in college football . . . Groh's pay, yet to be disclosed, will surely be less -- this being the more grounded ACC. He's not sweating over the details, having walked away from Virginia with a $4.33 million buyout.
The strategies: Both favor a 3-4 defensive alignment, which would represent a switch from the 4-3 that they have employed. For Tech, that means both sides of the ball will have undergone a philosophical overhaul in the Johnson era. The change could be felt slightly this season before the schools can re-balance their recruiting approach.
The experience: Grantham, at 43, is young enough to be the son of Groh, 65. Still, this marks his seventh job, four in the NFL. However, he's been a coordinator but once, with the Browns from 2005-07 . . . Groh has done it all -- head coach (college and pros), defensive and offensive coordinator, even assistant coach with the Falcons.
Common ground: When Nick Saban was head coach of the Miami Dolphins, he offered Grantham the coordinator job. Early this week, Dolphins head honcho Bill Parcells interviewed Groh, a longtime friend, for the Miami gig.
What have you done for us lately? The Cowboys, where Grantham is the defensive line coach, ranked second in the NFL for scoring defense. (He did get fired from his previous job with Cleveland.) Virginia, where Groh was head coach, ranked 68th in the NCAA.
Leave a comment