Sources: Bama candidate Grantham signs up with Saints

Veteran coach Todd Grantham, who was among the leading prospects for Alabama’s defensive coordinator job and talked to with Nick Saban, has rather chosen to go back to the NFL as a defensive assistant with the New Orleans Saints, sources told ESPN on Friday.Grantham, who previously coached in the NFL for 11 seasons, spent the 2022 season as an off-field expert at Alabama. Saban has actually had success bringing in developed coaches who have actually either been fired or run out work, making them an expert for a year or more and then raising them to a coordinator’s role.Grantham has been an organizer at three

various schools in the SEC and worked under Saban at Michigan State. Grantham was fired by Dan Mullen towards completion of the 2021 season at Florida, preceding Mullen’s firing as head coach when the Gators completed 6-7, and Saban then brought in Grantham as an analyst.Saban, entering his 17th season at Alabama, is trying to find a replacement for Pete Golding, who left last month to take the defensive planner’s task at Ole Miss.Editor’s Picks 1 Related Grantham signs up with a Saints’defensive personnel that has seen both co-defensive coordinators leave since the end of the season. Ryan Nielsen took a task with

the Atlanta Falcons, and Kris Richard was fired. Grantham is expected to work with the Saints’protective line, as head coach Dennis Allen calls the plays on defense.During Grantham’s time at Florida, the Gators were among the SEC’s finest at producing unfavorable plays on defense. They had 158 sacks from 2018-21, ranking initially in the SEC and third nationally during that period. They required 78 turnovers

during that very same duration, which ranked 4th in the SEC and 19th nationally. Florida gave up 20 points per game in 2018 and 15.5 points per game in 2019, however those numbers declined throughout Grantham’s last two seasons– 30.8 points in 2020 and 26.8 points in 2021– and he was fired the day after the Gators’ 40-17 loss to South Carolina with three games remaining in the 2021 routine season.In his only season at Mississippi State, Grantham was a Broyles Award semifinalist as the leading assistant coach in the nation and led Mississippi State to its finest finish in overall defense (302 lawns per game ), yards per play(5.2 )and third-down defense (31 percent) considering that 1999. Grantham, who likewise acted as Georgia’s protective organizer from 2010-13, was the Cleveland Browns ‘defensive organizer from 2005-07. Saban tried to employ Grantham prior to the 2019 season at Alabama, but Grantham had only been at Florida for one season and chosen to stay put. Grantham likewise declined a job to end up being the Cincinnati Bengals’protective planner that same year. Saban showed interest in employing Grantham on 2 other occasions as his defensive planner– when Saban went to the Miami Dolphins from LSU in 2005 and when Saban went to LSU from Michigan State in 2000. With Grantham deciding to go back to the NFL, that suggests Saban is still searching for organizers on both sides of the ball. He could be near to filling his offending area, as sources informed ESPN that Notre Dame’s Tommy Rees has emerged as the top target. Saban carried out an extensive interview with Rees via Zoom on Wednesday, and Rees

flew to Tuscaloosa on Thursday to go to school. Rees, 30, is among youngest planners in college football. He was the Irish offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach the previous 3 seasons and almost chose Brian Kelly to LSU prior to the 2022 season.Saban’s defensive coordinator hires have usually been coaches he’s worked with in the past and coaches who have run his protective system. As Saban conducted this search, sources informed ESPN that he consulted with former Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt about the task, however that the unpredictability surrounding Pruitt and his involvement in Tennessee’s pending NCAA case, and any

scrutiny that would have originated from the SEC workplace, worked versus Pruitt and his current chances of landing an on-field or planner’s position at any school in the league.Tennessee, charged with 18 NCAA Level 1 offenses on Pruitt’s watch, fired Pruitt for cause following the 2020 season. Whatever penalties Pruitt may sustain from the NCAA would follow him to any school that tried to employ him, however there is no SEC law specifically preventing a school from employing him. Coaching hires are institutional decisions.Pruitt was Alabama’s defensive planner from 2016-2017. The Crimson Tide won a championship game in 2017 and ranked first nationally in scoring defense(11.9 points per game ). Pruitt also worked under Saban at Alabama from 2007-12 prior to going to Florida State as protective planner and after that Georgia as protective organizer. Pruitt has actually not operated in college football considering that his ouster at Tennessee.Alabama finished in the top 20 nationally in scoring defense all 4 of Golding’s seasons as protective coordinator.

Golding’s finest season was this previous year when the Tide ended up connected for ninth nationally in scoring defense( 18.2 points per game ), 13th in total defense(318.2 points per game)and 4th in yards per play(4.59). However in Alabama’s 2 losses, the Tide quit 52 indicate Tennessee and 32 to LSU in overtime.The Crimson Tide ended up 11-2 this previous season and missed out on the College Football Playoff for just the 2nd time since its inception in the

2014 season.