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Former Florida defensive coordinator joining Nick Saban staff at Alabama

Nikki Chavanelleby: Nikki Chavanelle02/27/22NikkiChavanelle
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Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Former Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is staying in the SEC, according to On3’s Matt Zenitz. Zenitz shared Sunday that Grantham has accepted an analyst position at Alabama with Nick Saban. He is going to begin his duties in Tuscaloosa this week.

Grantham was fired by former Florida coach Dan Mullen last season following the Gators’ loss at South Carolina, along with offensive line coach John Hevesy. Mullen also lost his job in the following weeks after a 6-7 year, including losses to Kentucky, LSU, South Carolina and Missouri. After the departure of their DC, the Gators gave up 52 points to Samford.

Todd Grantham, Nick Saban reunited in Tuscaloosa

Grantham and Saban have history coaching together. After spending six years as an assistant at his alma mater, Virginia Tech, Grantham was hired in 1996 as the Michigan State defensive line coach by Saban, who was heading into his second season with the Spartans.

Grantham said he learned a lot from him during their time together in East Lansing.

“I worked for (Saban) for three years,” Grantham said in 2020. “Have the utmost respect for him. And a lot of the things we do from a fundamental and philosophical standpoint come from my times with him.

“When I went there, it was probably the biggest adjustment I had to make from a coaching standpoint. Just from terminology, philosophy, how he recruited, all of that relative to coming from Virginia Tech. So that really was a big growth in my career.”

Prior to the 1998 season, Saban promoted Grantham to associate head coach at the age of 31. He left the following year to be the defensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts.

Grantham spent 11 years in the NFL with Colts (1999–2001), Houston Texans (2002–04), Cleveland Browns (2005–07) and Dallas Cowboys (2008–09), serving as the defensive coordinator in Cleveland.

Grantham was also the DC at Georgia (2010-13), Louisville (2014-16) and Mississippi State (2017) before coming to UF (2018-21).