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Chris Low, ESPN Senior Writer
Veteran coach Todd Grantham is returning to college football to be Mike Gundy’s defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.
Grantham has had previous defensive coordinator stints in both college and the NFL, and also worked under Nick Saban at two different stops. Grantham spent the past two seasons in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints. He came in as Dennis Allen’s defensive line coach but was moved to a senior adviser role earlier this year after Allen was fired and Darren Rizzi took over as interim coach. Rizzi said Grantham’s last day with the Saints will be Tuesday and he will then join Gundy in Stillwater.
“He’s done a heck of a job here behind the scenes with the defensive staff,” Rizzi told reporters. “But it’s certainly a great opportunity for him. He made the decision he wanted to get back in the college game. … I think Mike Gundy is getting a great coach.”
Grantham, 58, was a senior defensive analyst at Alabama in 2022 and interviewed for the defensive coordinator job when Pete Golding left for Ole Miss after the season. Grantham, who also worked under Saban at Michigan State as assistant head coach and defensive line coach in the late 1990s, ultimately decided to return to the NFL in 2022.
Most of his experience has come in the college game. He was Florida‘s defensive coordinator from 2018 to 2021 under Dan Mullen and Mississippi State‘s defensive coordinator the year before under Mullen in 2017. Grantham was part of several staff changes Mullen made toward the end of the 2021 season, but Mullen was then himself fired before the last regular-season game. The Gators were 5-6 at the time of his firing.
Grantham also worked under Bobby Petrino as Louisville‘s defensive coordinator, and his first college defensive coordinator job was at Georgia under Mark Richt from 2010 to 2013. Grantham was the Cleveland Browns‘ defensive coordinator from 2005 to 2007. He played at Virginia Tech under Frank Beamer and started his coaching career there.
Grantham’s defenses at Florida registered 65 forced turnovers from 2018 to 2020, the 11th most in the country. The Gators led the SEC in sacks in both 2019 and 2020. Grantham was nominated for the Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in college football during his one season at Mississippi State in 2017, and all three of his Louisville defenses ranked in the top 20 nationally in total defense.
In joining Gundy at Oklahoma State, Grantham will be challenged to rebuild a defense that hit bottom this season. The Cowboys (3-9) ranked 126th nationally in scoring (35.6 points per game) and next-to-last nationally in total defense (500.6 yards per game). Gundy agreed to a restructured contract last week and will return for his 21st season.