Defensive Line Coach Todd Grantham Hired

[HoleInTheRoof]

Cowboys | Team hires Grantham
Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:46:45 -0800
The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have hired former Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Todd Grantham to be their defensive line coach.



Never heard of the guy.

 

[tomson75]

Sweet....I think. Maybe. Wait, Who?

 

[Chocolate Lab]

He was the DC for the Browns until recently. He worked under Capers with the Texans, also.

The 34 theme must have been pretty important to the team.

 

[BlueStar II]

Can anybody give us any kind of background info. on this guy?

 

[Hostile]

Consider the source...



Todd Grantham

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Todd Grantham
Date of birth September 13, 1966 (1966-09-13) (age 41)
Place of birth Pulaski, Virginia
Position(s) Defensive Coordinator
College Virginia Tech
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1990-1995 Virginia Tech
1996-1998 Michigan State
1999-2001 Indianapolis Colts
2002-2004 Houston Texans
2005-2007 Cleveland Browns



Todd Grantham (born September 13, 1966 in Pulaski, Virginia) was most recently the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the NFL.

Contents


[edit] Virginia Tech (1990-1995)

Grantham spent six seasons at his alma mater, Virginia Tech, the final two as defensive line coach. In 1995, the Hokies ranked first nationally in rushing defense, fifth in scoring defense and 10th in total defense. Virginia Tech racked up 50 sacks en route to the Big East title and a Sugar Bowl triumph over Texas. Grantham coached defensive ends and inside linebackers from 1990-91 and defensive tackles from 1992-93.

[edit] Michigan State (1996-1998)

Grantham then served three seasons as the defensive line coach at Michigan State. He added the title of assistant head coach in his final season in East Lansing in 1998. Michigan State ranked 19th in total defense in 1996 and 13th in 1997, making consecutive bowl trips.

[edit] Indianapolis Colts (1999-2001)

Grantham was hired by Jim Mora in 1998 to coach the Defensive Line. His D-Line was one of the catalysts of the biggest turnaround in league history (3-13 to 13-3), ultimately helping the Colts defense compile 56 sacks in two years which was a club record since moving to Indianapolis. During his tenure in Indianapolis, the Colts had a 29-19 record.

[edit] Houston Texans (2002-2004)

After Jim Mora was relieved of his duty's in Indianapolis, Grantham would move on to the newly formed Houston Texans, joining the staff of former Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive Coordinator and Inaugural Carolina Panthers head coach Dom Capers. Grantham would be given lots of talent to work with from the start, as the Texans acquired Pro Bowl Defensive End Gary Walker and Nose Tackle Seth Payne from the Jacksonville Jaguars in the expansion draft.

In 2002, his influence was evident on the line as starters Gary Walker, Seth Payne, and Jerry Deloach all posted career high's in tackles. Gary Walker would also earn his second Pro Bowl appearance under his tutelage that season.

2003 would be a testing year for the line, as Pro Bowler Gary Walker and Seth Payne would only play in a combined six games that year due to injury. However, Jerry Deloach and Steve Martin would fill in with great success, posting a combined 201 tackles. Despite the very poor 5-11 record, there was optimism for the future of the steadily improving defense.

2004 would be a break-out year for the Texans. Todd Grantham's line would once again make a major contribution, helping the Texans achieve the 13th ranked run defense in the league. Despite the low number of sacks (5.5) , they put great pressure on opposing quarterbacks (76 recorded pressures) and helped anchor the defense that was equipped with playmakers such as 2004 1st round draft pick Dunta Robinson, former Ravens Linebacker Jamie Sharper, and Veteran Defensive Backs Aaron Glenn and Marcus Coleman. Despite posting a mediocre 7-9 record, the Texans were poised to start making an impact in the NFL after improving every season since there inception in 2002.

After three strong seasons with the Texans, Todd Grantham would accept an offer by Romeo Crennel to become Defensive Coordinator of the Browns. After he left, the Houston Texans would fall apart as they posted a 2-14 record. Dom Capers was fired after the end of the season.

[edit] Cleveland Browns (2005-2007)

Todd Grantham's first year as coordinator of the Browns defense was a mix of good and bad.

They once again fielded one of the NFL's top pass defenses, actually stepping up in rank from 5th to 4th in the NFL. When starting cornerback Gary Baxter went down with a knee injury that ended his season, Leigh Bodden emerged as a solid playmaker. Overall, their secondary continued to play at a high level.

They also ranked 11th in scoring defense despite possessing one of the leagues worst run defenses. Orpheus Roye would post a career high with 88 tackles and also make 3 sacks.

His only real blunder was trying to convert pass rush specialist Kenard Lang into a 3-4 linebacker. He would have trouble adapting to the new position and be released after season's end.

With the added pressure of second year quarterback Charlie Frye taking the helm of an already youthful offense, there are high expectations on Grantham's unit to improve and to help give Frye the safety net he needs to develop into a great quarterback.

He was fired on January 11, 2008 after the team just missed the playoffs.

 

[brewers47]

Pretty Good Hire he has coordinating experience, and the Browns were getting better at the end of the season on defense.

And he has made the D-Lines pretty good at each of his stops

 

[theogt]

Sounds like he was the scapegoat in Cleveland.

 

[brewers47]

Dallas Cowboys hire Grantham as defensive line coach

[SIZE=-1]04:55 PM CST on Thursday, January 24, 2008

[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
tarcher@***BANNED-URL***[/SIZE]

IRVING – Wade Phillips did not wait long to find a new assistant coach.
Todd Grantham was hired Thursday to be the Dallas Cowboys' new defensive line coach, replacing Kacy Rodgers, who joined Tony Sparano's staff in Miami on Wednesday.


Grantham, 41, had been Cleveland's defensive coordinator from 2005 to '07 and spent the three previous years coaching Houston's defensive line, giving him six years of experience in a 3-4 scheme.


"Todd is an outstanding person and coach," Phillips said. "His familiarity with many of the things we do up front was important, but his experience as a coordinator is what elevated him in our eyes. He knows and understands how one position group on the defense affects everything else that goes on in the scheme. You can only gain that type of knowledge of the big picture by actually creating a game plan and coordinating a defense, and I think it’s a huge plus."


Grantham was Indianapolis' defensive line coach from 1999 to 2001 and spent the previous nine years at Virginia Tech, his alma mater, and Michigan State.


Cleveland had the 30th-ranked defense in the league in 2007, allowing 359.6 yards per game, including 27th against the run (229.5 yards). But it showed improvement late in the season, giving up just 14.6 points per game over the final six weeks. In Grantham's first two years, the Browns' defenses ranked 27th and 16th.
Phillips has two more coaching vacancies to fill – defensive backs and linebackers.

 

[Hostile]

I know absolutely nothing about him.

 

[Woods]

Well, his resume is better than K Roger's, no?

That's one way to look at it.

It seems like a step up.

 

[tomson75]

"...fielded one of the leagues top pass defenses..."

I can dig it.

 

[Vintage]

I know nothing about him either.

But the fact that he was a DC for the past three years gives me cautious optimism.

 

[Hostile]

I know nothing about him either.

But the fact that he was a DC for the past three years gives me cautious optimism.

Good description of my feelings too.

 

[Woods]

I know nothing about him either.

But the fact that he was a DC for the past three years gives me cautious optimism.

He's a pretty young guy as well . . . .

 

[Vintage]

Good description of my feelings too.

I was pretty worried when our assistants were jumping ship.

But I think we are going to piece together a nice coaching staff once again. Wade certainly deserves credit for it. But Jerry does too. He didn't have to go pay Garrett that much. But he did. And I think he realizes that what Romo probably needs more than anything is another season of offensive continuity.

I think we got a nice core of coaches and players.

This draft could really make us or break us. This might be the difference between a perennial "make the playoff" team and a perennial contender. We got a few holes....and with a good draft, we could fill those holes pretty damn well.

So when I read in another thread that we have the largest coaching presence at the Senior Bowl and a bunch of our scouts are there.... I am feeling much better about this team than I have since the Giants loss.

I could also be looking for any reason to be optimistic too.....dunno.

 

[CoachHodnett]

I am EXCITED about this hire for more than one reason.

This is actually a gateway for me into the Cowboys organization. I know it may seem like a longshot scenario, but one of my dad's close friends (close as in meaning he was a groomsmen for my dad) went to VT with Todd and is still real close to him. In fact, we were all out to dinner when Todd called my dad's friend to tell him he had been let go by the Browns.

I'm just hoping this pipeline can be beneficial in terms of supplying some of the behind the scenes info (and perhaps a little something on the jobfront for me lol).

 

[brewers47]

If they like the whole coordinator/3-4 route. I wouldnt be surprised if Chuck Bresnahan is named the LB Coach here pretty soon.

 

[Yeagermeister]

I am EXCITED about this hire for more than one reason.

This is actually a gateway for me into the Cowboys organization. I know it may seem like a longshot scenario, but one of my dad's close friends (close as in meaning he was a groomsmen for my dad) went to VT with Todd and is still real close to him. In fact, we were all out to dinner when Todd called my dad's friend to tell him he had been let go by the Browns.

I'm just hoping this pipeline can be beneficial in terms of supplying some of the behind the scenes info (and perhaps a little something on the jobfront for me lol).

Can you coach special teams? :laugh1:

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Can you coach special teams? :laugh1:

:laugh2: No kidding.

 

[Hostile]

I am EXCITED about this hire for more than one reason.

This is actually a gateway for me into the Cowboys organization. I know it may seem like a longshot scenario, but one of my dad's close friends (close as in meaning he was a groomsmen for my dad) went to VT with Todd and is still real close to him. In fact, we were all out to dinner when Todd called my dad's friend to tell him he had been let go by the Browns.

I'm just hoping this pipeline can be beneficial in terms of supplying some of the behind the scenes info (and perhaps a little something on the jobfront for me lol).

Now, that's something I like to hear.

Cross my fingers for you Coach.