College Football

Todd Grantham leaving Georgia for defensive coordinator job at Louisville, per report

It appears Bobby Petrino has found the man he wants to run his defense.

By Steven Muma@akulawolf Jan 12, 2014, 5:04pm EST

Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is leaving Athens to accept the same position on Bobby Petrino's new staff at Louisville, according to a report from ESPN's Joe Schad. Grantham had been the defensive coordinator at UGA since 2010.

In December, Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt said he expected every member of his staff to return in 2014. Grantham took some criticism during the 2013 season for a UGA defensive unit that struggled.

Grantham had already been among the country's highest-paid assistants, and now he will join the seven-figure club -- per Schad, he is getting a guaranteed five-year deal worth $1 million per season, a bump from the $850,000 he was making with the Bulldogs. It's also added job security since his UGA deal only ran through 2015.

He has an extensive history of coaching on the defensive side, beginning with a tenure as the defensive ends and inside linebackers coach at Virginia Tech in 1990. Following a stint at Michigan State, he made the move to the NFL, where he served primarily as a defensive line coach for a decade. Before taking the job at UGA, his only experience as a defensive coordinator was with the Cleveland Browns from 2005 to 2007.