Georgia Bulldogs Football: Is Todd Grantham More Valuable Than Mark Richt?

This is not a surprise to anyone who follows the Georgia Bulldogs, but Mark Richt and Todd Grantham received contract extensions. Richt signed a three-year extension that will pay him through the 2016 season, while Grantham signed a two-year extension through the 2014 season.

This is good for Richt, because he has taken a lot of heat due to the team underachieving the last few years. But after a SEC East title in 2011, the heat cooled off a bit. And from the looks of things, Richt will end his career with the Bulldogs.

But here’s a question, was Grantham’s extension more important for the future of the Bulldogs?

Here’s the reason I ask that question: We know what Richt can do. He has won a lot of games and has led the Bulldogs to the SEC Championship game four times in his career. But it seems like he’s missing one thing to get him over that hump, and that hump is the national title.

As for Grantham, based on what he did with this unit last season and the second half of the 2010 year, he could be the reason the Bulldogs take their game to a whole new level.

In 2011, Georgia finished fifth in the nation in total defense and seventh in turnovers created with 32.

Now, credit has to go to the players on the unit, such as Jarvis Jones, DeAngelo Tyson and Abry Jones. But Grantham’s 3-4 scheme gave his players the ability to make plays in open space, and they did not disappoint the former Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator.

One could make the argument Grantham is the anti-Richt in terms of handling himself on the sidelines with his players and opposing players as well.

For example, in the game against Florida in 2010, Grantham made the choke sign to Gators kicker Chas Henry, which was blasted all over the country.

Another example is last season, when he and Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin nearly came to blows when the two met at the middle of the field after the game.

Those antics are not acceptable by any means, and Richt and Grantham know it. But he’s has an edge to him and the players feed off that. That edge was missing when former defensive coordinator Willie Martinez was in control.

When Grantham was the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns from 2005 to 2007, it was a mix of good and bad results. The Browns were ranked 11th in total defense in his first year, but dropped to 25th in his third and final season.

That won’t happen at UGA, and the reason for that is that he will have more talent to work with year in and year out. Jones and Bacarri Rambo will be gone after this season, but players like Ray Drew and Corey Moore are ready to step in and make plays.

One other note about Grantham is he’s a good resource for players when it comes to seeking advice for taking their talents to the NFL. Back in December, Grantham said in a piece done by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that if a player is not projected in the top 15 of the draft, that player should stay in school.

There’s no question Richt has done a lot for the program and he deserved the contract extension. But based on the production the defense has done the last year and a half, Grantham is a guy that the coaching staff can’t afford to lose anytime soon.