Georgia Football: Meet Todd Grantham, Defensive Coordinator of the Bulldogs

Every Monday, The SEC Blog will feature an assistant coach in the SEC. This week, we take a look at Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.

He's only entering his third season as the defensive coordinator of the Georgia Bulldogs, and Todd Grantham has already established himself as one of the SEC's elite assistant coaches.

Grantham came to Athens from the Dallas Cowboys, where he spent two seasons as the defensive-line coach. He spent the 11 seasons prior to coming to Georgia in the NFL. His inexperience at the college level led to some criticism, including from yours truly, when he was hired in January 2010.

After two seasons in Athens, he's answered his critics with flying colors. 

His Bulldog team finished fifth in the nation in total defense in 2011, when it allowed just 277.2 yards per game. Alabama and LSU's defenses got all of the publicity towards the end of the season, but Georgia's was nearly as good.

With nine starters returning, the Bulldog defense should only get better in 2012—despite several early-season suspensions.

Grantham's time in Athens hasn't been without controversy. In 2010, he was caught by cameras giving the choke sign to Florida place kicker Chas Henry shortly before Henry kicked the game-winning field goal for the Gators.

Grantham later said that he regretted the decision but did not apologize to Henry, according to Seth Emerson of the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer. 

In 2011, he was seen screaming and pointing at Vanderbilt's James Franklin following Georgia's 33-28 win over the Commodores. Grantham again stopped short of apologizing for his actions in his statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but did say that "it was unfortunate that things escalated to a confrontation."

Grantham has a temper, and sometimes that gets the best of him. But he's brought the intensity back to a Georgia defense that was remarkably stagnant during the tenure of former defensive coordinator Willie Martinez.

Big things are expected of Georgia's defense in 2012, and Grantham is a big reason why. If Georgia is going to take that next step and vault itself into legitimate BCS title contention, Grantham will be a big reason why.

Follow @BarrettSallee