Todd Grantham Does Right Thing Standing Up for Players, but Is Fight His Fault?

After a grueling finish to Georgia's 33-28 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday, Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham went to the defense of his players by engaging in a heated war of words with the Commodores' head coach James Franklin.

The content of the argument has been kept under wraps, though the entire college football nation should be aware by now of the post-game quarrel between the two coaches.

A coach will always come to the defense of his players, as it is in the nature of the position.

The scuffle that originally began between Grantham, Franklin and Vandy tight end Austin Monahan, who stepped in between the two coaches, escalating into full-fledged chest bump between the two teams.

Grantham, who said after the game, "I love my players and I'm going to support my players," absolutely did the right thing, and surely he gets the credit for the escalation.

Time and Place

Public callouts will always get the press and attention they deserve, and it typically comes back to be a distraction for either party.

Yes, Grantham did the right thing. Yes, most of the blame could be pointed at him, but in the heat of the moment, it is not hard to sympathize for him. Nevertheless, while there could have been a better time and place for his outburst, the manner of his frustration could have been manifested in a less provocative way.

Many can understand his grievance, but hindsight is always 20/20.

In a gritty conference matchup that went down to the wire, which included a rather frisky second half, Georgia head coach Mark Richt expressed his disappointment.

"I hate the fact that at the end of the game we can't shake hands and get off the field like gentlemen," Richt said. "We are grown men and we all need to act that way. But we're also competitors."

Obviously, few coaches would want to end a football game in such a heated manner, but most will attest to the game's natural competitive edge.

At the end of the day, a football game was played. One team won and one team lost, and some made headlines for the wrong reasons.