Florida Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has long been thought of as one of the best defensive minds in college football and he will be paid as such in 2018.
Tuesday the Florida Gators released contract details for their 10 assistant coaches and Grantham was the only coach on a three-year deal. His $4,470,000 contract will pay him $1,390,000 in 2018, $1,490,000 in 2019 and $1,590,000 in 2020. In addition to the base salary Grantham will receiver a $10,000 stipend annually from Florida’s contract with Nike, which will push his total compensation package to $4,500,000 over three years.
Grantham is the highest paid assistant in Florida football history.
The top four highest paid assistant coaches in the country are LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda ($1,800,000 per year), Clemson defensive coordinator Brett Venables ($1,700,000 per year) and Arkansas Defensive coordinator John Chavis ($1,550,000).
Grantham spent 2017 with Dan Mullen at Mississippi State. His Bulldogs defense finished ranked 10th in total defense (302 yards per game) after ranking 110th (459.1 yards per game) the year previous. The Bulldogs also trimmed 11.4 points per game off of its scoring defense from 31.8 in 2016 to 20.4 in 2017.
Grantham takes over a Florida defense that allowed 349.3 yards per-game, the highest total since 2007 and 27.3 points-per-game, the most allowed in UF record books since 1946. His attacking 3-4 style of defense was a hit for the Gators this spring.
“I like our progress, I like the way we’re moving forward. We just got to continue to work and grind. There’s no magic dust for what we need to do, we just need to continue to work and prepare and develop the habits you need to play with the energy and effort that we need to play.”