Nick Saban reveals decision to hire Todd Grantham, Zach Mettenberger to analyst roles

Another offseason, another litany of former Power 5 coaches joining the ranks of Alabama analysts. This season includes several, but most notably Todd Grantham and Zach Mettenberger.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban addressed these hirings for the first time Friday afternoon ahead of the first day of spring practice, saying that he has known and worked with both coaches over his illustrious career.

“Todd’s been a defensive coordinator, in college, in this league (SEC) for a long time. So [Grantham] can add significant knowledge and experience on how to help solve some of the issues and problems that we have. And I think, you know, Zach is a very, very good young guy who’s very bright and has a bright future,” Saban said. “I’m sure he’s going to learn and he’s got great work ethic and he’s been very committed to doing a good job since he’s been here.”

Grantham was relieved of his duties back in early November as the Gators were hovering around the bottom half of the SEC in total and scoring defense for a second-straight season. Before that, he was Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator alongside Dan Mullen in 2017. That year, the Bulldogs were ranked in the top-10 nationally in total defense, allowing only 306.3 yards per game.

This will also be Grantham’s second stint coaching under Nick Saban. He worked for the Alabama head coach at Michigan State from 1996-98, serving as the defensive line coach. He was also the assistant head coach for the 1998 season. While that was a quarter of a century ago, it does suggest that there’s at least some comfort level between the two.

Mettenberger is already familiar with Nick Saban and the Alabama football program, too. His LSU teams faced off against the Crimson Tide on four separate occasions, including twice during the 2011 season when Alabama and LSU played a second time for a national title, which Alabama won by a wide margin.

After his senior season, Mettenberger went on to be a sixth-round pick (No. 178 overall) by the Tennessee Titans in the 2014 NFL Draft. Over the next two seasons, the former pocket passer played in 14 games with 10 starts, throwing for 2,347 yards and 12 touchdowns with 14 interceptions.

Since then, Mettenberger has stayed around the sport, becoming the offensive coordinator at Hillsboro (Tenn.) High School in 2020, then moved to a role as an assistant coach at Father Ryan (Tenn.) this past season. Now that he’s looking to make the jump to the college ranks, there’s no better place to make that transition than under Saban in Tuscaloosa.