Ga. Recruits Commit, Grantham Does Not

The Georgia Bulldogs hosted a National Signing Day event in which their coordinators talked to fans and then later in the day to the media covering the team.

Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham didn't exactly say, "no, I'm staying here" when asked about NFL rumors. The Saints have said they intend to interview Grantham for their d-coordinator opening. The Eagles, as seems to be their style under new coach Chip Kelly, haven't said anything, but various reports have indicated Grantham might be in their sights, as well.

A fan asked Grantham if he will be at Georgia two or three years from now.

"You know what? I can tell you this, that my family loves it here. I like it here a lot, and this is a very special place, and I think today needs to be focused on the players we've got here right now..." Grantham said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"No comment" would have conveyed exactly the same amount of useful information.

Later, in the media session, Grantham said he "fully expects" to be at Georgia this coming season, but he didn't say he wouldn't interview with the Saints or Eagles.

"Right not I'm the defensive coordinator at Georgia and I'm certainly looking forward to coaching these guys," Grantham said, according to Macon.com. "You know what, I get a lot of inquiries all the time. And there's no way I'm gonna comment on any particular one, because if I did, there's no way I could do my job."

(In other words, the Georgia defensive coordinator is so deluged with NFL interest, if he said, 'hey, I'm gonna interview with team x' every time that came up, he would have no time for coaching. Riiiggght.)

Grantham did release a statement last year denying interest in NFL jobs, reporters pointed out Wednesday.

"Yeah, and you know what, after thinking about it, I realized that was a mistake," Grantham said. "Because it seems that things keep popping up from time to time, so I think the best thing is to let things be as they are and move on."

(Raise your hand out there if you thought that last statement made any sense whatsoever.)

Asked what he told recruits, Grantham said he told them he and his family love the school, but "as coaches, if things come up, you're always gonna say, 'Hey, what's best for your family?' and see what happens. Nothing's come up for me from the standpoint of I feel like I have to contractually say something."

Grantham's contract stipulates he has to inform athletic director Greg McGarity if he is having substantive discussions about another job, Macon.com said.

Georgia coach Mark Richt rechoed Grantham's contention that this was not an appropriate time to discuss Grantham's future.

Meanwhile, the Saints acknowledged they contacted the 49ers for permission to talk to secondary coach Ed Donatell, and were denied permission, since Donatell is under contract. Teams have to let assistants leave to become head coaches, don't have to let them leave to become coordinators. Donatell was heavily mentioned in early speculation about the Eagles' defensive coordinator position, not so much lately.

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The Eagles released their most disastrous 2012 free agent signee, offensive tackle Demetress Bell, and signed a defensive lineman/linebacker from the CFL named Chris McCoy. McCoy seems like a 3-4 kind of guy.

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In Michael Vick non-news, Wednesday was the day $3 million of the quarterback's 2013 salary became guaranteed. But as was reported a few weeks ago, here and everywhere else, that doesn't mean the Eagles will give Vick $3 million. Wherever he goes, whether he's traded or released, that team pays his contract. If Vick were to somehow sign a renegotiated deal for less than $3 million this season, the Eagles would have to pay the difference between the new deal and $3 million. If he didn't sign anywhere at all, they'd owe him $3 million. But Vick is going to play somewhere for at least $3 million, so the whole Wednesday thing is moot.

I still say people who believe a 33-year-old, turnover-prone, injury-prone QB is a good fit for Chip Kelly's offense because he can still run a little are delusional, but I really don't know what Kelly is thinking. If he wants to take a while to review film and ponder the Vick possibilities, that's fine with me. There's no rush, in February. Maybe the Eagles can get a conditional draft pick for him, or something.

But the last two years were just a complete disaster, in terms of what the rest of the league thinks of Vick. Not sure Mike really understands that yet. Hope Chip does.