STILLWATER -- Whether Mike Gundy was looking for a proven track record, a major-college background or a wealth of NFL experience, he found them all in Oklahoma State's next defensive coordinator.
Gundy is set to hire current New Orleans Saints assistant Todd Grantham to run the Cowboy defense, according to multiple online reports, coming first from PokesReport.com.
The 58-year-old Grantham has been a defensive coordinator at three prominent Southeastern Conference programs as well as the NFL's Cleveland Browns, not to mention non-coordinator stops at Alabama, the Dallas Cowboys and multiple other major-college schools.
The question that lingers is the type of defense Grantham will bring to Stillwater.
Currently, he's coaching in a system that uses a four-man front, but his most successful work as a coordinator was at Georgia from 2010-13, where he installed a 3-4 scheme.
Two years ago, Gundy hired Bryan Nardo from Division II Gannon University specifically to run the 3-3-5 scheme, but after one year, the Cowboys adjusted the defense to use more frequent four-man fronts. After injuries hit early this season, the scheme morphed into almost exclusively a 4-2-5 base.
One thing is certain, Grantham has picked up knowledge from a wide variety of excellent head coaches throughout his 35-year coaching journey.
Originally from Pulaski, Virginia, Grantham played at Virginia Tech from 1984-88 and began coaching there under the legendary Frank Beamer in 1990. In 1996, he left Virginia Tech to join Nick Saban's staff at Michigan State, and in 1998, Saban promoted Grantham to assistant head coach.
The 1999 season began a run of NFL jobs as defensive line coach for the Colts and Texans, then a three-year stint as the Browns' defensive coordinator before spending two coaching the line at Dallas.
In 2010, Grantham returned to the college game with four years as the coordinator at Georgia, three at Louisville and one at Mississippi State under Dan Mullen, who he followed to Florida for four years, ending in 2021.
He served as a defensive analyst for Saban at Alabama in 2022 and joined the Saints last year.
At OSU, he will fill the vacancy created Wednesday when Gundy fired Nardo after two seasons.
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