WNEG-TV

ATHENS - Georgia has finally landed a defensive coordinator, hiring Dallas Cowboys line coach Todd Grantham. Grantham is in his second year with the Cowboys, who'll face Minnesota in the second round of the NFL playoffs Sunday.

He previously spent three years as defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns and a total of six years as an assistant at Houston and Indianapolis.

He's also coached in the college ranks, at Michigan State and his alma mater, Virginia Tech.

The hiring of Grantham ends a search in which Georgia pursued several high-profile coordinators to replace Willie Martinez.

Among those turned down the Bulldogs: Virginia Tech's Bud Foster, LSU's John Chavis and Alabama's Kirby Smart.

Meanwhile, Al Groh says he's heading to Georgia Tech to be the Yellow Jackets' defensive coordinator.

The former Virginia coach told The Associated Press on Friday that he set out several criteria before deciding where he wanted to coach in 2010, and Georgia Tech meets them.

The top priority was taking a job where there's a chance to win championships.

The Yellow Jackets are coming off their first outright ACC title since 1990 and played in the Orange Bowl. But they struggled on defense, firing coordinator Dave Wommack shortly after the season. Groh was fired after nine seasons as Virginia's head coach.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)