Football
Tony Grantham
- Title:
- Asst. Coach/Inside Linebackers/Special Teams
- Email:
- tony@GoCards.com
- Phone:
- 852-6325
Tony Grantham is in his third season as the inside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator for head coach Bobby Petrino.
In guiding the Cardinals to another top 20 defensive performance, Grantham helped coach inside linebackers Keith Kelsey and James Burgess to excellent seasons.
Kelsey, first team all-ACC performer, led the Cardinals in tackles with 107 — the first 100 or more tackle season since 2013.
In 2014, his first with the Cardinals, Grantham’s two inside linebackers were two of the top tacklers on the squad on one of the nation’s top defenses. Keith Kelsey, an all-ACC honoree, totaled 87 tackles, while James Burgess was third on the team with 71 tackles and was third on the team with three interceptions.
Prior to joining the UofL staff in 2014, Grantham, in addition to serving six seasons as Navy’s outside linebackers coach, had been with the Naval Academy for 10 years overall.
He was influential in guiding Navy to a 9-4 record in 2013 and a win over Middle Tennessee State in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. The 2013 Navy team was just the fifth in Navy’s 132-year history of playing football to win at least nine games, beat Army, and win a bowl game. The Navy defense held eight of its 13 opponents below their scoring average for the season.
In 2012, Grantham helped lead Navy to an 8-5 record and a berth in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Navy defeated Air Force, 28-21, in overtime, and Army, 17-13, to win the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy.
Under Grantham’s tutelage, outside linebacker Keegan Wetzel was named a first-team Academic All-American and was named to the All-Independent team by a nationwide media panel.
The 2009 season was one of the program’s best, as Navy tied a school record with 10 wins, while appearing in a seventh-consecutive bowl game, a school best. The defense finished 18th in the country in scoring defense (19.4 points per game) and sixth in red zone defense.
Grantham returned to the Naval Academy in the spring of 2008 after spending one year at Campbell, where he served as the linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator.
He served four years at the Naval Academy, training the defensive line and outside linebackers from 2003-06. Navy posted a 35-15 record in Grantham’s four years in Annapolis, winning four-straight Commander-In-Chief’s trophies and appearing in four-straight bowl games.
Grantham joined the Naval Academy staff after two seasons as a graduate assistant at LSU under current Alabama head coach Saban. While in Baton Rouge, Grantham spent one year working on the offensive side of the ball and one year working on the defensive side. In 2001, the Tigers went 10-3 and won the SEC Championship game over No. 2 Tennessee, knocking the Vols out of the BCS title game. LSU went on to win the Sugar Bowl. In 2002, LSU, which finished the season fifth nationally in total defense, shared the SEC Western Division title and played in the Cotton Bowl.
He began his collegiate coaching career at Eastern Illinois, where he oversaw the Panthers outside linebackers and special teams. EIU, behind the play of quarterback Tony Romo, advanced to the NCAA I-AA Playoffs, and finished the season ranked 15th nationally.
Grantham, a 2000 graduate of Radford, received his degree in physical education.
In guiding the Cardinals to another top 20 defensive performance, Grantham helped coach inside linebackers Keith Kelsey and James Burgess to excellent seasons.
Kelsey, first team all-ACC performer, led the Cardinals in tackles with 107 — the first 100 or more tackle season since 2013.
In 2014, his first with the Cardinals, Grantham’s two inside linebackers were two of the top tacklers on the squad on one of the nation’s top defenses. Keith Kelsey, an all-ACC honoree, totaled 87 tackles, while James Burgess was third on the team with 71 tackles and was third on the team with three interceptions.
Prior to joining the UofL staff in 2014, Grantham, in addition to serving six seasons as Navy’s outside linebackers coach, had been with the Naval Academy for 10 years overall.
He was influential in guiding Navy to a 9-4 record in 2013 and a win over Middle Tennessee State in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. The 2013 Navy team was just the fifth in Navy’s 132-year history of playing football to win at least nine games, beat Army, and win a bowl game. The Navy defense held eight of its 13 opponents below their scoring average for the season.
In 2012, Grantham helped lead Navy to an 8-5 record and a berth in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Navy defeated Air Force, 28-21, in overtime, and Army, 17-13, to win the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy.
Under Grantham’s tutelage, outside linebacker Keegan Wetzel was named a first-team Academic All-American and was named to the All-Independent team by a nationwide media panel.
The 2009 season was one of the program’s best, as Navy tied a school record with 10 wins, while appearing in a seventh-consecutive bowl game, a school best. The defense finished 18th in the country in scoring defense (19.4 points per game) and sixth in red zone defense.
Grantham returned to the Naval Academy in the spring of 2008 after spending one year at Campbell, where he served as the linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator.
He served four years at the Naval Academy, training the defensive line and outside linebackers from 2003-06. Navy posted a 35-15 record in Grantham’s four years in Annapolis, winning four-straight Commander-In-Chief’s trophies and appearing in four-straight bowl games.
Grantham joined the Naval Academy staff after two seasons as a graduate assistant at LSU under current Alabama head coach Saban. While in Baton Rouge, Grantham spent one year working on the offensive side of the ball and one year working on the defensive side. In 2001, the Tigers went 10-3 and won the SEC Championship game over No. 2 Tennessee, knocking the Vols out of the BCS title game. LSU went on to win the Sugar Bowl. In 2002, LSU, which finished the season fifth nationally in total defense, shared the SEC Western Division title and played in the Cotton Bowl.
He began his collegiate coaching career at Eastern Illinois, where he oversaw the Panthers outside linebackers and special teams. EIU, behind the play of quarterback Tony Romo, advanced to the NCAA I-AA Playoffs, and finished the season ranked 15th nationally.
Grantham, a 2000 graduate of Radford, received his degree in physical education.
The Card Tape: Pitt (2025)
Monday, September 29
FB: Highlights v. Pittsburgh (9/27/25)
Sunday, September 28
FB: Jeff Brohm Post Game Press Conference (9/27/25)
Saturday, September 27
Miller Moss post-game versus Pitt (Sept. 27)
Saturday, September 27
