A day after interviewing with the New Orleans Saints for their defensive coordinator's job, Todd Grantham withdrew his name from consideration and said Friday he's staying at Georgia as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator.

Grantham issued a news release that read: "I want to thank Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints organization for the opportunity to interview and get to know them. They are a first-class organization in every respect. As I said Wednesday, Georgia is a great place, my family loves it here, and I do as well. This is where our heart is. I'm excited to start preparations for another season, and along with the rest of our defensive staff, look forward to coaching some really good returning players as well as developing some very talented newcomers."

Grantham had said Wednesday following Mark Richt's post-signing day news conference that he expected to be at Georgia next season. Grantham has a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave without any kind of financial penalty for an NFL coordinator's job or college head coaching job. Grantham was the Cleveland Browns' defensive coordinator in 2008-09. He'd coached in the NFL for 11 seasons before coming to Georgia in 2011.