Peter Sirmon is out after one season as Louisville's defensive coordinator

Peter Sirmon has resigned as the defensive coordinator of the Louisville football team, "effective immediately," the program announced Friday.

Sirmon spent one season as the Cardinals' defensive coordinator. His defense finished 62nd in the country in total defense, allowing 388.1 yards per game.

"I would like to thank Peter Sirmon for all his work this season at the University of Louisville," head coach Bobby Petrino said in a statement. "I wish him and his family all the best."

Later Friday afternoon, the University of California announced on Twitter that Sirmon will be the new associate head coach/inside linebackers coach in Berkeley, Calif.

Last January, Sirmon signed a three-year contract with Louisville worth a $950,000 base salary. That base salary tied for 17th in the country among FBS assistant coaches in USA TODAY's coaches salary database.

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According to Sirmon's contract, if he terminates the deal before its end date (Jan. 31, 2020), he owes Louisville $75,000 within 30 days of his final date of employment. Cal can now pay that fee.

Sirmon has worked in the past for Cal head coach Justin Wilcox for six years: at Tennessee as a graduate assistant and linebackers coach in 2010-11, at Washington as a linebackers coach from 2012-13 and at Southern California as a linebackers coach from 2014-15. Wilcox was the defensive coordinator at all three schools. Sirmon also grew up in Washington state and played college football at Oregon before a six-year career with the NFL's Tennessee Titans.

Sirmon came to Louisville from Mississippi State, where he was the defensive coordinator for one season in 2016. The Cards and Bulldogs essentially swapped defensive coordinators last January, when Todd Grantham moved from Louisville to Mississippi State to be the defensive coordinator for the 2017 season.

At Louisville, Sirmon's defense caught much criticism in the middle of last season, when the Cards gave up an average of 525.8 yards in four October games (three losses). But Louisville recovered in November and gave up just 316.7 yards per game in that month.

The Cards will lose nine part- or full-time starters from their 2017 defense: defensive linemen James Hearns, Drew Bailey, De'Asian Richardson and Trevon Young; linebacker Stacy Thomas; and defensive backs Jaire Alexander, Zykiesis Cannon, Trumaine Washington and Chucky Williams.