Petrino, like Grantham, laughs off SI report

University of Louisville football coach Bobby Petrino on Tuesday rejected a Sports Illustrated report of growing tension between him and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, calling it "laughable" and saying he had no idea how the report originated.

"Like Todd said, it's kind of laughable," Petrino said. "I have the utmost respect for Todd. I think he's an expert at everything he does on defense. It's great having him here because of his intensity, his knowledge, and with me being able to work on offense and him run the entire defense.

"We have a great relationship. We have the utmost respect for each other. We're having a really good time in camp and I see our players getting better and smarter on defense every day."

The SI report, in an "Inside Read" blog post that ran on the magazine's site on Monday, cited an anonymous source who said Petrino felt like he was "stuck" with Grantham because of his five-year contract and that the two weren't getting along behind closed doors.

Petrino, who hired Grantham away from the University of Georgia for just under $1 million in salary per year, said he had "no idea" how someone would get the impression of a strained relationship between the two coaches.

"None," he said.

The U of L coach echoed what Grantham told FootballScoop.com, a site focused on coaching news, when asked for comment Monday night.

"We're just getting started here," Grantham told the site. "This is probably one of the best camps I've ever been in."

According to the USA Today coaches salary database, Grantham is the fourth-highest-paid assistant coach in college football, earning close to $1 million a year to lead Louisville's defense. He's been given nearly full control of the Cardinals' defensive unit as Petrino and offensive coordinator Garrick McGee work more on the offense.

Grantham, 47, is a fiery, ready-to-shout coach who last week said "yeller" was an accurate description for his coaching style. Petrino's not much different. The coordinator's contract includes a $350,000 buyout through the end of the 2014 season. That drops to $250,000 for 2015, and then to $200,000 through 2016.

"Nobody's asked me for a comment or even questioned me on anything like that," Grantham told Football Scoop. "That was totally a shock to me that something like that would come out. To be honest with you, I laughed it off and moved on to another meeting."