With Raiders offer on table, Todd Grantham opts to stay at Louisville

After reportedly being offered the defensive coordinator position with the Oakland Raiders, Louisville’s Todd Grantham has decided to stay with the program.

Grantham recently finished his first year as Louisville’s defensive coordinator under head coach Bobby Petrino and has three years remaining on his four-year deal.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to have interviewed for the defensive coordinator position with the Oakland Raiders, but I'm committed to the University of Louisville," Grantham said in a statement. "I said when I came to Louisville that I thought we could win a national championship, and we are building toward that goal with the success we had this season.

"Coach Petrino and Tom Jurich have given me a great opportunity and I'm grateful for their commitment. My family loves it in Louisville, and I think we are establishing something special here with head coach Bobby Petrino and our staff. Our main objective over the next week is to finish strong in recruiting and continue to bolster this signing class."

If he had accepted the Oakland job, it would have been a return to the NFL where he coached from 1999-2009 with the Indianapolis Colts (1999-2001), Houston Texans (2002-04), Cleveland Browns (2005-07) and Dallas Cowboys (2008-09).

Before accepting the Louisville job, Grantham was the defensive coordinator at Georgia from 2010-13. He also spent time as a defensive assistant at Michigan State and Virginia Tech in the 90’s.

Under Grantham’s watch, Louisville’s defense was 24th in the country in scoring defense and 10th in rushing defense in 2014.

"We're very pleased and happy that Todd is going to be staying at the University of Louisville," head coach Bobby Petrino said.

"He's done a fabulous job with our defense that ranked in the top 10. He's one of the finest assistant coaches in the country, and you expect excellent coaches like Todd to get opportunities in the NFL. I've always had respect for the job that Todd has done throughout his career, especially this past year at Louisville, and we're happy that he has and family will continue to be members of the Cardinals' family."

The Cardinals finished 9-4 in 2014.

For more Louisville news, visit CardinalSports.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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