New Louisville defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon recalled the connection between himself and head coach Bobby Petrino recently, a story that serves as yet another reminder that the football world tends to be intertwined in unexpected ways.
Generally, head coaches end up hiring assistants they know. That is true in this case, too, although in a much different way. Sirmon is the youngest of four boys, raised in Walla, Walla, Washington. One of his older brothers, John, was a defensive lineman at Idaho during the time Petrino served as an assistant there.
Sirmon recalls going to many of John’s games, an eager 12-year-old boy excited to see his big brother play.