Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman told the NFL Network on Monday that he doesn't have a relationship with San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and refused to get drawn into a war of words with his former college coach, who made comments earlier this offseason about the Seahawks' multiple PED suspensions.
Sherman played four seasons for Harbaugh at Stanford, but after they both left the school to enter the NFL in 2011, their dealings with each other ended, according to the cornerback.
"I don't have a relationship with him," Sherman said in an interview with the "Total Access" program. "I don't try to go any route with him. I don't deal with him; he is not my coach. So I deal with what is going on in Seattle and I keep it there."
Harbaugh angered several Seahawks players when he said last month he "definitely noticed" the Seahawks' suspensions and used them as an example to make it clear to his 49ers players that he won't accept breaking the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs for a perceived edge.
His comments added more fuel to the budding rivalry between the two NFC West teams.
Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner said he'd "put my hands around his neck" if he were able to line up against him, and receiver Golden Tate said he'd "give him the Sean Lee treatment," referring to a blindside block he put on the Dallas Cowboys linebacker last season, knocking him out of the game.
Sherman, however, wouldn't take the bait.
"I think his comments are what they are. We are going to be the bigger team, the bigger players," he said Monday.
Five Seahawks, including Browner, have been suspended for using a banned substance since 2011. Sherman successfully appealed a four-game suspension last season.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.