By Jamie McCracken, USA TODAY

New Orleans Saints interim coach Joe Vitt says Anthony Hargrove is lying about being instructed to lie to the NFL.

Vitt told nola.com that he never told the defensive lineman to deceive the league about the team's alleged bounty program.

"At no time did I ever tell Anthony Hargrove to lie or deny the existence (of the alleged bounty program)," Vitt said. "He can say whatever he wants to say. It just didn't happen."

Now a Green Bay Packer, Hargrove will serve an eight-game suspension for his part in Bountygate, while Vitt will serve a six-game suspension.

Vitt, who will be coach Sean Payton's replacement for the 2012-13 season after Payton was suspended for the entire season, did confess the team had a pay-for-performance program for big plays. All non-contract bonuses are against NFL rules.

He says the language used by coaches needs a makeover, but he said he was first introduced to the term "bounty" when he attended a meeting in New York with NFL investigators.

"We had a pot for big plays, the same thing everyone else in the league has, now they call them pay-for-performance. But we never paid for dirty hits," Vitt said. "I'll say it again, the exact same thing I told the commissioner, our players never crossed the white lines with an intent to maim or injure. They never threatened the integrity of the game when they crossed the white lines."