Reports: Tennessee was set to hire a coach, fan revolt derails it
At one point Sunday, it appeared Tennessee football was set to hire Greg Schiano as its next head coach.
But boy have things swung.
Multiple reports, including one from Sports Illustrated’s Bruce Feldman and Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel, have the coach and team backing off from a deal that was almost complete.
SOURCES: #Vols and Greg Schiano back out of deal to become #Vols new HC after it was signed this weekend in the face of a huge backlash. "Things had become toxic."
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 27, 2017
Source: Tennessee has informed Greg Schiano’s reps that they are backing out of signed MOU, not hiring him. https://t.co/2d6pbzSxSw
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 27, 2017
The day featured a slew of strange happenings, which started with fan angst on social media, but went on to include:
▪ Multiple Tennessee politicians, including Glenn Jacobs, a former WWE wrestler, calling for the deal not to happen.
Too many well-founded concerns about Schiano from our community. Hiring would be very unpopular and hurt UT. Please rethink, @John_Currie
— Glenn Jacobs (@GlennJacobsTN) November 26, 2017
GBO!
I have reached out to @John_Currie and others in administration at UT expressing that WE as a TN Community do not approve of Schiano. #higherstandards
— Rep. Jason Zachary (@JasonZacharyTN) November 26, 2017
▪ A hastily-arranged on-campus protest.
Not exactly a large-scale protest, but there is a gathering of anti-Schiano Tennessee fans outside Neyland Stadium right now. pic.twitter.com/9wEExpCzbc
— David Cobb (@DavidWCobb) November 26, 2017
The “Rock” has spoken! Time to drop back and punt. @rockytopinsider @Tennessee_VFL_ @Vol_Football @Midday180 pic.twitter.com/UCtMCJMsc9
— Joshua Skelton (@jskelton522) November 27, 2017
▪ Invoking a report one the Jerry Sandusky case that tenuously implied Schiano had some knowledge about the situation.
▪ Internet personality Clay Travis calling for fans to put pressure on Tennessee and tweeting out Vols athletic director John Currie’s cell phone number.
Schiano spent the past two seasons at Ohio State’s defensive coordinator. He went 68-67 with Rutgers, 49-28 his final six season, jumpstarting a languishing program. His NFL tenure was brief, with a 11-21 record and some tumult, including complaints about his personality when it came to running a team.
This story was originally published November 26, 2017 at 8:34 PM with the headline "Reports: Tennessee was set to hire a coach, fan revolt derails it."