SOURCES: There is some talk going on now between Greg Schiano's reps & #Tennessee about an exit strategy of what has become a very volatile situation. Paperwork was in progress. “They’ve spooked them all,” said a source. "It's a hot mess."
— 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
Schiano, who is still employed as Ohio State's defensive coordinator, was the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two years. Before that, he was the head coach at Rutgers from 2001 to 2011. Schiano's tenure in Tampa Bay cratered, with one former Schiano player telling NFL.com "It's like being in Cuba." His stint at Ohio State had achieved the desired results so far, with Urban Meyer saying the defensive coordinator had received two college head coaching jobs in the offseason.
The backlash by Tennessee fans has been volatile — mostly for off-field reasons
A large issue for fans has been Schiano's involvement in the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State. Schiano is alleged to have known about Sandusky's child sex abuse, which he denies.
In response to media reports from earlier today:
— Greg Schiano (@GregSchiano) July 12, 2016
I never saw any abuse, nor had reason to suspect any abuse, during my time at Penn State.
The backlash online was swift. From Tennessee politicians:
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
Our Tennessee standards mean something, and a Greg Schiano hire would be anathema to all that our University and our community stand for. I sincerely hope that these rumors are not true, because even serious consideration would be unacceptable.
— Eddie Smith (@RepEddieSmith) November 26, 2017
To area establishments:
He won’t be allowed in ours either! #NeighborsStickTogether Should add @John_Currie to that list as well!
— Hops and Hollers (@HopsandHollers) November 26, 2017
Greg Schiano is not allowed in our venue
— Concourse Knox (@IntlKnox) November 26, 2017
To many other people:
It is amazing to me that all people are talking about is his W/L record at Rutgers. Connection to Sandusky? Disaster in TB where he lost his players the second week? Come on.
— Maggie Hendricks (@maggiehendricks) November 26, 2017
Basilio caller says, “If Currie is on a plane with Schiano I hope it crashes.”
— Mark Ennis (@MarkEnnis) November 26, 2017
Another caller, “Currie needs to go work for Al Qaeda. He’s a suicide bomber.”
As was the backlash in real life. Fans even protested on campus:
Live coverage of protest taking place on UT’s campus in wake of Greg Schiano news. https://t.co/sMGDYPVRe8
— FOX Sports Knoxville (@FOXSportsKnox) November 26, 2017
This was something unparalleled in modern coaching searches. After all this attention, Schiano now goes back to his position as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator.
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