Tennessee's reported hiring of Greg Schiano met with intense backlash
It looks as though Greg Schiano is set to become the next head coach of Tennessee, and the move has been met with widespread resistance from both fans and media members alike.
When Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports broke the news that athletic director John Currie was in Columbus on Sunday to finalize the deal with the Ohio State defensive coordinator, the Twittersphere exploded with opposition to the move.
Tennessee hiring Schiano is one of the worst coaching moves of the past 10 years, in any sport, on any level.
— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) November 26, 2017
Would be one of the most tone-deaf decisions I’ve ever seen. https://t.co/1q0UzKjK2m
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) November 26, 2017
There could be a 30 for 30 short on the Twitter reaction to Tennessee/Schiano.
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) November 26, 2017
Tennessee and Schiano need to walk away at this point. The backlash is beyond toxic. You don’t recover from it.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) November 26, 2017
I’m just going to say this if we hire Greg Schiano as our next head coach my options will be open to which college program I will Be donating my TIME and MONEY to. (No disrespect to GS) but if UT leaders don’t take football serious then I will find the program that will!!!
— Albert Haynesworth (@haynesworthiii) November 26, 2017
Tennessee, Lane Kiffin is there. He wants the job. And you might turn to Greg Schiano?
— Barrett Sallee (@BarrettSallee) November 26, 2017
Lane's a better option.
Anybody is a better option.
Literally put every coach on a wheel, spin it, and you find a better option.
A small group is starting to get together at Neyland Stadium to protest a potential hiring of Greg Schiano. More cars are pulling up as I tweet. pic.twitter.com/urTpCvmvll
— Louis Fernandez Jr (@LouisWBIR) November 26, 2017
While most of the anger seems to be for football-related reasons, some negativity toward the move is aimed at Schiano's alleged knowledge of Jerry Sandusky's abuse while serving as an assistant at Penn State. Schiano has denied the report, but that didn't stop Tennessee politicians from weighing in.
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
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