Greg Schiano, John Currie, and Vol Nation: The War

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Allow me to preface this article: I’m not a Tennessee Volunteers fan. I’m a college football fan. I root for certain teams, but I do my best to remain impartial on this website. News broke today that Greg Schiano could be named the new head coach for the Tennessee.

Greg Schiano is a bad hire.

The backlash from Tennessee fans was immediate. Protests started immediately. Social media exploded. Tennessee fans have been heard. And Vol Nation, you are right.

Schiano is a bad hire for a few reasons. There are a few GLARING issues from his time at Penn State that we’ll get to momentarily. First, we’ll look at his coaching resume. Schiano is the current defensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes. OSU has a fairly solid defense (if, you know, you discount getting blown out by Iowa). He got his head coaching start at Rutgers, where he went 68-67 in 11 years. Getting above .500 at Rutgers isn’t terrible, but it’s nothing to hang your hat on. He then coached the Tampa Bay Bucs to 11-21 in two seasons before being fired.

In short, coaching-wise, it’s not a homerun hire. Combine that with the off field issues and it’s down right baffling. For those that don’t know, Greg Schiano was on staff with Jerry Sandusky at Penn State. During litigation, it was stated by another staffer that Schiano knew of the abuse years before the authorities were notified. Did he know? I have no idea. Writers who have spent MUCH more time studying the case called it a throw away line, and nothing was ever proven.

Still, Tennessee fans don’t want to be associated with Schiano and the entire situation. And that’s perfectly reasonable. His character is in question, and it’s hard to find positive feelings from former players. He’s a liability in recruiting and alumni relations. He’s the wrong man for the job. There’s a list of coaches that should be way ahead of Schiano: Venables, Norvell, and even Kiffin.

Honestly, with the backlash, I don’t see Schiano becoming the new head coach. Tennessee fans united, and the backlash is so toxic, there’s no coming back. I also believe John Currie will lose his job as well. Vol Nation took back their football team today. My hat is off to you.

Poppa Bear is the Lead SEC Analyst for the SoBros Network, and serves as our resident expert on the human anatomy, fixin’ stuff, and tomatoes. Follow on Twitter:@SoBroPoppaBear

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