
Two weeks ago, Ohio State’s defensive coordinator, Greg Schiano was ready to finalize a deal with the University of Tennessee to become the new head football coach.
That deal fell through, however, due to protests by Tennessee students, media, and fans who were against the coach’s hiring.
Schiano was a part of Penn State’s coaching staff from 1990-1995 and was once involved with the controversial Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal, along with everyone else who was on the staff during that time period. He was cleared from the case, however, as multiple people defended him and said he had no idea what was going on and was not involved with the scandal. Multiple Penn State trustees have defended Schiano on the case.
Many believe that the real reason behind the protest was that Schiano was not ‘splashy enough’ of a hire, which was unfair and put a bad reputation on the university. Tennessee fans wanted a bigger name to coach their team, and, after seeing Schiano, looked for a bigger name. However, by not hiring Schiano, Tennessee has caused a revolving door of issues. Since its initial offer to Schiano, Tennessee has offered the job to nine different coaches, but none have accepted the job. As time goes by, more and more coaches are accepting other jobs, and whatever “big name” coach Tennessee may have wanted will be long gone.
Greg Schiano will remain as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator until another job opportunity opens up, while Tennessee’s long head coach search continues.