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Sources: Several Prominent Tennessee Boosters Look To Force Out AD John Currie

There is "increasing pressure" from some of the Univ. of Tennessee's "big-money boosters to force out" AD John Currie in wake of the uproar surrounding the school's pursuit of Greg Schiano as football coach, according to sources cited by Bruce Feldman of SI.com. One source described the current situation in Knoxville as a "hot mess." Currie was "hired earlier this year" after eight years at Kansas State (SI.com, 11/27). The Knoxville News Sentinel's John Adams said he believes Currie "is done here as athletic director." Adams: "I don’t think he can come back from this, so that may be the next search when they get this football search done” ("The Paul Finebaum Show," ESPN Radio, 11/27). In Nashville, Joe Rexrode writes Currie "already was under that white, hot light" to find a new coach and "now the heat must be searing." He "had to read the Schiano situation better," as the former Rutgers coach's connection to Penn State "was going to be a thing." Rexrode: "If he indeed backed off this because of the reaction, well, other possible candidates can’t like what that suggests about him" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 11/28). ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said, “This AD is in a gots-to-go situation. What is this AD doing? You can’t let him pick the next head coach” (“PTI,” ESPN, 11/27). But ESPN's Chris Low does not believe Currie will lose his job over this. Low: "I don't think Currie was on an island to pull the plug on Schiano. That was told from somebody above him" ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 11/28).

HIS FUTURE IS ON THE LINE: YAHOO SPORTS' Pete Thamel noted Currie is in the "middle of a most public fight to save his job and salvage his reputation," and his future at UT "will be directly tied to how he manages these awkward and unprecedented circumstances." There is now a "searing spotlight on him as he moves on in his search." Currie's decision to run his own search and "engaging few at the university may be backfiring on him, as it distanced him from key decision-makers when everything imploded on Sunday and no one was capable of managing it" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 11/27). In Chattanooga, Mark Wiedmer writes Currie "may not lose his job over this, but less than nine months after being named AD, he already has lost the vast majority of the Big Orange Nation's respect at the very least." Wiedmer: "That's 100 percent Currie's fault." He "wanted to be a committee of one" and he "punted the use of a search firm." Currie "apparently would know best, despite having never previously hired a football coach." Schiano going to UT "made no sense other than the affection the Haslam family apparently has for him," and if Currie "reached out to Schiano for the predominant reason of ... currying favor with the Haslams, then shame on him" (Chattanooga TIMES FREE PRESS, 11/28). 

NOT A GOOD LOOK: In Knoxville, Blake Toppmeyer in a front-page piece writes Currie is now "left to pitch this program to potential hires who know that blowback and social media reaction derailed a previous deal." That should "make for a much harder sell," as Knoxville is "left looking like a tinderbox." Currie's statement yesterday "only served to muddy the waters." He "acknowledged that Schiano was a leading candidate for the job." He also said he "carefully interviewed and vetted him" and that Schiano "received the highest recommendations." Currie also "referenced Schiano's years at Penn State." Toppmeyer notes Currie's statement essentially said that Schiano "was his target, he vetted him, he wanted to hire him -- but didn't." Toppmeyer: "It prompts the question: Who's really in charge of the athletic department? That's a question Currie must now answer" (Knoxville NEWS SENTINEL, 11/28). In Boston, Steve Buckley notes Currie's statement "went to great lengths to point out that Schiano was thoroughly vetted during the hiring process." That "presents Tennessee -- not just Currie, but the entire school -- as weak and pliable." The school decided to back out of a deal with Schiano "rather than making a choice then defending it in the face of public criticism" (BOSTON HERALD, 11/28). FS1's Colin Cowherd called Currie backing away from Schiano "gutless." Cowherd: "Do your homework, make a choice and deal with internet crazy people. That's just bad leadership” ("Speak for Yourself," FS1, 11/27). ESPN Mina Kimes said, “They have mishandled this from the beginning and they should be held accountable for what’s happened” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 11/27).

WAYS TO AVOID THIS DISASTER: SI's Andy Staples noted the vetting process "is supposed to bring every potential land mine into view before a school gets too far down the road with a candidate." A school looking at a potentially controversial candidate often will "leak that it is considering that candidate as a trial balloon." If Currie had "floated such a balloon in the past few days, Tennessee's fan base would have reacted in similar fashion." UT then could have "moved on to another candidate without a full-on revolt" (SI.com, 11/27). FS1's Jason Whitlock said, "There's a process to hiring a guy like Greg Schiano. You have to get a guy like Peyton Manning on board with you and sell this internally to your boosters. ... This wasn't handled in an intelligent fashion "(“Speak for Yourself,” FS1, 11/27).

REAL LIFE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA
: USA TODAY's Dan Wolken writes never before had a major coaching hire "been nixed in real time by social media reaction, building to the point where school administrators got spooked into backing out of an already signed agreement." Wolken: "That kind of thing will have consequences, not just for Tennessee but potentially all of college sports." Several college football observers yesterday were "trying to figure out if hiring a football coach at a high-profile program would ever be the same again." Schiano "wasn’t the first coach whose name elicited an immediate negative reaction from a fan base." But in the era of social media, the "power of those voices was realized at Tennessee in a way that had never before had as big of an impact." ADs "used to worry about whether their hires would win the news conference." That "now seems almost quaint." School ADs and presidents are "naturally going to be afraid of the reaction when their top coaching choices fall by the wayside and they instead hire someone who might be unfamiliar and divisive" (USA TODAY, 11/28). In Columbus, Rob Oller writes although an "ugly social-media mob mentality permeated this particular situation, in the big picture there is something to be said for pushback that puts more power in the hands of the people." It "may not always be pretty -- protests seldom are -- but 'the masses' should be heard during the hiring process at public universities" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 11/28).

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