What we learned from documents exposing Tennessee Vols A.D. John Currie

After reaching a settlement with the university, a series of documents were released exposing many things about for Tennessee Vols A.D. John Currie.

At first, it just seemed like a normal end to a fiasco. The report came out on Thursday that the Tennessee Vols had reached a settlement with former Athletic Director John Currie, who lost his position after the coaching search fiasco that followed the attempt to hire Greg Schiano.

Wes Rucker of GoVols247 reported the settlement, and things seemed to be over. However, a bombshell of emails, text messages and various other documents revealed new details of the Tennessee Vols’ coaching search.

The documents revealed everything, from who had interest in the coaching job to what people were thinking. You can go to GoVols247 online to read all of the stories. Here are the basic things to know, though, before we get going:

• Dan Wolken and John Currie were texting about the Schiano hire, with Wolken offering to do PR for him. Wolken attacked Tennessee mercilessly on Twitter after they killed the hire.
• John Currie’s texts to Wolken revealed that he knew fans wouldn’t like the Schiano hire, as he even went as far as to call Tennessee Vols fans “wacko.”
• Emails among board of trustees show the Vols did vet Schiano before attempting the hire.
• Tennessee also targeted Dan Mullen and Chip Kelly and then, after the Schiano hire fell through, went for Mike Gunday, Dave Doeren and Mike Leach.
• Paul Johnson, Les Miles, and Brady Hoke are among the major names who also expressed interest in the head coaching job.
• Mike Leach wanted the job and would have taken it, something Currie told the administrators.
• However, Currie flew to L.A. meet with Leach without informing administrators. They had no idea where he was, and that was the final nail in the coffin as he was ordered back Thursday night.
• Joshua Dobbs was curious about the Grumors.

Okay, so with all of that out of the way, there is plenty to gather from what happened during Currie’s final days in Knoxville. And none of it makes him look good. Here are some things I was able to gather about Currie’s final days as Tennessee Vols athletic director.

1. John Currie was indeed Jimmy Haslam’s puppet.

We all kind of new this, but the documents reveal it. Why? Well, because when he was talking to Dan Wolken about hiring Greg Schiano, he said Tennessee Vols fans were “wacko” and was clearly aware of the backlash that would come from this.

Given that Schiano is not a home run hire, what athletic director in the universe would make this move aware of such a potential backlash? The only explanation is that Currie was indeed working on Haslam’s behalf.

It’s clear that Haslam has been projecting his utter failures on the Tennessee Vols for years. And his past shows he had an affinity for Schiano. And we know from Jimmy Hyams’s report last March that Haslam pushed for the Currie hire. So the connection would only make sense.

2. Currie and media members colluded against Tennessee Vols fans.

Whether or not it’s because they got the scoop first is up for debate. But given text messages between Currie and media members, it’s clear that there was collusion to defend Greg Schiano at all costs once Tennessee Vols fans came out against the hire.

As a result, Tennessee fans deserve an apology from everybody involved. It’s clear that there was a pre-meditated attempt to defend Schiano against any attacks. But Vols fans aren’t the only ones who deserve an apology.

3. No evidence Phillip Fulmer sabotaged anything. 

Remember the narrative that was getting out the Friday he became athletic director? There was a hint that Fulmer went out of his way to lead a coup against Currie while Currie was trying to finalize the deal with Mike Leach. Nothing in these documents suggests anything of that nature.

In fact, the opposite looks true. Administrators were trying to get Currie to return to Knoxville before speaking with Leach, and it looked like Fulmer was working with Currie to try to get a deal done for a coach. Heck, he expressed interest in the coaching job himself! So the narrative of him sabotaging Currie seems to have come from Currie himself.

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Final Take

John Currie was never working for the Tennessee Vols. This part is clear. He was always working for Jimmy Haslam and to make his own splash. This should have been clear from the minute the university hired him last March.

Remember, Currie ran off Frank Martin from the Kansas State Wildcats and tried to prove his smarts by hiring Bruce Weber. He has an arrogance about himself as if he’s the guy who can find the right head coach that nobody else sees. He wants the credit for the splash when he’s not being a puppet to incompetent businessmen who hire him.

As a result, the university is better off without him. The entire fiasco that happened in December is a blessing in disguise. Tennessee was able to cut ties with the ultimate failure that is Jimmy Haslam. They got out from under a burden in Currie. And they have brought Phillip Fulmer home.