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Tennessee football: Imagine Greg Schiano as Vols coach amidst Ohio State scandal

By Caleb Calhoun

TAMPA, FL - DECEMBER 15: Greg Schiano, head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, watches the action during a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Raymond James Stadium on December 15, 2013 in Tampa, Florida. San Francisco won the game 33-14. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - DECEMBER 15: Greg Schiano, head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, watches the action during a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Raymond James Stadium on December 15, 2013 in Tampa, Florida. San Francisco won the game 33-14. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee football nearly hired Greg Schiano as head coach. Imagine him leading the Volunteers now amidst the Urban Meyer and Ohio State Buckeyes scandal.

Pretend for a minute Tennessee football fans did what the national media wanted them to do. They bit their lip and accepted John Currie’s decision to hire Greg Schiano as head coach. Heading into August, they would be holding out hope that Schiano works out.

Remember, they would already have to overlook any alleged involvement he had in the Jerry Sandusky scandal as an assistant coach with Penn State Nittany Lions. So the black eye would still surround them along with the questions as to whether or not he could win at this level.

Then July rolls around, and this Urban Meyer scandal breaks. His response to a question about Zach Smith is contradicted by a series of text messages revealed in August, and he has to retract his statement. Ohio State conducts an investigation and embarrasses itself by suspending him for only three games.

After all of that, the question would immediately shift to how much other people knew about the Smith incident. Near the top of the list would be Schiano, a guy who coached with Smith for two years as the Ohio State defensive coordinator.

All of a sudden, Tennessee football is operating under the leadership of a head coach who has to answer to questions about his knowledge of two major scandals at two major Big Ten schools. And that’s on top of the fact that he was fired from the NFL and never won at a high level (don’t give me winning in the Big East with Ray Rice in the mid-2000s).

Instead, Vols fans are excited about starting the season with Jeremy Pruitt at the helm. They have no scandals to worry about and a heck of a staff with a bunch of guys who have national recognition to get them excited. On top of that, they are recruiting at a level Schiano never recruited at. And they have a players’ coach instead of a guy known to be hated by players.

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Everything about Pruitt being head coach is better for Tennessee football than Schiano. I challenge the national media to say one reason Schiano would have been a better hire. And now, his connection to a second scandal, it’s clear that Vols fans made the right choice. Because of what they did, UT can focus on football this year. And that’s a big plus.

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