The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 07:24 PM

UT Fan Reaction To Greg Schiano Good Or Bad? Reports Conflict Across Nation, Tennessee

USA Today Reporter Dan Wolken first tweeted the reports of Schiano's pending hire. He said fans' reaction had damaged Tennessee, but not all sports reporters agree.

Conflicting opinions are circulating across the country and throughout Vol Nation after fans reacted to the pending hire of Greg Schiano.

Reports of Schiano’s possible move first surfaced on Twitter around 12:30 Sunday afternoon in a tweet by USA Today’s Dan Wolken. Just over an hour later, Wolken tweeted "Tennessee is finalizing the deal with Schiano." Almost immediately, thousands of fans across the country started to spread the reports, including politicians.

Rep. Jason Zachary and former Rep. Eddie Smith tweeted their opposition to the move, joining dozens of others. Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett tweeted at John Currie and Beverly Davenport asking them to "choose someone else.”

By 8:18 p.m., Wolken tweeted the deal was off.

Wolken spoke with WBIR on Monday about his response to the way fans reacted.

"This has damaged Tennessee in ways I don't think the fan base fully understands," he said.

Wolken anticipated backlash from fans, but never expected them to take it as far as they did.

“It’s something that was scary, dangerous, unprecedented and potentially game changing,” he said.

Wolken said the way fans reacted sets a new precedent for college football and could change the way hires are conducted.

“The flexing of muscles in the fan base yesterday, did it work? Yes it did. Is it a good thing that it worked? I don’t think it is,” he said.

Andy Staples, a reporter with Sports Illustrated, disagrees. He covered the Vols for the Chattanooga Times Free Press from 2000 to 2002.

Look, they love their school,” Staples said, “Everybody knew Tennessee fans were crazy about their school and could be crazy sometimes before this. The same can be said of Alabama fans, Auburn fans, Florida fans, Ohio State fans. There’s a lot of passion. That’s a good thing for Tennessee."

Staples agreed with Wolken on one point: it’s definitely a game-changer for future hiring, but he’s not so sure that’s a bad thing.

“Is it going to help John Currie find a coach right now? Probably not. There will be some coaches he may have targeted that say, ‘no, I don’t want to deal with that,’ but, to be perfectly honest, if you don’t have the stomach to deal with something like this, you probably don’t have the stomach to be Tennessee’s coach,” Staples said.

Staples said fans should have a voice in the decision. After Sunday’s backlash from fans, the Tennessee administration should be able to narrow down prospective coaches more easily.

“You will find out who really wants it because the coaches who still really want the job, that’s who you want to talk to,” Staples said.

Wolken said having the so-called "internet mob" running the game is dangerous for the administration.