Tennessee reportedly backing away from naming Greg Schiano head coach

Greg Schiano doesn’t appear to be the next head coach at the University of Tennessee, after all.

On Sunday afternoon, a report surfaced saying that Tennessee was working on a deal to name Schiano the program’s next head coach. There was never a statement stating the deal had been finalized, but it seemed as though both sides were close to an agreement.

But when fans caught wind that Tennessee was planning to bring the Ohio State defensive coordinator into Knoxville, the idea was met with heavy resistance and protest. Fans were even caught on Tennessee’s campus chanting “Fire (UT AD John) Currie.”

Now, due to the negative backlash and protests, Bruce Feldman of Sports Illustrated and Mark Schlabach of ESPN are both reporting that Tennessee is backing away from the deal.

SOURCES: There is some talk going on now between Greg Schiano's reps & #Tennessee about an exit strategy of what has become a very volatile situation. Paperwork was in progress. “They’ve spooked them all,” said a source. "It's a hot mess."

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 27, 2017

Tennessee has backed out of a memorandum of understanding that would have made Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano its new head coach, according to ESPN's Chris Low. Schiano and the Volunteers had reached an agreement earlier Sunday, but UT… https://t.co/5dIBzymfIb

— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) November 27, 2017

Schiano was the head coach at Rutgers from 2001 through 2011 and owned a 68-67 record in Piscataway, which included an 11-2 campaign in 2006. He was also the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2012-2013.

For the last two seasons, Schiano has been the defensive coordinator at Ohio State.

Tennessee is looking for a candidate to replace Butch Jones, who was fired in mid-November.