Tennessee fans protest Greg Schiano hiring outside stadium
News of Tennessee’s reported plans to hire Greg Schiano as their next head coach is not sitting well with some of the team’s fans.
The Chatanooga Times Free Press’ David Cobb shared photos of some fans who gathered outside Neyland Stadium to protest the Schiano hire.
Not exactly a large-scale protest, but there is a gathering of anti-Schiano Tennessee fans outside Neyland Stadium right now. pic.twitter.com/9wEExpCzbc
— David Cobb (@DavidWCobb) November 26, 2017
WATE’s Madisen Keavy also shared some photos:
HAPPENING NOW: Slow but steady a few students and UT Alums are gathering outside of Neyland Stadium to protest the potential hiring of Greg Schiano. #WATE @WATEsports pic.twitter.com/mYy6Kgs4ao
— Madisen Keavy (@madisenkeavy) November 26, 2017
Even a politician protested the hire:
I have reached out to @John_Currie and others in administration at UT expressing that WE as a TN Community do not approve of Schiano. #higherstandards
— Rep. Jason Zachary (@JasonZacharyTN) November 26, 2017
A lot of the protests had to do with Schiano’s involvement in the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State. Mike McQueary said Schiano had told another coach he saw Sandusky doing something with a boy in the shower. Schiano denied having knowledge of Sandusky’s abuse.
As of midday Sunday, Schiano had not been officially named Tennessee’s coach, but multiple reports said the school was finalizing a deal for the former Rutgers and Buccaneers head coach.
Another person upset about the news is former Tennessee star DT Albert Haynesworth, who tweeted the following:
I’m just going to say this if we hire Greg Schiano as our next head coach my options will be open to which college program I will Be donating my TIME and MONEY to. (No disrespect to GS) but if UT leaders don’t take football serious then I will find the program that will!!!
— Albert Haynesworth (@haynesworthiii) November 26, 2017
Haynesworth was pretty pumped about a potential coaching change when he tweeted about the subject, but he and many other Vols fans are not happy. It’s hard not to blame them. Though Schiano is a good coach and succeeded at Rutgers, his personality and style might not fit well at Tennessee. He needs to win from the start in order to win over the fans.
