Greg Schiano Would Have Made $27M in Tennessee Deal
Tennessee would have paid Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano nearly $28 million over the life of a contract had he been hired as their next head football coach.
Tennesse released the memorandum of understanding between former athletic director John Currie and Schiano before the deal was scrapped, partly due to the backlash from fans, politicans and others once word got out that Schiano was on the verge of being hired.
The memorandum of understanding was not signed by Chancellor Beverly Davenport, but was signed by Currie and electronically signed by Schiano before he was scheduled to fly to Knoxville to be introduced as the new coach.
The school says the MOU is official when signed by the chief financial officer, David Miller. Miller never signed the document.
"That document was never signed by The University of Tennessee’s Chief Financial Officer, whose signature would have been required to make it legally binding on the University," Tom Satkowiak, spokesman for the UT athletic department, said.
Currie was fired just days later after the debacle and replaced by former football coach Philip Fulmer. but after being turned down by several candidates for the job, the school decided to replace him.
Tennessee hired Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt on Dec. 8 to replace Butch Jones, who was fired last month after five seasons with the school.
