The Biggest Takeaway from the Currie Documents

[DiderotsGhost]

Reading through all the texts, what actually stands out to me the most is not the "action", but the "inaction" of Currie before the Schiano fiasco. It's pretty obvious that Currie consulted with no one other than Haslam. And their plan was:

(a) hire Dan Mullen,
(b) if plan A fails, hire Greg Schiano

That was it. There was no other plan. No other research. No list. No more effort. There was a tacit assumption that Schiano would accept and they were happy with him over all other candidates with the exception of Dan Mullen.

I don't claim to know everything there is to know about being an AD, but I can tell you that that's plain stupid. Even if plan B hadn't involved a washed up mediocre coach with ethical issues that no one else wanted to hire, that's still a terrible way to prepare for a coaching search. McDonald's puts more effort into hiring its assistant managers than Currie put into a search for a guy who is the face of an entire university with a $4+ million annual salary.

Only after the Schiano backlash did Currie suddenly start conducting a real search. Naturally, given that he waited till the last minute, it was completely chaotic. The fact that he nearly hired Mike Leach (an excellent coach) seems more like a dumb-luck accident. And was probably partly the result that there was a mini-backlash to a Dave Doeren hire. While I wouldn't exactly put my faith in "message board posters", it's difficult to argue against the idea that VolNation posters tended to have more knowledge of coaches than Currie.

I'm hoping Pruitt is the right guy, but even if he's not, I think our AD is in better shape now that the Haslam faction has been ousted. Between Hamilton and Currie, it's clear that Haslam influence has been disastrous.

 

[fifties fan]

Also surprised that the Athletics Committee seemed to be completely in the dark. Don't know if that's ADC's fault or MsD, but at least a general progress report would have seemed wise. Those are the people who can have your back or your head. Look how that turned out.

 

[DocVol]

Also:

(c) BRADY HOKE SCREAMS HIS TEXT MESSAGES
(d) Currie hit Hoke with the “new phone, who’s this” 😂

 

[DiderotsGhost]

Also:

(c) BRADY HOKE SCREAMS HIS TEXT MESSAGES
(d) Currie hit Hoke with the “new phone, who’s this” 😂

If I were a man with more free time on my hands, I'd definitely create an ALL CAPS BRADY HOKE account for VN and post in every thread with affirmative ALL CAPS WORDS OF WISDOM FROM BRADY. HE KNOWS THE ENVIRONMENT AND KNOWS WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE!

 

[DocVol]

If I were a man with more free time on my hands, I'd definitely create an ALL CAPS BRADY HOKE account for VN and post in every thread with affirmative ALL CAPS WORDS OF WISDOM FROM BRADY. HE KNOWS THE ENVIRONMENT AND KNOWS WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE!

Dibs on BradyHokesAllCapsTexts username

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Thanks Jimmy Haslam. Thanks for nothing you dolt.

 

[Big Z]

I can't get enough of how much this whole thing has blown up in Dan Wolken's face. His credibility (never had any in my book) has basically been reduced to 0 in most people's eyes, and also the replies everytime he tweets are pure comedy. Couldn't have happened to a bigger d-bag. Love it.

 

[butchna]

Now someone needs to ferret out the Pete Thamel texts.

 

[TNnative]

So, we know what was passed on in texts, emails, and tweets ect. 15 to 20 years from now, we might know what was actually said in face to face conversations, private and/or secret meetings, and good old fashioned phone calls and post it notes among persons known and to this point unknown. And at this point, I don't really have the heart to give a damn about all that anymore. We have a coach, I hope he realizes what kind of snake pit he walked into, but I hope he gets it right.

The only thing I wonder about now is the next time something goes bat 5h1t crazy at UTK. No matter how frustrated we get with the three ring circus that exists because they can't stop hiring back stabbing jackwagons, at least we know it will have some weird entertainment value. Keep the popcorn handy. The next show could start at any moment.

 

[gunner]

Reading through all the texts, what actually stands out to me the most is not the "action", but the "inaction" of Currie before the Schiano fiasco. It's pretty obvious that Currie consulted with no one other than Haslam. And their plan was:

(a) hire Dan Mullen,
(b) if plan A fails, hire Greg Schiano

That was it. There was no other plan. No other research. No list. No more effort. There was a tacit assumption that Schiano would accept and they were happy with him over all other candidates with the exception of Dan Mullen.

I don't claim to know everything there is to know about being an AD, but I can tell you that that's plain stupid. Even if plan B hadn't involved a washed up mediocre coach with ethical issues that no one else wanted to hire, that's still a terrible way to prepare for a coaching search. McDonald's puts more effort into hiring its assistant managers than Currie put into a search for a guy who is the face of an entire university with a $4+ million annual salary.

Only after the Schiano backlash did Currie suddenly start conducting a real search. Naturally, given that he waited till the last minute, it was completely chaotic. The fact that he nearly hired Mike Leach (an excellent coach) seems more like a dumb-luck accident. And was probably partly the result that there was a mini-backlash to a Dave Doeren hire. While I wouldn't exactly put my faith in "message board posters", it's difficult to argue against the idea that VolNation posters tended to have more knowledge of coaches than Currie.

I'm hoping Pruitt is the right guy, but even if he's not, I think our AD is in better shape now that the Haslam faction has been ousted. Between Hamilton and Currie, it's clear that Haslam influence has been disastrous.

Haslam influence has been completely disastrous for the Browns too so apparently it's a trend.

 

[Eddie Vol Halen]

Two biggest takeaways from this:

1. UTAD couldn't pour piss out of a boot with a handle
2. No one reached out to Gruden AT ALL

Which leads us to our third biggest takeaway:

3. UTAD couldn't pour piss out of a boot with a handle

Let's hope Fulmer and the new coach (who is he???) can restore a modicum of honesty, decency and power football to the Hill.

 

[Biopsyman]

2.5 million buyout.. easy money

 

[buckaroo]

Question, are the Haslams still involved after this circus crap?

 

[Nocleats]

Their plan would have worked , and Schiano would be Coach right now , IF, they had not used Gruden as a bluff and actually quelled that rumor publicly about a week earlier. By then tenn fans would have accepted another choice. The initial reaction wasn’t as much anti the coach choice as it was everyone thought it would be Gruden and they were pissed at the comparative choice as it was.. IMO

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

Their plan would have worked , and Schiano would be Coach right now , IF, they had not used Gruden as a bluff and actually quelled that rumor publicly about a week earlier. By then tenn fans would have accepted another choice. The initial reaction wasn’t as much anti the coach choice as it was everyone thought it would be Gruden and they were pissed at the comparative choice as it was.. IMO

You are wrong on that take. The outcry might not have been as loud, but the fanbase would not have accepted Schiano. After years of solid recruiting classes and two nine win seasons where the team underachieved...this fanbase saw the job as being very desirable and expected a good coach to be hired. Schiano is not that guy. Take the Sandusky stuff out of the equation and the fans still would have hated the hire.

 

[Nocleats]

You are wrong on that take. The outcry might not have been as loud, but the fanbase would not have accepted Schiano. After years of solid recruiting classes and two nine win seasons where the team underachieved...this fanbase saw the job as being very desirable and expected a good coach to be hired. Schiano is not that guy. Take the Sandusky stuff out of the equation and the fans still would have hated the hire.

While I get your argument, if the Gruden issue had been put to bed properly, and Currie had allowed a wee bit more transparency, TN Fans, and more importantly alumni, influential boosters and BOT members would have not revolted. Many fans, many, were totally expecting Jon Gruden to step to the podium that very afternoon, and the disappointments of it not being Gruden coupled with a name out of left field created what occurred . My point is he shills gave out the Grumours to rest for good days before rather than allowing it to grow. Pretty confident that no matter who he waltzed out there besides Gruden at that point( everyone still expecting Gruden) would have met close to the same reaction. The Sandusky thing was just a convinient reason to hate the hire.
Clearly Currie was following orders from his boss , Haslam, and both he and Haslam misread where Vol Nation was in terms of expectations and had done s horrible job of letting Tenn fans know where the university was looking and what their abilities financially were, GBO

 

[i2amavol]

You are wrong on that take. The outcry might not have been as loud, but the fanbase would not have accepted Schiano. After years of solid recruiting classes and two nine win seasons where the team underachieved...this fanbase saw the job as being very desirable and expected a good coach to be hired. Schiano is not that guy. Take the Sandusky stuff out of the equation and the fans still would have hated the hire.

Without Sandusky, we would have swallowed hard, and accepted it though. Schiano is Urbs right hand man, isn't he? He did pretty well as head coach at a place that never does well. So, grudgingly, we would have rolled with it.

 

[Moped]

Haslam influence has been completely disastrous for the Browns too so apparently it a trend.

Oh, the Haslem influence at UT isn't over yet. Read this article about the BoT, that Celina Summers wrote for Orange and White. UT Board of Trustees’ Behavior During Coaching Hire Shows a Disturbing Disconnect Between Decision…

And the Gov. Is trying hard to consolidate his power over the BoT before he leaves office and takes up the mantle of University President.

 

[ptcarter]

Oh, the Haslem influence at UT isn't over yet. Read this article about the BoT, that Celina Summers wrote for Orange and White. UT Board of Trustees’ Behavior During Coaching Hire Shows a Disturbing Disconnect Between Decision…

And the Gov. Is trying hard to consolidate his power over the BoT before he leaves office and takes up the mantle of University President.

It's kind of like stepping in dog crap on the way to work, and finding it on your shoe all day in some form or fashion. Just can't quite shake it.

 

[ptcarter]

Without Sandusky, we would have swallowed hard, and accepted it though. Schiano is Urbs right hand man, isn't he? He did pretty well as head coach at a place that never does well. So, grudgingly, we would have rolled with it.

Hey, props to Butch and Derrick.. we rolled with them too. lol
About time we quit betting on guys that have a mediocre track record and hope they hit the big time at Tenn. CJP's resume is more impressive to me than our last 3 coaches. That includes Kiffin. Watch the Al Davis presser when he was fired from Oakland. CJP doesn't have that kind of blemish on him. Dooley and Jones - resumes weren't strong in the coaching arena... I'm all in on CJP until he gives me a reason not to be.

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

Also surprised that the Athletics Committee seemed to be completely in the dark. Don't know if that's ADC's fault or MsD, but at least a general progress report would have seemed wise. Those are the people who can have your back or your head. Look how that turned out.

That was a straw man committee that Currie, Davenport and a select few boosters kept in the dark along with everyone else. The committee and their recommendations were totally ignored.

 

[orchidvol]

Hey, props to Butch and Derrick.. we rolled with them too. lol
About time we quit betting on guys that have a mediocre track record and hope they hit the big time at Tenn. CJP's resume is more impressive to me than our last 3 coaches. That includes Kiffin. Watch the Al Davis presser when he was fired from Oakland. CJP doesn't have that kind of blemish on him. Dooley and Jones - resumes weren't strong in the coaching arena... I'm all in on CJP until he gives me a reason not to be.

I'm all with Pruitt too. He says all the right things. Recruit great, physical players on both sides of the ball, practice hard, play hard, work as a team, etc. etc. Talk is cheap though but the verdict is still out as to whether or not he can achieve those things, especially considering this is his first head coaching job. I sure hope he can be successful.

Mike Leach is a successful, established head coach that would have accepted in the job even with the situation with Currie deteriorating. His teams are exciting to watch and his teams have won wherever he's been. Davenport or someone nixed that deal, fired Currie, and had to pay nearly $3 million for him to leave. An alternative approach would have been to hire Leach, keep Currie, and have an additional $3 million. Now they've had to pay yet another person for not working.

 

[DeusExMachina]

One thing they did right during all this: zero contact with Jon Gruden.

 

[BowlBrother85]

One thing they did right during all this: zero contact with Jon Gruden.

I agree. Currie just should have put the rumors to bed immediately. He had to know what was floating around the internet. He was either tone deaf to his fan base or just didn't care if they ended up being disappointed or not. Either way: not good!

And for reasons having nothing to do with Penn State, Schiano was not the right fit for Tennessee. He is another northerner, old school hard a$$ who was not popular with his players in Tampa Bay by all accounts. He would have had a hard time winning over the fan base at Tennessee in the aftermath of Butch Jones. Currie had a plan A) Mullen and a plan B) Schiano and then nothing... it lead to chaos and a very embarrassing week for Tennessee.

 

[volfan102455]

How do you all know that it doesn't work like this at every major university? Even in major companies for decisions there is normally only a plan A and a plan B. If those don't work, folks scramble.

This seems no different.