The University of Tennessee is no longer pursuing a head coach amid pressure to withdraw its interest in a coach with links to pedophile Jerry Sandusky.
A source familiar with the negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the school and Greg Schiano were close to an agreement earlier Sunday, but the deal fell apart after widespread backlash.
The outcry included a protest on campus and complaints on social media from fans, state representatives and gubernatorial candidates.
Their complaints stemmed from Schiano’s background as an assistant at Penn State during Jerry Sandusky’s tenure as the Nittany Lions’ defensive coordinator. Schiano was alleged in court to have seen Sandusky in a shower with a boy in the 1990s.
Sandusky is serving up to 60 years in prison for his conviction on 45 counts of sexual abuse against 10 boys.
The University of Tennessee is no longer pursuing Greg Schiano as its head coach amid pressure to withdraw its interest in a coach with links to pedophile Jerry Sandusky
Sandusky was found guilty of molesting 10 boys in 2012 and is currently serving up to 60 years in prison
Sandusky’s vile behavior came to a head in when he was found guilty in 2012, but the case has lingered in an attempt to determine whether anybody was complicit.
Former Penn State University football coach Joe Paterno was first made aware of child sexual abuse allegations against assistant Jerry Sandusky more than 35 years before he was convicted in 2012, unsealed documents claimed last year.
It has been claimed Paterno was approached in 1976 by a 14-year-old victim who has been allegedly assaulted in a shower by Sandusky – who was later found guilty of molesting 10 boys and is currently serving up to 60 years in prison.
Mike McQueary, a former assistant who reported to Paterno the 2001 incident in a team shower and who testified against Sandusky at trial, said in a 2015 deposition that former defensive coordinator Tom Bradley was ‘not shocked’ when told of it.
McQueary said Bradley told him that he’d been approached by someone in the 1980s who saw Sandusky ‘doing something to a boy’ and that in the 1990s, former assistant coach Greg Schiano saw Sandusky in the shower with a boy.
‘Greg had come into his office white as a ghost and said he just saw Jerry doing something to a boy in the shower,’ McQueary testified.
In response, Schiano categorically denied the claims, saying: ‘I never saw any abuse, nor had reason to suspect any abuse, during my time at Penn State.’
Among those to celebrate the news Schiano was being dropped as a potential target by the Knoxville school was Tennessee State Representative for HD11 Jeremy Faison, who said the head coach’s job is the highest paid state-employed job in Tennessee.
He celebrated today, saying: ‘Vol alumni, and Vol fans young and old. It would seem that your collective voices have been heard. Bullet dodged.
‘Don’t tell me that swift, concise, and passionate please don’t make a difference.
He had previously told the university: I won’t let up on this fight until you come clear and respond to the people who pay the bill.
‘If you hire him, it will be the single dumbest thing the university has ever done since it’s inception.’
But former Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik, who hired Schiano to be Tampa Bay’s head coach in 2012, defended his former employee.
He said: We spent hours and hours interviewing and background checks on Greg Schiano.
‘Yes we didn’t win. Fact – he’s honest, awesome father and husband and an excellent football coach.
‘This shouldn’t be whether you think you like him or not, you don’t even know him.’
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky (middle) is taken from the Centre County Courthouse after being sentenced
A statue of Paterno was removed in the wake of the scandal, however some former Penn State players are attempting to have to put back up
Penn State president Eric Barron said in a statement last year that speculation about what staff members at the university knew is not helpful.
‘Penn State’s overriding concern has been, and remains, for the victims of Jerry Sandusky,’ it read.
‘While individuals hold different opinions, and may draw different inferences from the testimony about former Penn State employees, speculation by Penn State is not useful.
‘Although settlements have been reached, it also is important to reiterate that the alleged knowledge of former Penn State employees is not proven, and should not be treated as such. Some individuals deny the claims, and others are unable to defend themselves.
‘Speculation also serves to drive a wedge within the Penn State community.’
Penn State has made $92 million in total payouts to settle 32 civil claims in the Sandusky sex molestation scandal.
Ken Feinberg, a lawyer who helped mediate claims against the school, told reporters last week it was ‘a very objective process’ and none of the cases were easy to resolve. He said Penn State was diligent in making sure the claims were backed up by sufficient proof.