After firing Butch Jones earlier this season, the Tennessee Volunteers have been taking part in a national search for a replacement.
It now appears that’s coming to a culmination. According to this one report, Tennessee is finalizing a deal to name former Rutgers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano as the program’s next head coach.
Tennessee is finalizing the deal with Schiano. Hopes to name him later today, per person with direct knowledge.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) November 26, 2017
Earlier in the day, it was reported that Schiano had become a focus of the Volunteers’ head coaching search. So this can’t be considered too much of a surprise.
Tennessee finished this season with a 4-8 record. It’s the program’s sixth losing campaign since 2008. Prior to that, the Volunteers had put up exactly one losing season in the past two decades.
Schiano is currently the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Ohio State. He had a run of success at Rutgers, posting a 68-67 record as the Scarlet Knights’ head coach from 2001-2011.
After a failed venture in the NFL, Schiano returned to the college ranks with the Buckeyes back in 2016.
This hire likely won’t do much to inspire a fan base in Knoxville that has not had a lot to cheer about recently. Whether this means it’s a bad hire remains to be seen.