Tennessee Athletic Director John Currie wanted Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano to be the Vols’ next head football coach. But Vol fans, former players, and politicians spoke out against that hire, and it never came to fruition despite Currie and Schiano signing a Memorandum of Understanding.
And now the full details of that MOU have been released.
According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, the MOU was released on Monday in response to an open records request. And according to the document, Schiano agreed to a six-year, $27 million deal. That would put his salary around $4.5 million annually over the life of his contract.
As was reported last week, that MOU was deemed invalid according to Tennessee’s bylaws. And Tom Satkowiak, a spokesperson for the UT athletic department and Sports Information Director for basketball, confirmed as much in the email that released the information on the MOU.
“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,” Satkowiak wrote.
Not only did UT’s Chief Financial Officer not sign the document, but UT Chancellor Beverly Davenport never gave her signature either.
Schiano remained at Ohio State after the social media revolt on Sunday, November 26th. And instead of Schiano, Tennessee ended up hiring Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt to a six-year, $3.8 million deal. You can see all the details of that contract here.
It’s believed that Tennessee won’t owe Schiano any compensation from the signed MOU since it is not valid according to UT’s bylaws. Schiano can still pursue legal action if he chooses, but it’s not likely that Tennessee will owe him anything.
