Fans chant 'fire John Currie' at WWE event in Knoxville (Video)
Tennessee fans are not happy with athletic director John Currie after the attempted hiring of Greg Schiano, so when WWE’s “Monday Night RAW” rolled through Knoxville, their displeasure was heard loud and clear.
During one match, fans chanted “Fire Currie!” loud enough that it was heard clearly on the broadcast.
WWE Monday Night RAW crowd in Knoxville just broke out into a “FIRE CURRIE!” chant #ItJustMeansMore pic.twitter.com/O7L1GtQoJh
— Jack McGuire (@JackMacCFB) November 28, 2017
There was a sign, too:
— Korey Whitmore (@KoreyVFL) November 28, 2017
If you somehow missed it, Tennessee was extremely close to hiring Schiano, the defensive coordinator at Ohio State, on Sunday. It was so close that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Schiano and Currie in Columbus, Ohio. However, a ton of backlash from Tennessee fans, many of whom cited Schiano’s time at Penn State, caused the hire to fall through.
On Monday, Currie released a lengthy statement about what went down. In part, it read:
I have followed Coach Schiano’s accomplishments throughout his career and have been fortunate to get to know him and his family over the last several years. As reported by the media, he was a leading candidate for our position. Among the most respected professional and college football coaches, he is widely regarded as an outstanding leader who develops tough, competitive teams and cares deeply about his student-athletes.
We carefully interviewed and vetted him, as we do candidates for all positions. He received the highest recommendations for character, family values and commitment to academic achievement and student-athlete welfare from his current and former athletic directors, players, coaching colleagues and experienced media figures.
Now it’s back to the drawing board for Currie. Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel detailed where Tennessee may turn to fill the vacancy left by the firing of Butch Jones.
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