Greg Schiano’s next job was in his grasp — until the world found out.

Tennessee has backed out of an agreed deal with the former Rutgers and Buccaneers head coach, ESPN reported Sunday night, after reports about the pact were leaked to great outrage, protests and even politician input.

In the hours after the news trickled out, two state politicians publicly blasted the imminent deal, saying the university must hold itself to a higher standard than hiring Schiano — a coach whose connection with Penn State’s child sexual abuse scandal has been questioned. Sunday also saw a protest at the University of Tennessee, where students marched and called for athletic director John Currie to be fired.

The campus’ iconic rock — “The Rock” — was painted over to read, “Schiano covered up child rape at Penn State.”

“Our Tennessee standards mean something, and a Greg Schiano hire would be anathema to all that our University and our community stand for,” tweeted Eddie Smith, representative of the 13th District in Knoxville. “I sincerely hope that these rumors are not true, because even serious consideration would be unacceptable.”

Jason Zachary, representative of Tennessee’s 14th district, went a step further, saying he already had reached out to the school.

“I have reached out to @John_Currie and others in administration at UT expressing that WE as a TN Community do not approve of Schiano. #higherstandards,” Zachary wrote.

The politicians’ statements did not explicate exactly why hiring Schiano would be unacceptable. However, before Schiano resurrected Rutgers in the 2000s, he was an assistant coach with Penn State from 1990-95, when he overlapped with disgraced coach Jerry Sandusky. The question has been whether Schiano knew the truth about Sandusky, who since has been convicted of serial sexual abuse against children.

Schiano has strongly denied being aware the defensive coordinator was a pedophile who preyed on children on campus, yet former Penn State graduate assistant Mike McQueary testified former assistant coach Tom Bradley said Schiano told him he saw a molestation happening in a Penn State shower.

“I can’t remember if it was one night or one morning, but that Greg had come into [Bradley’s] office white as a ghost and said he just saw Jerry doing something to a boy in the shower,” McQueary said, according to testimony unsealed last year. “And that’s it. That’s all he ever told me.”

Schiano has had a long life in football since his Penn State days, including a two-year NFL stint with Tampa Bay. After he was fired, he latched on with Ohio State, where he has served as defensive coordinator the past two seasons.