Records show little traction between Jon Gruden, Vols football coaching job

Josh Dobbs' curiosity got the best of him on Nov. 16. The former Tennessee quarterback sent a text message to then-UT athletic director John Currie with a bit of a leading question.

Dobbs, like almost anyone with interest in Tennessee football, wanted to know if Jon Gruden could be the next Vols football coach.

"Good evening Mr. Currie. Sooo are the rumors true?" Dobbs wrote.

"Which rumors?" Currie replied.

"A lot of buzz around Coach Gruden. Wasnt sure if it legit or heresay?" Dobbs said.

"Geez even you?" Currie said.

“Hahaha what’s that supposed to mean?!” Dobbs replied.

Currie never replied.

More: Records detail final hours of John Currie's tenure as Tennessee Vols athletic director

Beyond Dobbs' inquiring, an examination of documents obtained via a records request by USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee showed little life or traction between Gruden and the then-vacant Tennessee coaching job.

Gruden's name is mentioned only once in an outgoing Currie text message: He sent a link to an SB Nation article while the "Grumors" reached their peak in mid-November.

"Note the gruden cam at preds gam," Currie wrote on Nov. 20 in reference to an on-screen jab taken by the Nashville Predators after the UT coaching search reached what was the most absurd level at the time.

On Nov. 19, the Vols were shellacked by LSU, but the first half of the game was dominated by a report that Gruden was dining at Calhoun's On The River with Peyton Manning. The news turned out to be false, crashing the hopes of Tennessee fans.

More: Former Vols AD John Currie says Tennessee people are 'wacko' in text exchange with reporter

Gruden's name surged into the spotlight after UT fired Butch Jones on Nov. 12.

But an email from Raja Jubran, vice chairman of UT's Board of Trustees, on Nov. 26 indicated he felt the pairing was never bound to happen.

"Our fans want gruden who is using us to improve his ratings and not interested in any coaching job that we know of," Jubran wrote.

Gruden was hired by the Oakland Raiders on Jan. 6.

Currie positioned UT to replace Jones with Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano the same day Jubran sent that email about Gruden.

The impending hire of Schiano fell to pieces after outcry from some fans, donors and public officials in light of Schiano's past employment at Penn State during the Jerry Sandusky era.

Currie moved on and tried to hire Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy, N.C. State's Dave Doeren and Washington State's Mike Leach. His efforts were detailed throughout the records provided by Tennessee, which showed Currie ultimately was asked to return to Knoxville by Chancellor Beverly Davenport on Nov. 30.

He was placed on paid suspension a day later. Phillip Fulmer replaced Currie as athletic director and hired Jeremy Pruitt on Dec. 7.

Currie and the university reached a settlement Thursday that awarded Currie $2.5 million – much less than the buyout he was owed. The settlement includes $2.22 million on top of the salary Currie received while on paid suspension since Dec. 1.