Tennessee gubernatorial candidates speak out against potential Greg Schiano hire

No official deal was in place for Tennessee to hire Greg Schiano as its new football coach as of Sunday evening.

But the state's politicians — including major candidates for governor — already were speaking out against the public university's potential hire of the Ohio State defensive coordinator before USA TODAY and others reported a deal would not come to be after intense backlash.

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Four of the five top-tier Republican candidates to succeed Gov. Bill Haslam were quick to weigh in Sunday. U.S. Rep. Diane Black, House Speaker Beth Harwell, Williamson County businessman Bill Lee and former state Sen. Mae Beavers all took to Twitter to express their displeasure that the University of Tennessee was on the verge of hiring Schiano, as reported by USA TODAY.

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"Absolute wrong choice and I hope these reports are incorrect," Black wrote. "As a supporter and season ticker holder, I know UT can do better."

Wrote Harwell: "If true, this is the wrong choice for (Vol football). We need a coach who is at true leader and who shares our TN values."

"We expect the highest standards for our public institutions," Lee wrote. "The special few chosen to lead within those institutions should have a demonstrated history of integrity and character. I hope today's rumors are not true, because protecting children is more important than anything."

In a pair of comments on Twitter, Beavers said, "The coach UT hires should reflect Tennessee values" and "maybe UT needs to reconsider their leadership."

Rep. Craig Fitzhugh, the state House minority leader and a Democratic candidate for governor, tweeted "(UT Knoxville) should — and I believe will — uphold the Volunteer Creed in all hiring decisions. I do wish that those in #TNLeg majority party, who reacted so quickly to rumors today, had done the same when the situation involved one of their own."

Schiano has spent the past two seasons serving as the defensive coordinator at Ohio State. He has a reputation as a successful defensive coach, with a relatively strong stint as the head coach at Rutgers over the course of 11 years.

But a red flag with Schiano stems from his tenure at Penn State, when he worked on the staff of convicted child sexual abuser Jerry Sandusky.

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Testimony from former Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary released in 2016 indicated Schiano had direct knowledge that Sandusky was committing child sexual abuse, for which he was later convicted and is serving at least 30 years in prison.

McQueary said former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley told him in 2001 that "another assistant coach had to him in the early 90s about a very similar situation." McQueary testified that Bradley said the assistant coach from the 1990s was Schiano.

Schiano denied having seen any abuse take place. But that didn't slow state officials from flocking to social media to express concern over the potential hire.

"If you hire him, the backlash will be insurmountable and devastating to the University and the state," Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, posted on Twitter.

"There are an abundance of good football coaches out there, plenty eager to be head coach at our Univ. of Tenn.," wrote Martin Daniel, R-Knoxville. "UT admin and the Board should put the breaks (sic) on this one and closely consider whether the apparent choice is in the best interests of the university and of the state."