By Andy Staples
December 01, 2017
The abundance of chefs in Tennessee’s proverbial kitchen is holding up a deal that would bring Washington State’s Mike Leach to Knoxville as the next coach of the Volunteers, and now it has cost athletic director John Currie his job.
Leach and Tennessee athletic director John Currie met in California and agreed to terms Thursday on a deal that would make Leach the Volunteers’ next football coach, but before anything could be signed Currie was called back to Knoxville to reassess a coaching search that has gone from bizarre to surreal. Currie was fired Friday morning.
On Sunday, the Vols agreed to terms with Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano, but an unprecedented fan revolt caused Tennessee officials to back out of the deal. In the succeeding days, Currie discussed the job with Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy, Purdue’s Jeff Brohm and NC State’s Dave Doeren. When word leaked Thursday night that Currie had met with Leach, it was met with almost overwhelming approval by fans on social media. But someone at Tennessee—sources close to the negotiation will not say who—was displeased with Currie’s courtship of Leach. Shortly after a draft of a Memorandum of Understanding was sent to Tennessee’s general counsel on Thursday, Currie was ordered to return to Knoxville.
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