Report: University of Tennessee has fired Athletic Director John Currie

In the midst of a disastrous and chaotic search for a new head football coach, Tennessee has reportedly fired athletic director John Currie.

Last night it appeared the Tennessee Volunteers were on the verge of ending an ugly chapter and reaching an agreement to hire Washington State head football coach Mike Leach to run their program. Instead, that deal is flapping in the wind as it was reported this morning that the Tennessee has decided to fire athletic director John Currie.

The mess began when Tennessee announced it planned to hire Greg Schiano to fill their vacant head coaching position. Schiano’s ties to Penn State and the Jerry Sandusky scandal drew loud and vociferous condemnation from Vols’ fans and that deal eventually blew up. Tennessee has since publicly moved through a list of alternatives that included Mike Gundy, David Cutcliffe, Jeff Brohm, and Dave Doeren, getting turned down in each case.

Obviously, Currie is taking the fall for this embarrassing and disastrous search but further reports today indicate that he may have been undermined throughout the process by former Tennessee head coach, Phil Fulmer.

Fulmer was the Volunteers’ head coach from 1992 to 2008, leading the team to a 152-52 record over that time span, with an 8-7 record in bowl games and winning the 1998 National Championship at the end of a perfect 13-0 season.

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Parting with Currie is almost certain to further complicate the Volunteers’ head coaching search. This may signal that Leach is no longer in the running, and Leach himself my bow out considering he’s also received interest from the University of Arkansas.

Currie was on the job for just over nine months, after leaving Kansas State University, a brief span that will likely not be remembered fondly by the Tennessee faithful.