i'll try,
@WhiskeyM ...
understand i'm speaking from my perspective of others... others being the UT fanbase. Other's don't follow this game like we do, and they really don't know a lot about PSU other than what they've been told (it's not like they sought out information for themselves).
there was a fire at PSU, and Schiano was close enough to smell like smoke. pretty much that simple.
if you couple that with mob mentality- which is looking for a reason to dismiss or stop a hire when nothing is really known about the guy except he smells like smoke- they have just justified their revolt. and that is what it is. senseless, without reason or accountability, taking action from those who are seeking fame in the middle of chaos by claiming to be a 'source'- THE DAY AFTER the worst season EVER for UT (8 losses... a first).... and NOT making good on "ground shaking" as was claimed...
the real issue here is how it was handled. a few days of rumors- followed by a press release expressing official interest- many things could have been gleaned. but instead, while tempers are still red hot in a state that has nothing but UT football and coming off the worst season ever ONE DAY REMOVED- it was just plain stupid.
it may seem to you my response diverted away from your question... they needed an excuse, and some son of a bitch offered them one in the vane of something that anyone affiliated with this game wants closure and distance from.... where there is little to no reason of concern for anything involving that circumstance that rates it being yanked out of the ground and re-hashed.
i've fluidly moved in this thread between personal opinion and trying to represent that of a fan base i am a part of. i'm finding that increasingly difficult. it's all bull shit. the hire (handling) was bull shit... if Haslam went off the reservation, that's bull shit... the fanbase acting the way they have is bull shit... the candidate himself, however accomplished, is less than what the fan base expected and because of the man himself (currie) promising 'ground shaking' and then.... is bull shit...
all told, it's truly something to watch.. as i said elsewhere, in ten years this will still be unbelievable... i don't know whether to be happy i'm witnessing it real time, or, if it has afforded me an opportunity to give a precise moment i was no longer a UT fan...
clift notes: there is no innocent party here except for Schiano (who is the bad guy?)... the man thought he was getting a good gig... everyone else- ALL OF THEM... are to blame and none of them have done the right thing since- from the UT admin to the fan base to the reporters involved in fanning the flames.... it's astounding and actually painful for me to watch.
