- Sep 8, 2014
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This is a great article about the debacle UT coaching search w/ actual text messages from several coaches (through FOIA requests)....including Dan Mullen and his agent, who was set to take the job the day after the Ole Miss game. The text exchanges between Leach, Doeren, and Gundy gotta make their fans uneasy (there's more at the link, but I'll cut and paste a few):
Revisiting Tennessee’s football coaching search: The who, when and what
https://theathletic.com/286214/2018...rch-foia-documents-john-currie-jeremy-pruitt/
Here's Mullen's texts:
Dan Mullen
Before the Schiano ordeal, Currie was nearing a possible deal with Mullen, the then-Mississippi State head coach.
On Nov. 22, the day before Mississippi State’s Thanksgiving rivalry game against Ole Miss, Creative Artists Agency’s Clint Dowdle was setting up a time for Currie and Mullen to chat on the day after the game. Dowdle noted, “Understand he will be up late celebrating tonight.” However, the Bulldogs lost the game.
On Nov. 25, Mullen messaged Currie, “Good luck today. Talked with Peyton last night. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow.” Dowdle also messaged Currie, “Let’s do this…. please call me ASAP.”
After a few more messages between Currie, Mullen and Dowdle, Currie asked Dowdle to send a memorandum of understanding. Early in the morning of Nov. 26, the sides were still communicating, but Mullen became Florida’s head coach later that day, and Currie had turned his attention to Greg Schiano and Mike Gundy.
Mike Gundy
Currie had arranged a meeting with the Oklahoma State coach for Nov. 27 in Oklahoma City, according to direct messages between the two. Currie congratulated Gundy on Nov. 25 for the Cowboys’ win against Kansas, confirming that the meeting was still on. On Nov. 27, a day after the Schiano deal fell apart, Gundy messaged Currie: “I adjusted my schedule for today after I heard the news yesterday. I can shake loose in Dallas tomorrow.Would love to work this out.”
Gundy met with Currie the following day, Nov. 28, in Room 609 of the Grand Hyatt DFW in Dallas. Currie made reference to a plane on the ground ready to take the two wherever they needed to go after their meeting, adding, with an emoji, that the plane was blocked from tracking.
Currie messaged Gundy after the get-together: “Coach- enjoyed the meeting. I am going to hang in DFW for a while. I’m happy to fly You back to still water even if you haven’t decided. Let me know if I can be of assistance. John”
Currie arranged for their attorneys to go over a Memorandum of Understanding and, at 3:30, told Gundy: “Had a great call with coach Fulmer – he is fired up!!!”
At 9:08 that night, Currie told Jordan Bazant, the agent for N.C. State coach Dave Doeren, that Gundy was out.
At 9:28 that night, Gundy tweeted: “Cowboy For Life! #GoPokes #okstate”.
Mike Leach
With the Doeren deal falling through, the Washington State coach became Currie’s next target, with the two meeting in Los Angeles on Nov. 30.
Currie later that day sent an email to DiPietro, Davenport and general counsel Matthew Scoggins informing the trio of his whereabouts, saying, in part: “I had every intention of being able to communicate and that we could still get DD deal done while I was traveling but without an immediate answer, the negative social media assaults against him and and the media news of their negotiating with NCSU, I was concerned that I needed to be in position to meet with other candidate including Coach Leach who's was in LA recruiting. This presented an opportunity for a quick meeting, as there are direct fiights from RDU.”
The meeting was a costly one for Currie, whose superiors were unaware of the Leach interview and ordered him back to Knoxville.
In an email to DiPietro, Davenport and Scoggins, Currie wrote, in part, of Leach: “Although I have not offered the job or discussed terms with him, he told me that he would take the job if offered. Matthew know how to follow up with his agent Gary O'Hagan. He would make an excellent choice.”
Davenport replied: “Thank you for the email. I trust you are on your way back to Knoxville as I requested in my text this afternoon. This morning we tried for six hours to contact you about the state of the search. After finally connecting, you informed me that you were in California heading into a meeting with Mike Leach. This was the first I had heard of this meeting. Because of the confusion from earlier in the day with the other candidate, I asked you not to pursue any discussions about employment with any additional candidates. I would like to meet with you in my office at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow (Dec. 1) to continue this discussion.”
Scoggins did text O’Hagan at 7:10 p.m., although the official date of the exchange is not printed. Scoggins said: “Sorry I've been in meetings and still am. We are going to take a couple of days and regroup on our search. It has nothing to do with Coach Leach. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner.”
O’Hagan replied: “Thanks Matt, the people we worked with the past two days who are associated with the Vols search were professional and thorough. We negotiated earnestly and in good faith and feel we had reached and agreed to a deal. We hope that UT sees the tremendous value in having Mike Leach as their football coach. He is disciplined and innovative , attributes which has lead to great Success on the field and in the class room”.
At 12:39 a.m. on Dec. 1, Leach messaged Currie: “I just landed. It was great to meet and talk to you. You’re a good man and I hope you come out of this ok and we can work together. Let me know if I can ever do anything for you. I truly wish I had gathered you up and we had the first of many beers together. I wish you and your family the best”
Upon landing back in Tennessee, Currie replied by wishing Leach good luck, adding in a message at 2:18 a.m.: “My two best friends picked me up at the airport. There are good people here.”
Tennessee suspended Currie on Friday morning.
Dave Doeren
Doeren, the N.C. State head coach, appeared to express interest in the Tennessee job on Nov. 16, just four days after the Vols had fired Butch Jones, and 10 days before the Greg Schiano ordeal.
A Gmail account sent a message ending with Doeren’s signature to Currie with information about some of the Wolfpack players who had earned recognition from the ACC:
John –
I wanted to share this latest info on the players recognition and national reflection of the respect we have gained in the five years I have been here. My first year we had one player on this list.
Proof is always better than talk. Shows my ability to identify, recruit, retain, and develop players.
Dave Doeren
1Pack1Goal
A lengthy direct message exchange from Nov. 28 through Nov. 29 between Currie and Doeren’s agent, Bazant, shows the mutual interest between the parties. After Currie had told Bazant that Gundy was “out”, Bazant replied: “Ok. Let’s get this done”.
Currie flew to Raleigh, N.C., to meet with Doeren on Nov. 29. By that night, Currie wrote of N.C. State athletic director Debbie Yow: “Debbie is sending us buyout information so she can get paid.”
A brief exchange the morning of Nov. 30 ended with six unanswered messages from Bazant, the last two of which said “He Is fired up” and “Really need to hear from you”.
Additionally, a Nov. 30 text to Currie from what appears to be Yow included a link to a report that Tennessee had offered Doeren the job, adding: “John, if u offered last night, so be it. But as of yesterday afternoon, u said that had not occurred. Thought u would want to c this. Hope u r well. Debbie.”
Revisiting Tennessee’s football coaching search: The who, when and what
https://theathletic.com/286214/2018...rch-foia-documents-john-currie-jeremy-pruitt/
Here's Mullen's texts:
Dan Mullen
Before the Schiano ordeal, Currie was nearing a possible deal with Mullen, the then-Mississippi State head coach.
On Nov. 22, the day before Mississippi State’s Thanksgiving rivalry game against Ole Miss, Creative Artists Agency’s Clint Dowdle was setting up a time for Currie and Mullen to chat on the day after the game. Dowdle noted, “Understand he will be up late celebrating tonight.” However, the Bulldogs lost the game.
On Nov. 25, Mullen messaged Currie, “Good luck today. Talked with Peyton last night. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow.” Dowdle also messaged Currie, “Let’s do this…. please call me ASAP.”
After a few more messages between Currie, Mullen and Dowdle, Currie asked Dowdle to send a memorandum of understanding. Early in the morning of Nov. 26, the sides were still communicating, but Mullen became Florida’s head coach later that day, and Currie had turned his attention to Greg Schiano and Mike Gundy.
Mike Gundy
Currie had arranged a meeting with the Oklahoma State coach for Nov. 27 in Oklahoma City, according to direct messages between the two. Currie congratulated Gundy on Nov. 25 for the Cowboys’ win against Kansas, confirming that the meeting was still on. On Nov. 27, a day after the Schiano deal fell apart, Gundy messaged Currie: “I adjusted my schedule for today after I heard the news yesterday. I can shake loose in Dallas tomorrow.Would love to work this out.”
Gundy met with Currie the following day, Nov. 28, in Room 609 of the Grand Hyatt DFW in Dallas. Currie made reference to a plane on the ground ready to take the two wherever they needed to go after their meeting, adding, with an emoji, that the plane was blocked from tracking.
Currie messaged Gundy after the get-together: “Coach- enjoyed the meeting. I am going to hang in DFW for a while. I’m happy to fly You back to still water even if you haven’t decided. Let me know if I can be of assistance. John”
Currie arranged for their attorneys to go over a Memorandum of Understanding and, at 3:30, told Gundy: “Had a great call with coach Fulmer – he is fired up!!!”
At 9:08 that night, Currie told Jordan Bazant, the agent for N.C. State coach Dave Doeren, that Gundy was out.
At 9:28 that night, Gundy tweeted: “Cowboy For Life! #GoPokes #okstate”.
Mike Leach
With the Doeren deal falling through, the Washington State coach became Currie’s next target, with the two meeting in Los Angeles on Nov. 30.
Currie later that day sent an email to DiPietro, Davenport and general counsel Matthew Scoggins informing the trio of his whereabouts, saying, in part: “I had every intention of being able to communicate and that we could still get DD deal done while I was traveling but without an immediate answer, the negative social media assaults against him and and the media news of their negotiating with NCSU, I was concerned that I needed to be in position to meet with other candidate including Coach Leach who's was in LA recruiting. This presented an opportunity for a quick meeting, as there are direct fiights from RDU.”
The meeting was a costly one for Currie, whose superiors were unaware of the Leach interview and ordered him back to Knoxville.
In an email to DiPietro, Davenport and Scoggins, Currie wrote, in part, of Leach: “Although I have not offered the job or discussed terms with him, he told me that he would take the job if offered. Matthew know how to follow up with his agent Gary O'Hagan. He would make an excellent choice.”
Davenport replied: “Thank you for the email. I trust you are on your way back to Knoxville as I requested in my text this afternoon. This morning we tried for six hours to contact you about the state of the search. After finally connecting, you informed me that you were in California heading into a meeting with Mike Leach. This was the first I had heard of this meeting. Because of the confusion from earlier in the day with the other candidate, I asked you not to pursue any discussions about employment with any additional candidates. I would like to meet with you in my office at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow (Dec. 1) to continue this discussion.”
Scoggins did text O’Hagan at 7:10 p.m., although the official date of the exchange is not printed. Scoggins said: “Sorry I've been in meetings and still am. We are going to take a couple of days and regroup on our search. It has nothing to do with Coach Leach. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner.”
O’Hagan replied: “Thanks Matt, the people we worked with the past two days who are associated with the Vols search were professional and thorough. We negotiated earnestly and in good faith and feel we had reached and agreed to a deal. We hope that UT sees the tremendous value in having Mike Leach as their football coach. He is disciplined and innovative , attributes which has lead to great Success on the field and in the class room”.
At 12:39 a.m. on Dec. 1, Leach messaged Currie: “I just landed. It was great to meet and talk to you. You’re a good man and I hope you come out of this ok and we can work together. Let me know if I can ever do anything for you. I truly wish I had gathered you up and we had the first of many beers together. I wish you and your family the best”
Upon landing back in Tennessee, Currie replied by wishing Leach good luck, adding in a message at 2:18 a.m.: “My two best friends picked me up at the airport. There are good people here.”
Tennessee suspended Currie on Friday morning.
Dave Doeren
Doeren, the N.C. State head coach, appeared to express interest in the Tennessee job on Nov. 16, just four days after the Vols had fired Butch Jones, and 10 days before the Greg Schiano ordeal.
A Gmail account sent a message ending with Doeren’s signature to Currie with information about some of the Wolfpack players who had earned recognition from the ACC:
John –
I wanted to share this latest info on the players recognition and national reflection of the respect we have gained in the five years I have been here. My first year we had one player on this list.
Proof is always better than talk. Shows my ability to identify, recruit, retain, and develop players.
Dave Doeren
1Pack1Goal
A lengthy direct message exchange from Nov. 28 through Nov. 29 between Currie and Doeren’s agent, Bazant, shows the mutual interest between the parties. After Currie had told Bazant that Gundy was “out”, Bazant replied: “Ok. Let’s get this done”.
Currie flew to Raleigh, N.C., to meet with Doeren on Nov. 29. By that night, Currie wrote of N.C. State athletic director Debbie Yow: “Debbie is sending us buyout information so she can get paid.”
A brief exchange the morning of Nov. 30 ended with six unanswered messages from Bazant, the last two of which said “He Is fired up” and “Really need to hear from you”.
Additionally, a Nov. 30 text to Currie from what appears to be Yow included a link to a report that Tennessee had offered Doeren the job, adding: “John, if u offered last night, so be it. But as of yesterday afternoon, u said that had not occurred. Thought u would want to c this. Hope u r well. Debbie.”
