Greg Schiano is quickly turning around the Rutgers football program. Would the same thing have happened had he ended up at Tennessee?

In late 2017, the Vols were seeking a new head coach after firing Butch Jones, and there were numerous reports linking them to Schiano, who seemed to be nearing a deal. Then, Tennessee fans reacted in a negative way because of his former ties to Penn State sexual abuse case.

The Vols ended up not hiring Schiano, instead bringing in Jeremy Pruitt (who was then fired after 3 seasons and replaced by Josh Heupel). Meanwhile, Schiano’s next head-coaching opportunity came when he was hired by Rutgers prior to the 2020 season.

After going 3-6 in 2020, the Scarlet Knights are now off to a 3-1 start this season, with their only loss being a 20-13 defeat to Michigan.

On ESPN’s College Football Podcast on Monday, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit mentioned the fact that Tennessee could have hired Schiano instead of Pruitt, who went 16-19 during his time at the helm.

“Everyone’s excited about Michigan. They’re 4-0, they beat Rutgers,” Herbstreit said on the podcast (h/t Brad Crawford of 247Sports.com). “By the way, Rutgers is better than when you hear ‘Rutgers.’ They’re better than that. Schiano, another coach who is doing really good work. And to think Tennessee kicked him out of the door before they could’ve had him is crazy.”

Perhaps things will still work out for the Vols with Heupel, who has led them to a 2-2 start. But it may also take some time before a turnaround happens.