KNOXVILLE — Less than 24 hours after Tennessee concluded the worst season in program history, losing eight games for the first time, whatever focus wasn’t already on the coaching search immediately went in that direction.

Tennessee had found its coach: Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano.

As the news came out, in real time on social media throughout Sunday, Tennessee fans revolted, ultimately causing the deal with Schiano to fall through.

How did it happen? So quickly, so dramatically?

Why was Schiano even a candidate? And when did the two sides start talking?

Kevin Noon of the Buckeye Grove helped provide some answers.

“We were all under the assumption of that a deal for Greg Schiano to go to Tennessee,” Noon told Saturday Down South as the events unfolded.

The conversations with Schiano or his representatives started long before the weekend.

Noon said that Schiano “had been mentioned before as a potential landing spot and maybe even before of the demise of the previous head coach,” Butch Jones.

Noon says that he doesn’t believe Schiano “did any campaigning” for the Tennessee job, but “once the job became open, it seemed like a natural fit.”

There were reports as early as Friday that Tennessee had settled on its coach.

Yet Sunday morning, hours after a 42-24 loss to Vanderbilt, CBS Sports reported that Jon Gruden was still in contention for the Tennessee job.

But that changed quickly as word was out that AD John Currie was in serious negotiations with Schiano to lead the UT football program.

The reaction was almost instant and mostly negative. It came from everywhere: Tennessee fans, supporters, students, alumni, former players and state representatives.

Schiano, who rebuilt Rutgers and landed an NFL head coaching job, wasn’t the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Vols Nation wanted.

But the protests stemmed from Schiano’s time as an assistant at Penn State. Schiano was there during the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal. Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports wrote the definitive piece on what Schiano, then a young assistant, might have or might not have known about Sandusky’s actions.

But there was no turning down the volume in Knoxville at that point. Perception became reality — and that reaction was not perceived well nationally.

Noon said “from the time the name (Schiano) was leaked, it felt like an anti-Schiano sentiment kind of grew” as protestors on UT’s campus voiced their displeasure.

At that time, Noon said “a lot of people in Columbus are a little baffled by whether it is truly a case of there being a concern about any ties to a very unfortunate situation at Penn State versus maybe a disappointment that a bigger name coach was not interested in the position.”

The next question was: How long had Schiano had been on Currie’s radar? The OSU assistant hadn’t been mentioned at great lengths throughout the search, which started with Butch Jones’ dismissal on Nov. 12.

Noon wasn’t sure when talks began.

“When a name of a coach gets linked to a school, you have to wonder about conversations between representatives,” he said. “The coaching fraternity is tight and I cannot imagine a coach going out and actively trying to push for a position that is not open.”

Sunday’s Schiano news came on the heels of Ohio State defeating Michigan. The Buckeyes are preparing for a showdown with undefeated Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game.

At one point Sunday, there was a report that Schiano would stay with the Buckeyes to coach that game before moving on to Tennessee. Obviously that’s no longer a factor.

Noon does not think the Schiano-to-Tennessee talk will be a distraction.

“They do such a good job at Ohio State with a laser focus task at hand, that it is not necessarily an issue,” he said. “Ohio State has had a couple of games where they have not performed as well as expected, but Schiano and the defensive staff is focused on the task at hand with Wisconsin.

“It may be a little foolish to say that it has not taken a little time and energy away from game planning, but that is why generally you have representation and people working on this for you.”

Monday began as Saturday ended. The Vols still without a coach. Schiano still leading Ohio State’s defense.