Records Detail Currie's Last Hours as Tennessee AD

Tennessee administrators lost contact with former athletic director John Currie for several hours on the day before he was ousted from his position, according to documents obtained Thursday by USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee.

Currie resurfaced later that day with an email to Chancellor Beverly Davenport, President Joe DiPietro and General Counsel Matthew Scoggins.

Currie wrote that he had flown from North Carolina, where he was in pursuit of North Carolina State coach Dave Doeren, to California to meet with Washington State coach Mike Leach.

"Although I have not offered the job or discussed terms with him, he told me he would take the job if offered," Currie wrote in his email.

Davenport responded that she wanted Currie to return to Knoxville and scheduled a meeting with him for the following morning.

"I trust you are on your way back to Knoxville as I requested in my text message this afternoon," Davenport wrote to Currie.

"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 (Doeren), I asked you not to pursue any discussions about employment with any additional candidates."

Raja Jubran, vice chairman of UT's Board of Trustees, asked about Currie's status in a text message with administrators that afternoon.

"Have we confirmed that John is safe?" Jubran asked.

Also that day, Reid Sigmon, Currie's executive associate AD, inquired about Currie's status.

"Lots of people worried about your whereabouts," Sigmon texted.

Currie texted, "I'm fine," before adding, "I'm still alive."

The following morning, Davenport removed Currie from his post and replaced him with Phillip Fulmer. It ended Currie's role in a chaotic football coaching search. Currie was Tennessee's AD for eight months.

Currie and the university reached a settlement Thursday that awarded Currie $2.5 million - much less than the buyout he was owed. The settlement includes $2.22 million on top of the salary Currie received while on paid suspension since Dec. 1.

Tennessee nearly hired Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano on Nov. 26 to replace Butch Jones as coach. The deal unraveled after it was met by backlash from some fans, donors and politicians.

Currie pivoted to other candidates, including Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy, who received a raise and remained with the Cowboys.

After Tennessee didn't reach a deal with Gundy, Currie exchanged messages with Doeren's agent, Jordan Bazant.

"Let's get this done," Bazant wrote to Currie on Nov. 28.

Two days later, on the morning of Nov. 30, Bazant wrote: "He is fired up."

When Currie didn't respond, Bazant wrote: "Really need to hear from you."

Doeren received a new deal from N.C. State later that day.

Currie's next message was to Leach, whom he was prepared to meet in Los Angeles.

"I hope you come out of this OK and we can work together," Leach wrote to Currie after their meeting.

Currie lost his job. Leach remained at Washington State. Fulmer hired Jeremy Pruitt on Dec. 7, ending Tennessee's 26-day coaching search.

Read More of Today's AB Headlines

Subscribe to Our Daily E-Newsletter