How Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel has a perfect approach to being a leader
One of the reasons previous Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt failed in Knoxville was a lack of leadership. Pruitt is an extremely smart defensive coach. He's great with Xs and Os and complex defensive concepts. But he's not a good leader. Pruitt was too unhinged to be a stable leader, which is why no […]
One of the reasons previous Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt failed in Knoxville was a lack of leadership.
Pruitt is an extremely smart defensive coach. He's great with Xs and Os and complex defensive concepts. But he's not a good leader. Pruitt was too unhinged to be a stable leader, which is why no one in the football program seemed to be on the same page during Pruitt's time as Tennessee's head coach.
Fortunately for the Vols, they have a great leader now in head coach Josh Heupel.
Heupel has a great offensive scheme that works incredibly well. The reason it works, though, is because Heupel is a tremendous leader who knows how to teach in such a way that players don't get frustrated. Heupel holds players to a high standard while also showing patience. He also instills confidence in his players.
"Don’t get lost, don’t get discouraged in the moment," said Heupel on Saturday after Tennessee's scrimmage. "This is a process you’ve got to go through. Have great urgency in it. Be confident in who you are as a player and how you’re going to grow."
"The thing I love about our young guys that have come into the program is that we’ve seen each and every one of them make strides from day to day," added Heupel. "Got a long ways to go, but it’s been fun seeing them [grow]."
"Today was the first time, truly, coaches off the field the entire time, you just have to play on your own. I thought there were a lot of positives in the way they handled themselves. There are plays for them to make that they didn’t make today, it’s part of just being comfortable and confident and playing within yourselves. As the game slows down, they’ll be able to make those plays.”
That combination of patience and leadership from Heupel is exactly why the Vols improved so much offensively last season. There's a lot going on in Heupel's up-tempo offense. Players have to quickly get lined up after each play. The ball has to go straight to a certain referee so it can be spotted as quickly as possible. There's no time for confusion.
Somehow, in Heupel's first season leading the program, Tennessee's offense looked like a well-oiled machine last year. That only happens because of Heupel's leadership abilities.
Heupel has a rare ability to create a sense of urgency for players to get better, while also not putting them under too much pressure.
It's a delicate balance. But it's a balance that Heupel has figured out. And moving forward, it's going to be a big reason why Tennessee competes for SEC East division titles.
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
