Tennessee Vols HC Josh Heupel gave an old friend a big 'welcome to the SEC' moment
Over 15 years ago, Kalen DeBoer, now the head coach at Alabama, drove to Norman, OK to meet up with then Oklahoma Sooners quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel, a fellow South Dakota native. DeBoer told The Athletic last summer that Heupel was more than accommodating, allowing the future Washington head coach to sit in on meetings […]
Over 15 years ago, Kalen DeBoer, now the head coach at Alabama, drove to Norman, OK to meet up with then Oklahoma Sooners quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel, a fellow South Dakota native.
DeBoer told The Athletic last summer that Heupel was more than accommodating, allowing the future Washington head coach to sit in on meetings and ask a wide array of questions.
If DeBoer was expecting that same courtesy from Heupel, the head coach of the Tennessee Vols, now that the two South Dakota natives are in the SEC together, he was sorely mistaken.
Heupel hit DeBoer with a big "welcome to the SEC" moment this week by swiping linebackers coach William Inge from Alabama.
It was initially reported in early February that Inge was following DeBoer from Washington (where Inge was a co-defensive coordinator) to Alabama.
Heupel and the Vols, however, caused those plans to change this week.
Life is a bit different in the SEC. While I'm sure Heupel has a lot respect for DeBoer as a football coach and as a fellow South Dakotan, it's still a cutthroat league where players and coaches can be swiped at a moment's notice (Tennessee has been on the other side of that, too).
By the way, it doesn't sound like Inge was ever "all-in" on following DeBoer to Alabama. It appeared he initially wanted to stay at Washington under new Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch. Inge actually attended Fisch's introductory press conference at Washington before agreeing to join DeBoer's staff as an outside linebackers coach.
Maybe Inge has a bit of a chip on his shoulder because DeBoer hired Kane Wommack to be his defensive coordinator at Alabama instead of rolling with the guy (Inge) who helped the Huskies get to the national championship game last season.
Either way, DeBoer learned this week that just because he's at Alabama doesn't mean life in the SEC is going to be a breeze.
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