Oklahoma radio show takes issue with Josh Heupel’s press conference before Tennessee’s game against the Sooners
The Tennessee Vols will host the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday night in Knoxville in a de facto College Football Playoff elimination game. Whichever team loses will have three losses and will almost certainly be eliminated from playoff contention. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables spoke with the media earlier this […]
The Tennessee Vols will host the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday night in Knoxville in a de facto College Football Playoff elimination game.
Whichever team loses will have three losses and will almost certainly be eliminated from playoff contention.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables spoke with the media earlier this week to preview the game — and the two coaches had two very different press conferences.
Heupel’s presser lasted a little over seven minutes while Venables’ presser lasted a little over 20 minutes.
The short length of Heupel’s press conference didn’t sit well with some of the talk show hosts at KREF in Norman.
Oklahoma radio show takes issue with Josh Heupel’s press conference before Tennessee’s game against the Sooners
KREF’s Mike Steely threw some shade at Heupel this week for the length of the Tennessee head coach’s press conference on Monday.
Heupel, a former Oklahoma national championship-winning quarterback who served as a Sooners assistant coach for nearly a decade before getting fired by Bob Stoops, has a reputation for saying very little to reporters during press conferences.
“For the most part, when I listen to these press conferences around the country — really in the SEC now — the OU media does a much better job,” said Steely. “And the press conferences are much better. I mean, Josh Heupel, let’s get into this. Josh Heupel, former Sooner national champion. He had a little bit of a problem with Oklahoma. Obviously, a lot of bit of a problem after he got fired by Bob Stoops, which had to be very uncomfortable. He came to Norman (with Tennessee) and won last year. Maybe all that stuff’s completely in the past. I think most of it is now.”
Steely then played a clip of the one question that Heupel was asked about Oklahoma — a generic question about the Sooners’ offense — as well as the very end of the press conference, when Heupel told reporters to have a nice day.
“That was it, seven minutes,” continued Steely. “Seven minutes…I mean, the most boring, bland coach speak. You know, Josh is a coach’s son. So probably, he started coach speaking in the crib. Instead of saying mama or dada, he probably said, ‘You know, we’ve got to give 100 percent.’ That’s a coach’s son. I get it. But seven minutes? Brutal.”
“That’s what surprises me the most about Josh Heupel’s success as a head football coach,” chimed in co-host Parker Thune. “Is the fact that when you look around the country at the college football head coaches that historically have had the most success and are having the most success, they all have personalities. And they’re not all cut from the same cloth, but they all have very distinct personalities where you can listen to them talk, and you find yourself thinking, ‘Okay, if I were a player, I can understand why I might be fired up to go to battle for a guy like that.’ Josh Heupel doesn’t really give off those vibes. And obviously, he’s doing a fine job at Tennessee — no question about it. But he’s maybe the least interesting personality amongst the top tier of college football head coaches.”
“That’s Josh,” added Steely. “He has always been that way. He’s a matter-of-fact coach’s kid. He’s done a great job at Tennessee. He rebounded after losing his job at Oklahoma. Good for him. He’s done a fantastic job. After they won the national championship (in 2000), when I was at the other station, after he got injured, and I think he got released by the Dolphins, Josh comes back and does some pre-game shows with us. Super nice guy. I know some people have their stories about how Heupel blew them off, and it’s different — he’s working and getting a paycheck. I get that. But he was really nice, but a lot of the stuff was just, again, super generic, 20 seconds. That’s just Josh Heupel.”
What a strange thing to take issue with.
Look, I’d love for Heupel to be more forthcoming during press conferences, but that’s just not who he is in those settings. He has brief moments of candidness, but he’s typically going to stick to the coach speak script, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. No need to create issues for yourself by saying something dumb…looking at you, Brian Kelly.
Outside of those press conferences, at least from what I’ve seen, Heupel seems to be a down-to-earth, funny, and relatable person.
Every coach has their own way of doing things. Heupel’s way, though, seems to be working just fine. He’s one of the handful of coaches in the SEC right now who isn’t on the hot seat or facing questions about his job.
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