Tennessee Vols head football coach Josh Heupel quietly passed a milestone at UT this offseason that should be recognized more than it has been so far.

From 2008 to 2020 — the 12 years between Phillip Fulmer being forced out and Heupel getting hired — the Vols went through four head coaches: Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley, Butch Jones, and Jeremy Pruitt.

Kiffin, who left after one season to pursue his dream job at USC (which established a pattern of self-centered behavior that he still exhibits today), is the only one of those coaches who wasn’t fired.

Dooley, Jones, and Pruitt were all fired after the wheels fell off in spectacular fashion during their final seasons.

None of those coaches completed five full seasons at Tennessee.

Jones came the closest, going 30-21 in his first four seasons before getting fired 10 games into the 2017 season (UT was 4-6 at the time with all six losses coming in SEC play).

At the completion of the 2025 season, Heupel became the first Tennessee coach since Fulmer to complete five full seasons.

That may not seem like a big deal, but considering the chaos the program experienced from 2008 to 2020, it’s an important milestone that shows the stability that Heupel’s brought to Tennessee.

Heupel, though, will need to continue to evolve as a coach if he wants to make it another five seasons — which is something that’s true for any coach at any program. A big reason why Nick Saban was successful for over 15 years at Alabama was because he never became complacent. He was always looking for new ways to improve, and for ways his program could gain an edge. Heupel will need to follow that blueprint to continue the momentum he’s built at Tennessee.

The good news for the Vols is that Heupel is showing that he’s capable of evolving — specifically with the changes he made to UT’s offense last season.

Heupel’s had some ups and downs at Tennessee, but he’s by far the best thing to happen to this program since the Fulmer era ended nearly 18 years ago.