The Tennessee Vols finished the 2021 season — Josh Heupel's first season leading the program — with a 7-6 record.

The 7-6 season brought Heupel's career coaching record to 35-14 through the first 49 games of his career.

Heupel is still fairly young as a head coach — he only has four seasons under his belt — but 49 games is a decently large sample size to investigate.

I decided to take a look at how Heupel's record through 49 games compares to other notable coaches through the first 49 games of their career.

Here's what I found:

• Kirby Smart — 38-11
• Dabo Swinney — 30-19
• Jimbo Fisher 39-10
• Nick Saban — 28-20-1
• Lincoln Riley — 41-8
• Lane Kiffin — 32-17
• Jim Harbaugh 34-15
• Will Muschamp 28-21
• Dan Mullen — 29-20
• Gus Malzahn — 34-15
• Scott Frost — 28-21
• Derek Dooley — 23-26

So what do we take from this information?

I think the main takeaway is that mediocre coaches or underachieving coaches don't suddenly turn into elite coaches.

A less-than-stellar record at any level early in a coach's career almost always means that the coach is going to be average at best.

Heupel is among good company on this list. He's in the same neighborhood as above-average coaches like Dabo Swinney, Jim Harbaugh, Gus Malzahn, and Kirby Smart.

If Heupel follows the career path of any of those coaches (two of which have won national championships, one that's reached a national championship game, and another that's reached the College Football Playoff), then I think it would indicate a wildly successful tenure at Tennessee.

I think it's also notable that Heupel's record through 49 games is better than future fired SEC coaches like Will Muschamp (who has been fired twice from SEC programs) and Dan Mullen.

Based on Heupel's record so far, I think fans should be optimistic that Heupel can sustain long-term success at Tennessee. It's obvious that this isn't a Derek Dooley-like situation where it was clear from early on that he wouldn't have long-term success. You are what your record says you are. And right now, Heupel's record says he's a coach with the potential to win a lot of games in the SEC, get the Vols to a top 10 ranking and possibly make a run at a College Football Playoff appearance.

After what Vol fans have experienced the last 12-13 years, I think that would be considered a massive win.

Featured image via Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports/Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports