Former Tennessee Vols coach drops under-the-radar nugget that opens up larger questions

The Tennessee Vols will need to spend the offseason evaluating what held the team back in 2025.

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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There’s been some discussion throughout the 2025 season about whether Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel should give up play-calling duties next season.

The feeling is that some of Tennessee’s struggles with clock management in end-of-half situations this season are partly due to Heupel having too much on his plate.

The Knoxville News Sentinel’s Adam Sparks suggested during an appearance on 104.5 The Zone’s The Buck Reising Show last month that Heupel could benefit from giving up play-calling duties this offseason.

“I would say [Heupel’s] tweak this offseason needs to be in terms of game management,” said Sparks. “Because if you look at him on the sideline — usually you can’t see this on TV, but live you can — he’s obviously calling plays. He’s communicating a lot. Some of the game management and time management issues they’ve had in two or three games this year has been where he’s obviously trying to do three different jobs at one time.

“I do think this offseason, if not during the season, he needs to figure out some way to let some things go and be able to manage that a little better….or get rid of play calling duties. Which I don’t think he’s going to do — at least not with the guys he has on staff right now. But something’s got to give. Lane Kiffin gave up play-calling duties, and he has said that he can see so much more of the game. And [he can] look ahead rather than thinking about what his third-and-six play is. And that’s something that Josh Heupel’s got to figure out this offseason.”

The play-calling itself was solid for the Volunteers for the most part in 2025. Not every play call works out the way you draw it up. Still, it certainly seemed Heupel was trying to do too much on game days, which could’ve played a part in some of Tennessee’s inconsistencies this season.

Other coaches — including Lane Kiffin and Ryan Day — have given up play-calling duties in recent years, and it’s yielded positive results for their respective programs (in Kiffin’s case, his former program).

What if Josh Heupel wasn’t calling plays for Tennessee’s offense this season?

We actually don’t know for sure if Heupel was calling plays for Tennessee’s offense this season.

Heupel is famously tight-lipped about his play-calling process. According to On3’s Chris Low (who was at ESPN at the time of his report), Heupel called plays for Tennessee’s offense in 2024.

Former Vols assistant coach Doug Matthews, however, said on Big Orange Sunday this past weekend that offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle called plays for Tennessee in 2025.

“I’ve been kind of — I’m going to say lukewarm on Joey Halzle,” said Matthews. “Simply because I don’t know him. I’ve never had a conversation with him. And the other part of it is, I wasn’t sure exactly who was calling the plays and who was not calling the plays. This year, Joey Halzle was the primary play-caller. And I think he did a excellent job.”

If you’re confused about who is actually calling plays at Tennessee after that comment, you’re not alone. A source told A to Z Sports last week that there’s confusion among SEC coaching staffs on who’s calling plays at Tennessee.

There’s no doubt that Heupel is communicating a lot between plays. But Heupel, for whatever reason, is guarded about the Vols’ play-calling process. So we aren’t sure whether he’s calling plays, Halzle is, or if they have a process in place where they’re both calling plays at different times during the game.

Whatever the process is, it clearly has to be more efficient moving forward. Tennessee’s struggles with clock management in end-of-half situations are a competitive disadvantage. It’s a weakness that needs to be addressed in the offseason.

Maybe that means unloading even more of the play-calling duties onto Halzle’s plate. Whatever the case, it’s an area that needs some attention before the Vols return to action in 2026.

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