The Tennessee Vols have a good coach in Josh Heupel, but he’s a not a perfect coach (those don’t exist).

Heupel has brought much-needed stability and success to Tennessee’s football program. He essentially got the Vols off the mat in 2021 and made Tennessee relevant again.

But there have been hiccups — and I’m not just talking about the road losses in the SEC (take a look around the league, it’s tough to win on the road in the SEC).

Josh Heupel has a real problem at Tennessee, and it has to get fixed

Heupel’s biggest problem that keeps rearing its ugly head is the fact that Tennessee continues to have players who create drama for the program in the spring and summer.

Spring practice and summer workouts are where the heart and soul of a team is built. That’s the lab where that year’s team is born — that’s especially true in the transfer portal era where rosters dramatically change from year to year.

If things don’t go smoothly in the spring and summer, it doesn’t put the team in a position to get off to a quick start in fall camp. The last thing any program hoping to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff needs is a dark cloud hanging over the program in June and July.

But that’s what the Vols have had happen in each of the last two offseasons as Tennessee has dealt with some player issues that have ended up dominating national headlines.

There was the Nico Iamaleava NIL negotiation debacle a year ago that cost the Vols their starting quarterback after spring practice (UCLA transfer addition Joey Aguilar helped save the program from quarterback hell, but the Vols still went just 8-5 last season).

Then there was the Boo Carter situation last summer where the talented defensive back missed numerous team activities. Carter was eventually kicked off the team last season after not showing up for Tennessee’s homecoming game against New Mexico State.

Tennessee is dealing with another Boo Carter-like situation this summer with Penn State transfer addition Chaz Coleman, who barely participated in spring practice and hasn’t been around the team for workouts while reportedly dealing with some off-the-field personal issues.

Coleman was supposed to report for summer workouts this week, but he hasn’t shown up yet.

(A lot of people have suggested this is not a “Boo Carter situation”, but it kind of is. Carter wasn’t asking for more money last summer, he just wasn’t around the team. And to be fair to Carter, we don’t know if he was dealing with any off-the-field personal issues. Both situations are unique, but at the end of the day it’s a player who is on the roster and is not showing up with rest of the team.)

It’s to the point with Coleman, one of the Vols’ top portal additions this offseason, that some prominent media members are speculating that we may never see the talented EDGE suit up for Tennessee.

“He was in spring practice for maybe not even a week,” said On3’s Chris Low on Fox Sports Knoxville’s The Drive on Thursday. “He did very little, if anything, during the offseason conditioning program and the weight program. Here we are now, what, three days [after] the players are supposed to be back and he’s not back. I think it’s really to the point now where he’s left Josh Heupel and his staff with very little [choice]. Unless, again, there’s something else out there that comes to life. But we’re probably to the point where it’s unlikely that we see him play football at Tennessee.”

“There’s several different components to this,” continued Low. “But this can’t continue to drag on. Every kid in that locker room right now is watching. They know what happened with the Nico thing. This is something that can’t become a pattern at Tennessee. But I’ll reiterate this: I hope all the things the kid is going through and has struggled with, I hope he can get it under control. It just looks like with this dragging on the way it is, that I don’t know how confident anybody is at Tennessee that he’s gonna be playing football (for the Vols).”

Heupel commented on the situation at the SEC meetings in Destin this week.

“Chaz has been dealing with some things, and we’re here to support him,” said Vols head coach Josh Heupel to On3 at the SEC league meetings. “We’ll continue to go through that process.”

Josh Heupel is earning a reputation he doesn’t want to earn

I think the criticism of Heupel and his staff when it comes to these bizarre offseason situations is fair. There’s clearly something in Tennessee’s process that needs to be addressed.

And regardless of how the Coleman situation plays out — it’s still possible it works out for the Vols (even if that looks unlikely right now) — the damage has been done to Heupel’s reputation.

“It’s a point of criticism for Josh Heupel either way,” said the Knoxville News Sentinel’s Adam Sparks this week on Another Dooley Noted Podcast. “Because if they keep him, then there are questions of discipline. Is Josh Heupel a pushover? But if they cut him, then [it’s], ‘Why did you not do more homework to know what you were getting with this guy?’

“On top of this, Josh Heupel brought most of Penn State’s defensive coaching staff to Tennessee this offseason — Jim Knowles was the DC (at Penn State before coming to UT). But they also got two assistants, two or three analysts, and an assistant coach that coached edge rushers at Penn State. In other words, Chaz Coleman’s coaching staff came with him and gave the blessing that, ‘Hey, this is the guy you need to get.’”

Again, I think Heupel has done a great job at Tennessee. I believe he’s about the right stuff. And I think he’s type of person that fans should want leading the program. But every coach has their areas of weakness (Kirby Smart recruits players who endanger everyone who drives in the state of Georgia, for example). It’s the coaches who can strengthen those weaknesses who find the most success.

Heupel is right on the cusp of turning the Vols into a true annual championship contender. Tennessee is just a couple of plays and players away. They’re so close to giving Vols fans the ultimate reason to celebrate. There is no reason for anyone to be seriously discussing Heupel’s job security — he’s the right guy. It doesn’t mean there won’t be some tough moments along the way, but Heupel is doing what Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley, Butch Jones, and Jeremy Pruitt failed to do at Tennessee (and it would be foolish for the Vols to turn their back on that).

Heupel, though, has to figure out this roster stuff. Tennessee can’t keep having players skip summer workouts. It’s not fair to the rest of the team that’s been grinding for the last two months. And it creates potential for locker room division.

Josh Heupel is a national championship-winning quarterback. He values a strong locker room as much as any coach in the sport. I understand why he’s a player’s coach, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing, but he has to get this problem fixed before it happens again next summer.

If not, it could eventually be his downfall.