Josh Heupel makes important coaching decision that not all Vols fans will love, but it’s the right move for Tennessee
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel made an important coaching staff decision on Friday.
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel made an important decision on Friday that not all fans will love.
But I think it’s absolutely the right move for Tennessee.
On3’s Chris Low reported that offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle and wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope each received new two-year deals from Tennessee on Friday.
Pope is also adding “passing game coordinator” to his duties.
Neither coach was under contract beyond the 2025 season before agreeing to new deals.
Nearly every Vol fan wanted to see Pope return after Tennessee had three wide receivers go over 700 yards last season. Pope has also proven to be an elite recruiter, landing top talent over SEC rivals such as 2026 five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys, 2024 five-star wide receiver Mike Matthews, and 2025 four-star wide receiver Travis Smith Jr, among several others.
Not every Tennessee fan wanted to see Joey Halzle return in 2026
There wasn’t quite as much enthusiasm from Vols fans about Halzle returning in 2026.
And I don’t know why that was the case.
Now, to be clear, there are plenty of Tennessee fans who wanted to see Halzle return, but the negative portion of the fan base was screaming for a change. That’s despite the fact that Tennessee finished the regular season with the No. 7 scoring offense in the nation. It literally can’t get much better than that.
Things weren’t perfect for the Vols’ offense in 2025 — there’s plenty of room for improvement. For example, Tennessee often struggled in end-of-half situations, maybe due to the head coach having too much on his plate.
Bringing Halzle back is the best way to improve in that area. No one has been with Heupel longer than Halzle — their relationship dates back to Oklahoma in 2006 when Halzle joined the Sooners as a transfer quarterback (coincidentally, recently fired Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore transferred to Oklahoma at the same time as Halzle).
Halzle knows the system, knows the players, and he’s done a hell of a job on the recruiting trail. I can’t think of any reason why Tennessee would be better off without him on the staff.
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