Josh Heupel proved he's a top 5 college football coach and it's not just because Tennessee beat Oklahoma
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel proved last week that he's a top five coach in college football. And it's not just because of Tennessee's 25-15 win against the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman this past weekend. Sure, the win was impressive. As was the fact that Tennessee won the game because of their stingy defense […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel proved last week that he's a top five coach in college football.
And it's not just because of Tennessee's 25-15 win against the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman this past weekend.
Sure, the win was impressive. As was the fact that Tennessee won the game because of their stingy defense and an adjusted offensive plan that saw the Vols slow their tempo in an effort to chew up clock (Tennessee won the time of possession battle by 10 minutes).
Heupel's in-game coaching was tremendous against the Sooners. But it was the week of preparation before the game where Heupel really shined.
The Vols' game against Oklahoma was one of the biggest games Tennessee has played in the last two decades. For starters, beating Oklahoma put Tennessee in a great position to make the College Football Playoff later this year. It still would've been possible without beating the Sooners, but it's a hell of a lot easier now.
But really, the biggest reason this game was so big was because of Heupel's return to Norman.
There probably isn't an active coach or player with a deeper connection to Oklahoma than Heupel. He played there for two seasons, led the Sooners to a natty, and then served on Bob Stoops' staff for 10 seasons until he was told that he wasn't needed any longer in Norman.
15 years after arriving at Oklahoma, Heupel was fired. And his dreams of one day succeeding Stoops as the head coach of the Sooners vanished.
Because of that history, nearly everyone in the national media made this game about Heupel's return to OU.
Heupel, however, never made it about himself. Instead, the focus was 100 percent on getting a win on the road against a quality SEC opponent. Leading up to the game, Heupel happily answered questions about Oklahoma. But he kept it light. He didn't harp on the way his time in Norman ended (he barely even acknowledged the way it ended). And he made it clear that he was incredibly grateful for the time he spent at Oklahoma. But he never once made that the focus while speaking to the media.
When Heupel was interviewed by ESPN's Rece Davis for College GameDay, the fourth-year Tennessee head coach artfully dodged a question about his current relationship with Stoops by talking about some of the things he learned from his time with his former head coach/boss. It was a master class in how to handle outside noise.
Tennessee's players said that Heupel didn't say much about his time at Oklahoma the week before the game, but they knew what it meant. They didn't need a reminder.
"I knew it was Coach Heup coming back to his original home," said Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava after the win against the Sooners. "He went to college here. He coached here. I know it meant a lot to him. He didn't show it as much during the week, but we know what it meant to him. And what it meant to us."
I don't know how many coaches would've handled last week as well as Heupel. And we'll probably never know because it's not a situation that arises often. How many national championship winning quarterbacks return to their alma mater as a competitor after getting fired? The list isn't long if there is a list at all.
Who knows how many games Tennessee will win this year. Maybe they don't lose any games. Or maybe they drop a couple of close ones.
What I do know, though, is that Heupel has built one of the best cultures in college football over the last couple of years. He hasn't done it alone — staff, current and former players, administration, and even the fan base have all helped create the incredible vibes that are in Knoxville right now. Heupel, however, is the catalyst. Just like he was for Oklahoma 25 years ago.
It's not always going to be pretty. And there will inevitably be some tough moments for Heupel and the Vols at some point down the road (maybe this year, maybe 10 years from now). But there's no doubt that Heupel is the best possible coach that could've been hired to rescue Tennessee from the abyss.
I don't think it's a stretch to say that no one else in the country could've accomplished what Heupel's accomplished so far at Tennessee. The fit was perfect. And ultimately, hiring the right coach is always about finding the right fit (and not the coach with the best wikipedia résumé).
When you think of where Tennessee was four years ago, it's impossible to think that Heupel isn't a top five coach in the sport right now.
Former Vols player shouts out Tennessee and Oklahoma during his Sunday Night Football intro
Pretty cool from the former Vol
