Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel made it clear the day he was hired in early 2021 that his plan was to “chase championships” on Rocky Top.

It’s been nearly five years since Heupel made those comments. And while the Vols haven’t won a championship yet, Heupel has put the program in a position to compete for championships.

Tennessee nearly made the four-team College Football Playoff in 2022 and then made the inaugural 12-team playoff in 2024. Heupel hasn’t quite gotten Tennessee over the hump yet, but the UT football program is undoubtedly in the best shape it’s been in two decades.

But just because the program is in a good place, it doesn’t mean it’s immune to adversity.

And Tennessee faced some adversity in 2025. The Vols lost their starting quarterback to the transfer portal in April. They also lost their best defensive player, cornerback Jermod McCoy, to a torn ACL shortly after the end of the 2024 season. Then, the Vols lost their other starting cornerback, Rickey Gibson, to a season-ending injury in the first game of the season.

The Volunteers had a roster that was capable of competing for a national championship in 2025. Still, too many things (from youth to injuries to game-changing moments that altered outcomes) didn’t go Tennessee’s way, resulting in an 8-4 final regular-season record. It was just “one of those years,” which are unavoidable, at times, in sports.

Josh Heupel makes statement he shouldn’t have to make

Heupel met with reporters on Friday in Nashville, ahead of the Vols’ matchup against Illinois in the Music City Bowl, and was asked whether 2025 could be a building block toward winning a national championship.

“This season, there’s been some disappointment, obviously,” said Heupel. “But it’s a group that continued to compete and get better. We’re not where we want to be. That’s not the standard at Tennessee. It is about going and chasing and winning championships. But I’m excited about the guys that we have inside of our program. And as we head into the portal, [we’ll] add some pieces. [We’ve] got a great signing class, and we’ll be ready to roll in 2026.”

Look, just because a program is “chasing championships” doesn’t mean everything will go according to plan. There are many variables — many of which are outside the head coach’s control — that affect how a season will play out.

Injuries, mental lapses, poor officiating, not executing in a big moment — there’s a myriad of things that can change the outcome of a season. And if some of those things don’t go a program’s way in a particular season, it doesn’t mean the program is heading in the wrong direction or that the head coach is regressing. Sometimes a couple of games don’t go your way, and all you can do is tip your cap and get back at it.

But because we’re in an era of college football that’s essentially a mirror image of travel ball (winning seems increasingly important than developing players from youth sports to college), Heupel had to reiterate the standard at Tennessee.

And he shouldn’t have to do that.

Heupel’s done an incredible job at Tennessee. It’s never going to be perfect, and he (like any coach) can’t completely control winning a championship (again, a lot beyond his control has to go right). But Heupel is bringing championship-caliber players to Tennessee, and the program is regularly playing in big games late in the season.

As long as that’s the case, there shouldn’t be anyone suggesting Heupel is under pressure to win. After all, Heupel’s been winning games over the last five seasons at a higher rate than any Tennessee head coach since Philip Fulmer.

Anyone unhappy with the results since 2021 must be eager to return to the dark ages of Tennessee football.

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