The Tennessee Vols are a football program that isn’t just in rebuilding mode, it’s in “maybe we should just find a whole new plot of land, dig a new foundation and totally start over” mode. The Vols' house was hit by a hurricane and collapsed, then a tornado swept through, followed by an earthquake and Josh Heupel is now left to piece the structure back together.

Best of luck, Josh, you’re going to need it.

In light of the situation and considering that we’ve now seen two weeks of Heupel’s coaching in Knoxville, including watching him in action against a tough Power 5 opponent, I think it’s time to recalibrate and ask: what does a “successful” 2021 season look like for Heupel and the Vols?

Should we be getting the tar, feathers, mattresses, and lighters ready if he goes 5-7? Is 6-6 actually a triumph? Obviously, an SEC and national championship are the long-term goals but what result will we, the all-too-loyal Tennessee fan base, be genuinely happy with when the 2021 season comes to a close?

In my opinion, it’s less about the number of wins and more about *how* games are won and lost. As woefully sad as it might sound for what was once an extremely proud program, I think most people would agree that anything more than 7 wins would be a lot to ask for from Heupel in year one. And frankly, 9+ regular-season wins would be a borderline miracle.

But assuming that Heupel doesn’t possess the ability to walk on water, I would say that 6-6 is a very realistic goal for the Vols, and 7-5 or better would be gravy. And on the flip side, 5-7 is disappointing and 4-8 is… well, let’s not even go there.

So, since we’re not expecting a playoff appearance in year one and Heupel will almost certainly have at least three years to work in his position, the overall substance of his team’s performances matters more to me than going 7-5 instead of 6-6.

Is the team getting better week-over-week? Are there continual discipline problems or clear discontent among players? Is Heupel’s team giving its best effort every time out or do they look disinterested like they often did with Pruitt?

The answers to questions like these are what I’ll be looking for to define success for the 2021 Tennessee season. We all know things are going to be relatively rough initially with Heupel, so what is most important is knowing that things are genuinely headed in the right direction. I want to see an engaged team that looks happy to be playing together and for their coach and that lays it all out there on every play of every game. I want to see passionate fire and smart decision-making from Heupel’s staff.

Show us that we should shake off the brutal apathy that has gripped the Big Orange faithful and believe in the program with Josh Heupel at the helm. If he can get fans to enter into the 2022 season with actual excitement and confidence in his abilities, that would be a legitimate success no matter what the win-loss column says.

Getting fans to truly buy in could happen in different ways with different final records in 2021. Most people seem to understand the tough position that Heupel is in, so I would ask him to do this: Please, just go out and make us believe that we won’t be doing this all over again in another three years.

Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services