Now that (I think) I'm caught up with the conversation, I don't think Heupel's the problem. I question if some of the positional coaches are recruiting liabilities. If they are, then Heupel needs to be bold enough to make change, but I don't think he himself is the problem.
If we can at least occasionally beat the Georgia's of the world, and truly compete for SEC and national championships, then who cares where recruiting actually falls. But recruiting will continue to be an excuse as long as we struggle on that front.