Heupel Year 5

Your opinion of CJH thru 5 yrs?

  • He'll win a championship eventually

    Votes: 79 25.1%

  • He'll be a good coach but never elite

    Votes: 223 70.8%

  • Being better than we were is good enough

    Votes: 20 6.3%
  • Total voters
    315
#128
#128
A sooner fan perspective here . Look at what happened with us when Riley was winnjng 10 or 11 games regularly and was blown out in playoffs mostly , except when baker was at OU . Riley offense was dominant but defenses were crap . OU fans grumbled and we all believed he cannot win a natty without defense . He did not like it and slipped into USC and the results there are subpar but offense is always a stre.

we now have a great defense under Venables , but we have has 2 freaking losing seasons under him !! He cannot figure out the offense . Some wish we had Riley back . Venables has no idea how to fix the offense and we paid to buy a qb from the portal and his OC and QB coach to fix it . We still lost to texas last week !!! Last year the Jackson Arnold 5 star recruit did not work at all and is a huge bust . He is killing Auburn now !!


I believe heuple is an offensive guru and the facts back it . He has the charisma and leadership . He is a winner .Tennesee needs 2 things to win a natty in my opinion;

1) exceptional QB, which I thought was lacking in iaiamlava and Aguilar ( Aguilar is mediocre ) .
2) defensive line that can push back the bama and Georgia offensive lines and others . This is still a work in progress .

Vols had Georgia beat if not for that missed FG !!!! very unlucky there .
i am thinking the vols beat 2 out of Vanderbilt , OU and Florida , and beat Kentucky next week and finish 9-3 and a playoff . But need a better QB than Aguillar for sure .

best of luck rest of the year .
 
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#129
#129
Heupel has been here five seasons after taking over a dumpster fire:

2021 - met expectations - competitive throughout the season, had three losses due to straight ref malpractice but still an acceptable first year due to circumstances, a top 25 level team due to coaching only
2022 - exceeded expectations by a lot, almost made the playoffs and had a Heisman winner. Would've made the SEC title game and the playoffs under current formats, beat Bama, & a top 5 team before Hooker was injured
2023 - step back in rebuilding year, below expectations slightly? 9-4 losing to 3 top 10 teams, but made New Years Bowl and destroyed a good Big Ten team, UT was a top 15-20 level team
2024 - made the playoffs with a serviceable QB and beat Bama a 2nd time...was one of the 10 best teams in the country, outmanned by Ohio St especially without Sampson but still would've beaten SMU at home under current format
2025 - predicted to go 9-3 by everyone losing to Bama, UGA and one more; lost to UGA and Bama in competitive games; likely would make playoffs again if 10-2

Every year except 2023 arguably Heupel has met or exceeded expectations...so acting like he's trash or we have been awful or average is a lie...

He is the 8th winningiest HC in the country and only UGA and Bama have been better as programs in the SEC than Tennessee during this time
 
#130
#130
Dirtyhairies said:
Oh good Lord stop it. Thats not the consensus. We got whooped tonight. We aren't that great this year. Plenty of people on here are ready to wheel out the guillotines, meanwhile the consensus outside of the orange tinted glasses is that Josh is more than likely an elite coach.

Yea tonight sucked. No, he isnt Nick Saban. Next question.
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Elite? LOL.....0-5 against UGA, 2-3 against Bama with the 2 wins being barely squeaked out inside Neyland, and more than likely 2-3 against Florida after the game next month. Ugly previous losses to an average Arkansas, Missouri, and South Carolina on the road, and OU is going to hammer us in Knoxville this year. Elite coaches don't let that happen. He's above average, but light years from elite. His inability to assess, attract, and retain top tier assistant coaches is going to be his downfall.
 
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#131
#131
I don’t post much either too positive or too negative because I feel like the reality is probably somewhere in between. I would say that I lean sunshine pumper in that I always have hope that the team will finally overcome its deficiencies and put everything together, but I find that it’s becoming more difficult. Josh Heupel has brought this team out of the depths of college football purgatory, but I am beginning to question how much further he can take this team. I get the impression that he is a “player’s coach”. The team has no discipline and I can’t recall the last time I saw him chewing a player out over making a bone-headed mistake. He is too loyal to his coaches that are underperforming. 3rd and Banks is real. It doesn’t matter if it is 3rd and 1 or 3rd and 25 and the other team has us right where they want us. We are horrible at zone defense. Tackling is horrible. I know the coaches aren’t out there trying to make the tackles, but the fact that this has been a problem for so long indicates that it is a coaching or recruiting problem. Play calling is highly questionable at times. Clock management is bad. I’m not saying that Heupel should be fired because it is no slam dunk that the next guy will be better, but if he truly wants to make this team a title contender he has to learn from mistakes and also acknowledge and address the deficiencies of his coaching staff. If he can’t see what we are seeing in terms of the defense there is no hope.
 
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#132
#132
Chitlin&theDude said:
The consensus opinion of JH by people who don't see the world through orange glasses is he's a good coach, better than what we've had, but will never compete for championships and never move ahead of the elite teams. He's now 2-3 against AL, 0-5 against GA (2-2 against FL). And hasn't played for a championship. What say you?
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I’m done with the Heup train. He’s had five years and we’re regressing closer to consistent mediocrity than we were. This is a 7-5 team. We ain’t beating FL, OK, and probably not beating Vandy. We may even lose to KY. I’m done with Heupel and this staff.
 
#133
#133
Hank Bukowski said:
I’m done with the Heup train. He’s had five years and we’re regressing closer to consistent mediocrity than we were. This is a 7-5 team. We ain’t beating FL, OK, and probably not beating Vandy. We may even lose to KY. I’m done with Heupel and this staff.
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Keep us posted
 
#134
#134
PalmettoStateVol said:
Elite? LOL.....0-5 against UGA, 2-3 against Bama with the 2 wins being barely squeaked out inside Neyland, and more than likely 2-3 against Florida after the game next month. Ugly previous losses to an average Arkansas, Missouri, and South Carolina on the road, and OU is going to hammer us in Knoxville this year. Elite coaches don't let that happen. He's above average, but light years from elite. His inability to assess, attract, and retain top tier assistant coaches is going to be his downfall.
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“His inability to assess, attract, and retain top tier assistant coaches is going to be his downfall.” Amen, brother. But he can’t even man up and let go of the coaches who need to be let go. If you look back through his HC experience, I can’t find a single coach he’s ever fired.

Scared money can’t win.
 
#135
#135
volbound1700 said:
In truth, I wonder if the hurry up offense really works. It just seems to tire out our defenses in big games and causes us to lose bad.
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Not getting off the field tires out our defense in big games. Have you ever considered that angle?
 
#136
#136
zjcvols said:
Tennessee is top 15 in wins, since 2022. Is that mediocre?
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What kills me is how orange colored glasses we have of the "old days" in the 90s where we "dominated", and that's what we're trying to get back to. But it's more like we dominated....2 years. 1997 and 1998, both years we won the SEC and both years we played in the national title game (97 was weird but we did play in the Boal Coalition NC Game) and we won in 1998. Even in our "glory days" we didn't dominate consistently. We only made 2 SEC Title games in that time. And that was when it was basically Florida and Tennessee with Alabama being good once in a while.

I hate to berate our own but we have a largely delusional fanbase that seems to think our history is greater than it is. Top 10 wins, program history, pagentry, money etc...we are an elite program. Championships wise...we are not elite. We never have been.

So when I see fans bellyaching about 10 win seasons...that's pretty much the high mark here. You may not like it, but it's the truth. That doesn't mean we don't strive for NCs and all but get a grip people.
 
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#137
#137
VolsSportsFan said:
What kills me is how orange colored glasses we have of the "old days" in the 90s where we "dominated", and that's what we're trying to get back to. But it's more like we dominated....2 years. 1997 and 1998, both years we won the SEC and both years we played in the national title game (97 was weird but we did play in the Boal Coalition NC Game) and we won in 1998. Even in our "glory days" we didn't dominate consistently. We only made 2 SEC Title games in that time. And that was when it was basically Florida and Tennessee with Alabama being good once in a while.

I hate to berate our own but we have a largely delusional fanbase that seems to think our history is greater than it is. Top 10 wins, program history, pagentry, money etc...we are an elite program. Championships wise...we are not elite. We never have been.

So when I see fans bellyaching about 10 win seasons...that's pretty much the high mark here. You may not like it, but it's the truth. That doesn't mean we don't strive for NCs and all but get a grip people.
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10 wins in 2025 is different than 10 wins in 2008. If you win 10 games in the SEC, you ensure yourself a playoff spot and a chance at a national title. And NIL/transfer portal has created way more parity, it’s not like it use to be. Winning 10 games in today’s SEC is an accomplishment.

Yeah I want to be in Atlanta. I want an SEC title.

But I’m also not going to be an idiot and call Heupel mediocre when he’s 90th percentile in wins the last 3.5 years
 
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#139
#139
zjcvols said:
10 wins in 2025 is different than 10 wins in 2008. If you win 10 games in the SEC, you ensure yourself a playoff spot and a chance at a national title. And NIL/transfer portal has created way more parity, it’s not like it use to be. Winning 10 games in today’s SEC is an accomplishment.

Yeah I want to be in Atlanta. I want an SEC title.

But I’m also not going to be an idiot and call Heupel mediocre when he’s 90th percentile in wins the last 3.5 years
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Especially after we went through 2008-2020...12 years of mostly crap sprinkled with 2 years of Butch dangliing a carrot in front of us before throwing it in the toliet.
 
#140
#140
VolsSportsFan said:
Especially after we went through 2008-2020...12 years of mostly crap sprinkled with 2 years of Butch dangliing a carrot in front of us before throwing it in the toliet.
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We are 9th in win percentage since 2021 (including this year) in all of FBS. I’m frustrated after last night and even I’ll say things in the heat of the moment. But I’m tired of seeing the mediocre posts on Huepel. It’s simply not true and it’s ignorant. And that’s not even including the context of what he took over.
 
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#141
#141
Chitlin&theDude said:
I'm not calling for him to be fired. But he's not going to make many (if any) staff changes. He doesn't do that. Hell, Martinez is still here.
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Martinez isn’t the issue, it has always been Banks soft coverage schemes. Look at the position group that is Banks “specialty” safeties, it is one of the biggest if not the biggest liability on the team. Coaches can be great coaches but poor coordinators but Banks has the unique talent of neither. Even under a supposedly great defense last year, it was more than obvious to anyone who watched Tennessee that the defense could not get off the field in key moments and quite frankly against a competent offense.
 
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#144
#144
Year 5 and he hasnt improved as a coach at all. Same mistakes over and over again. Clock management. Situational awareness. Accepting mediocre coaching and recruiting. Year 5 folks. This is as good as it will EVER get with him. This is EXACTLY what the UCF folks said when we hired him and they were SPOT ON!!
 
#149
#149
MeanOrange said:
Remaining schedule: KY 50/50 chance, Oky. Loss? UF Loss? New Mexico St W, Vandy Loss? This season could very well end up like this. Hoping JH can get 5 wins but I would not bet on it.
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Dude if we lose to Kentucky then I’m done with this season and I don’t say that to be dramatic. They are averaging like 22 points per game. Their offense is awful.
 
#150
#150
PalmettoStateVol said:
It's all about the defense. He has to get that figured out. Until he's able to consistently field a team that is a top 5 defense in the country year in and year out, you've seen the best you're gonna get out of Heupel.
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It’s not just about the defense. Heupel really struggles with situational playcalling, managing the clock, having a disciplined team. That was all on display last night.
 
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