Heupel isn't leaving Tennessee for another college program short of maybe his Alma mater. And even if presented with that option - I have no question that he'd have a considerable amount to think about. LSU wasn't poaching a sitting Tennessee head coach even when they weren't a complete dumpster fire. The 2025 LSU melt down looks as bad or worse than what happened with Tennessee and Schiano. After the last week I guarantee that coaches are seeing how toxic that entire environment is right now. Our Athletic Department as a whole and Tennessee football in particular has everything in place to win at the highest level right now. And we're doing that across all sports.
NIL collective, University leadership, The facilities, fanbase, great city/state/col, donors, infrastructure, etc. It's all in place. Add in how much NIL & the transfer portal has immediately changed the college landscape with roster composition and the parity that's brought to the sport. The days of a handful of schools hoarding elite talent is largely over moving forward. The rules changes in regards to the transfer portal has changed recruiting. The really talented guys riding the bench for 2-3 years at places like Bama, LSU, etc. are significantly harder to keep on roster with players being paid to transfer and getting immediate playing time. All you have to do is look at the Top 25 right now to see the impact. #2 Indiana, #7 Ole Miss, #8 Georgia Tech, #9 Vanderbilt, #13 Texas Tech, etc. If the donors, University leadership, & NIL collective are all in alignment - you can win big anywhere in this environment.
Tennessee & Danny White are in flow state right now and they've proven this is a destination job again. Don't let the stench of 2008-2021 Tennessee football have you believing this can't be one of the best jobs in the country with competent leadership and alignment.
In the last few years alone Tennessee has:
Baseball: 1 National Championship, 3 CWS appearances, 2 SEC Championships & 2 SEC Tournament Championships
Basketball: 1 SEC Championship, 1 SEC Tournament Championship, Back to Back Elite 8s
Football: 1 CFP Appearance, 11 win season
And that's not counting all of the accolades in softball, soccer, tennis, women's basketball, etc.
There hasn't been a more successfull Athletic Department in the SEC across the Big 3 sports over the last several years. Coaches are looking for stability & competetive salaries for themselves and their staff. More Universities are going to be able to retain coaches that would have historically been poached by elite programs (Like Cignetti & IU for example) due to how drastically the CFB landscape has evolved. All that said, OU might be the one program that could grab Heupel with it being his Alma mater, but that's the only reason I could see a sitting HC leaving for another opportunity. And even that isn't a slam dunk with how everything went down with Stoops making Heupel a scapegoat & their subsequent falling out. We're in a great place right now and moving forward.
Go Big Orange