Does Heupel have the killer instinct as a coach?

#104
#104
UTFranklinVol said:
the biggest knock on Heupel at this point is his ability to win big road games against our top competition (Bama/Florida/Georgia) and the fact that he still hasn't made it to the SEC championship game.

IMO he and/or his staff do not know how to put that serial killer instinct into the players that causes them to win even in the most hostile environments.

as far as offense/defense goes we've scored more points than any other team in college football and done it in the top conference in America and we are #4 in the nation in total offense. I really don't know how much more you could ask of them. the defense is definitely lacking compared to last year but UT still has the second most sacks in the nation. we just play really soft zone defense and teams with a good OL can beat us easily in the pass game.
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You nor anyone else on this board expected Heupel to make it to the SEC title game in his first 5 years here. Especially with what he walked into. Some of you need a little reality check. Heupel walked into the worst situation BY FAR of any head coach in TN football history and it’s not close. What he has done here is nothing short of incredible.

Ok he hasn’t beaten Kirby Smart. Not many coaches have. He won in Norman last year. He smoked LSU in their house. Your lame attempt at constructive criticism falls flat when context is applied.

Yes the defense is nowhere close to what it was last year. That’s what happens when you lose your two starting CBs one of which is a borderline AA. But this defense makes big stops when it needs to. This team showed a killer instinct against UGA. Is Heupel a perfect coach? No. Does he make mistakes almost every game? Yes. But this narrative that you are trying to push is ridiculous.
 
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#105
#105
McDad said:
UT has the number 1 scoring offense.

It honestly seems like many of you simply enjoy drama. Football isn't enough to satiate your need for entertainment. So you create points of concern.
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Having the top offense is great when you have a decent to good defense. Tenn’s D can be gashed on any one play so a 2 TD lead isn’t comfortable with a quarter or more left to play. He throttled down the offense against Ark when he got up 17 pts. Squeezed out a 3 pt win. This year’s D isn’t comparable to last year. They can easily give up 3 TDS in one qtr when he starts running into the D line on 3 consecutive plays, then punts. He puckers against good teams and lets the back ups air it out against the ETSUs of the world. I think he calls a better game when he’s down a few points and has to play fast. No time to think about running clock. Ala in 2022 vs Ga 2025
 
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#106
#106
BigOrangeTrain said:
You nor anyone else on this board expected Heupel to make it to the SEC title game in his first 5 years here. Especially with what he walked into. Some of you need a little reality check. Heupel walked into the worst situation BY FAR of any head coach in TN football history and it’s not close. What he has done here is nothing short of incredible.

Ok he hasn’t beaten Kirby Smart. Not many coaches have. He won in Norman last year. He smoked LSU in their house. Your lame attempt at constructive criticism falls flat when context is applied.

Yes the defense is nowhere close to what it was last year. That’s what happens when you lose your two starting CBs one of which is a borderline AA. But this defense makes big stops when it needs to. This team showed a killer instinct against UGA. Is Heupel a perfect coach? No. Does he make mistakes almost every game? Yes. But this narrative that you are trying to push is ridiculous.
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I’m sorry but after 2022, the expectations for expedited and contending for SEC titles were expected. Everyone was willing to give him 5 years. But it only took him 2 to elevate the program and while he deserves all the riches for doing it that fast, he deserves the high expectations put on him as well
 
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#107
#107
BigOrangeTrain said:
You nor anyone else on this board expected Heupel to make it to the SEC title game in his first 5 years here. Especially with what he walked into. Some of you need a little reality check. Heupel walked into the worst situation BY FAR of any head coach in TN football history and it’s not close. What he has done here is nothing short of incredible.

Ok he hasn’t beaten Kirby Smart. Not many coaches have. He won in Norman last year. He smoked LSU in their house. Your lame attempt at constructive criticism falls flat when context is applied.

Yes the defense is nowhere close to what it was last year. That’s what happens when you lose your two starting CBs one of which is a borderline AA. But this defense makes big stops when it needs to. This team showed a killer instinct against UGA. Is Heupel a perfect coach? No. Does he make mistakes almost every game? Yes. But this narrative that you are trying to push is ridiculous.
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Gotta say, I’m tired of the “dumpster fire“ talk now. He’s 5 years in. Basically more scholarships than a team needs, has unlimited portal guys, excellent recruiter. It’s his players on the roster. I love what he’s accomplished, but he’s young and should get better. This is not the college football ear of 5-7 years ago.
P.S. Check out what Majors walked into in 1977 and then only 2 or 3 schools really cared about football
 
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#109
#109
JMSqb11 said:
I’m sorry but after 2022, the expectations for expedited and contending for SEC titles were expected. Everyone was willing to give him 5 years. But it only took him 2 to elevate the program and while he deserves all the riches for doing it that fast, he deserves the high expectations put on him as well
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Bull. The expectations were not the SEC title game. Again we are still under probation in a sense. So you mean to tell me after the 2022 season and what we lost, you and everyone else expected the SEC title game? Like I said I call complete bullcrap. Show me where you expected the SEC title game in 2023, 2024 or this year.
 
#110
#110
5wXhgmQ.png


I have serious concerns about so many people that post on this forum.
 
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#111
#111
a vol n tears said:
Gotta say, I’m tired of the “dumpster fire“ talk now. He’s 5 years in. Basically more scholarships than a team needs, has unlimited portal guys, excellent recruiter. It’s his players on the roster. I love what he’s accomplished, but he’s young and should get better. This is not the college football ear of 5-7 years ago.
P.S. Check out what Majors walked into in 1977 and then only 2 or 3 schools really cared about football
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You can be tired of it all you want. Facts don’t care about your feelings. Majors walked into a goldmine compared to Heupel. Majors didn’t have 30 players leave on him. The ones trying to bring up Majors as a defense are silly.

Heupel has exceeded all expectations by a long shot. If you disagree then show me where you predicted his record would be what it is when he got hired. I seem to remember many in this board, myself included, who thought White cheaped out and we were looking at maybe a 7-8 win coach.
 
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#112
#112
CAVPUT said:
And after what he went thru at OU, I don't think he ever will fire anyone. I think that loyalty is what keeps him from being aggressive in the portal as well. It's almost like he just does not want to bring in a transfer in to play over the kids he's recruited. Maybe he sees that as a betrayal? He's a high character college coach working in a professional football league. I wish him well. Hope he pulls it off.
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How many coaches have been better since 2021… and you take unnecessary shots at the defense but in a funny way I think you are right… we don’t do anything well on defense we are either elite or terrible lol… first in sacks top 5 in TFLs TOs forced and defensive TDs… you never reply to me either but it’s cool keep hating we need that energy to keep succeeding. Go Vols.
 
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#115
#115
rocktopper16 said:
I’m not sure this is the right answer but we honestly are dealing with some injuries on the offense that have really handcuffed what we do. Ethan Davis, Pendleton, Jackson, Jefferson, Brame to name a few.

Some are playing through it while others can’t.
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Davis and Jefferson have not contributed a bit, what are you talking about
 
#116
#116
BigOrangeTrain said:
You can be tired of it all you want. Facts don’t care about your feelings. Majors walked into a goldmine compared to Heupel. Majors didn’t have 30 players leave on him. The ones trying to bring up Majors as a defense are silly.

Heupel has exceeded all expectations by a long shot. If you disagree then show me where you predicted his record would be what it is when he got hired. I seem to remember many in this board, myself included, who thought White cheaped out and we were looking at maybe a 7-8 win coach.
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I predicted he would have a top 15 finish and we’d be an annual contender on the national scene within his first three seasons. After 2022 I expected to be in the national title hunt almost every year. That’s essentially where we are.

We have to start winning road games in hostile environments vs. top ten teams to prove we can take this show on the road and take the next step - just as Indiana did on Saturday.
 
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#117
#117
rocktopper16 said:
I’m not sure this is the right answer but we honestly are dealing with some injuries on the offense that have really handcuffed what we do. Ethan Davis, Pendleton, Jackson, Jefferson, Brame to name a few.

Some are playing through it while others can’t.
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Wr built a 17 point lead WITH all of those injuries. But then; with the same players on the field, we took our foot off the gas. Injuries don’t explain that happening within a game.
 
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#118
#118
CAVPUT said:
Why in the world would the SEC deliberately put it's members at such a crazy disadvantage especially with the money at stake? Makes no sense that they would do that or that coaches wouldn't be up in arms about it.
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They went to a nine game conference schedule; which by definition, puts every team in the conference at a disadvantage by making an additional loss automatic for half of the teams each season.
 
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#122
#122
VolCalls said:
I predicted he would have a top 15 finish and we’d be an annual contender on the national scene within his first three seasons. After 2022 I expected to be in the national title hunt almost every year. That’s essentially where we are.

We have to start winning road games in hostile environments vs. top ten teams to prove we can take this show on the road and take the next step - just as Indiana did on Saturday.
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Oregon isn't nearly the road test as Bama. Or Georgia. Or Florida. Or LSU.

Oregon was overrated. PSU was extremely overrated when Oregon slipped past them and vaulted them to 3
 
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#123
#123
#124
#124
“Never hits the portal hard enough”

And yet several of these guys are/were key contributors. Living in the portal is not the best way to run your program. Look at FSU the past two years now. Texas Tech is the first team that I can recall that has put together a great season following a bunch of transfers. It’s best to use the portal as a supplementary tool, not your primary avenue for recruitment.

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