Heupel Deserves Better Than This

I hate to be THAT guy, but I'm honestly thinking White sat down and said who is out there that can check the following boxes:
-Can bring an exciting brand of football to put butts in seats
-Can get some excitement nationally about Tennessee Football again
-Can maybe surprise a few of the upper teams along the way
-And do all that with the NCAA axe coming down
Then I can hire a BIG name if I need.

In other words, I'm not 100% convinced Danny White was hiring the next football coach at Tennessee as much as he was laying the groundwork to hire the guy after the next head football coach.
You left out the MOST important box to check.
Can he recruit SEC level players??

By the time the egg that New Coach lays is rotten
New AD will have quite the stink on him as well.
Both are here only for the money.
I doubt New AD gets the chance to hire the next coach.
 
At least Heupel isn't taking over a Baylor basketball situation from a few years ago. . .

"When he arrived in 2003, Drew was in his early 30s, tasked with a rebuild job unlike any in college basketball history. Baylor player Carlton Dotson had just been charged with murdering teammate Patrick Dennehy. Then former Baylor head coach Dave Bliss was caught on tape telling players to paint Dennehy as a drug dealer to hide illicit payments and other NCAA violations within the program."
 
Only one that was known as “better” turned it down. So I hope Heupel gets to coach at least one game.
My guess is he will get to coach at least 40 games without consequences of any kind.

I feel like this hire was the last dying breath of our football program. I think if this coach fails, the UT administration and fans will see this as an unfixable problem and Tennessee will lower its standards so much as to never be considered a football school again and will never again fight to be any better than 6th place in the SEC.
 
New coach knows this is a short term gig.
He will leave messes for the next New Coach.
Since HCPF was fired, the four HCs have averaged a 3 year term .The tenure of New Coach will not move this average very much.
Good Grief.
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The roster was depleted when Kiffin took over. It was still depleted when Dooley took over.... maybe worse. It was again depleted when Jones took over.... and then when Pruitt took over.

Seems one of the consistent threads with failed coaches... is that they leave questionable rosters.

Heupel can't get an extra year or two. It isn't fair. It isn't a shot at him. It would be the same if it were anyone else. The fact remains that you have to get the attention of recruits within the first 3 years or you won't. They'll move on to the next "shiny new thing".

Jones came as close to success as anyone UT has hired since Fulmer. And even then recruits stopped listening after it was clear that he wasn't getting the most out of his rosters.

You can set the bar lower but he still has to do something that shows he is a great coach early. Right now that could be winning 8 or 9 games and keeping it close with elite teams.... especially if he could score 20+ vs UGA and Bama.


Barring a complete disaster, I see Heupel getting no less than 5 years guaranteed.

The definition of complete disaster (by the new Tennessee standard definition) would be something like losing every single game for 2 straight seasons.

I firmly believe this coaching hire is Tennessee's "hail Mary with no time left on the clock". If this coach fails, Tennessee will be permanently relegated to also-ran status and resources will begin to be cut off from the program as it will be deemed "not a viable investment" by the board of trustees.

With that in mind, Heupel will be given the absolute longest runway possible to turn this thing around.

I really believe it's do-or-die time for Tennessee football. Its now or never.
 
My guess is he will get to coach at least 40 games without consequences of any kind.

I feel like this hire was the last dying breath of our football program. I think if this coach fails, the UT administration and fans will see this as an unfixable problem and Tennessee will lower its standards so much as to never be considered a football school again and will never again fight to be any better than 6th place in the SEC.
As long as there’s a dependable money base, no program is going to die. The Canes came as close as you can and soon as recently departed Howard Schnellenberger tapped into their resources they became a premier power. Just need a coach with a workable plan and the intellect to maintain. We’ll be back.
 
As long as there’s a dependable money base, no program is going to die. The Canes came as close as you can and soon as recently departed Howard Schnellenberger tapped into their resources they became a premier power. Just need a coach with a workable plan and the intellect to maintain. We’ll be back.
they still perenially underachieve more than any other team in history, save UGA. Diff is, if UGA played in ACC they'd win a conference title finally.
 
they still perenially underachieve more than any other team in history, save UGA. Diff is, if UGA played in ACC they'd win a conference title finally.
5 national championships since UGA’s one in 1980. We should all underachieve this badly. Point was moribund program left for dead and now? It’s never too late in this business.
 
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5 national championships since UGA’s one in 1980. We should all underachieve this badly. Point was moribund program led for dead and now? It’s never too late in this business.

We have one national title (1998) since Georgia's last title. However, Georgia has 3 SEC Championships since we last won one.
 
Barring a complete disaster, I see Heupel getting no less than 5 years guaranteed.

The definition of complete disaster (by the new Tennessee standard definition) would be something like losing every single game for 2 straight seasons.

I firmly believe this coaching hire is Tennessee's "hail Mary with no time left on the clock". If this coach fails, Tennessee will be permanently relegated to also-ran status and resources will begin to be cut off from the program as it will be deemed "not a viable investment" by the board of trustees.

With that in mind, Heupel will be given the absolute longest runway possible to turn this thing around.

I really believe it's do-or-die time for Tennessee football. Its now or never.

Are you posting from the cockpit of your time machine that's taken you back to 1983?

In the atmosphere of modern college football, no P5 coach is getting 5 years to screw around with zero consequence of getting canned.
 
1. Depleted recruit class.

2. Cloud of NCAA investigation hanging over program.

3. Beasley allegations.

4. Brandon Davis situation.

5. Consider all the transfers we lost. Not good! What is that number - 26?

Heupel is blameless. He did nothing to cause any of this. He is above all this.

Yet, he has to deal with all of this.

Unfair, IMHO.



$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
helps
 
You’re missing the whole purpose of this! Recuse yourself, sir! 😡
I said that "tongue in cheek", the new coach does have some interesting challenges to face but I feel has more
upside for the fans to be excited about than the previous coach
 
1. Depleted recruit class.

2. Cloud of NCAA investigation hanging over program.

3. Beasley allegations.

4. Brandon Davis situation.

5. Consider all the transfers we lost. Not good! What is that number - 26?

Heupel is blameless. He did nothing to cause any of this. He is above all this.

Yet, he has to deal with all of this.

Unfair, IMHO.
He came here voluntarily in exchange for money. WTF?
 

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