I wish there was a category of "It is what it is."
I'm not happy. I'm not upset.
Plus side...
1. Experience in rebuilding situations. There was decent improvement while he was there with Coach Odom at Missouri.
2. Got past his dismissal as an assistant at Oklahoma and evolved into a better coach and coordinator. Something to be said for someone who has faced a challenge to his abilities and emerged the better for it.
3. Real skill developing offenses and offensive talent. We haven't had that in some time now.
4. Crazy enough to take this job. To be certain, there were others right there as well. And I wonder why we didn't talk to at least one of them in particular over in Conway, South Carolina.
Minus side...
1. Decline in record at UCF, while not entirely fair, leads to the perception that he is another Coker, Archer, or Battle type who got the benefit of a loaded roster and slowly put things into decline.
2. Recruiting ability is a concern. This can be mitigated with quality recruiters on the staff.
3. It is not the kind of hire that pulls us away from the general fatalism surrounding the future of Tennessee football. That translates negatively in terms of revenue generation.
I don't know what Kevin Steele wants to do. The extremely fast-paced orientation of Heupel's offense may not be something he wants to deal with at this moment. If that is the case. then Heupel should consider hiring the likes of Gillespie at Tulsa or Newberry at Navy for defensive coordinator. Both are extremely capable at getting more out of less and are strong tactical coordinators with regard to how football is played in the modern era.