Here's my case for Heupel:
1. We have been to the CFP. Had it been 12 teams in 2022, we would have gone then as well. Since it's inception, there have been only 27 programs to make the CFP. We are one of them.
2. He has consistently recruited well. Using On3's team rankings, since Heupel got here, and starting with his first full class in 2022, he has never finished below 15th in Team Recruiting Rankings. This year's class is ranked 9th, his best thus far. He has shown the ability to get 5* recruits, and address needs.
3. He has done well in the transfer portal. He has consistently landed players that have been impactful. McCoy, Hood, Brazzell, Aguilar, Jeudy-Lolly, Norman Lott, Pili, Kitselman, etc.
4. He broke the streak against Alabama, Florida (at the swamp), and nearly has broken it against Georgia.
5. He has significantly reduced the amount of off field issues that we have had. Very rarely does a player get in a fight, or get arrested, or suspended or kicked off for drugs or academics anymore. The culture at Tennessee seems to be a good one, and I think a lot of us forget that it hasn't always been that way.
6. He made the changes that he needed to make this off season. He didn't play the loyalty or stability card. He axed the S&C coach and hired the National Championship winning S&C coach. He fired the defensive coordinator, and hired the defensive coordinator who led the #1 defense just two years ago. AND, if you listen to the Knowles/ Mike Keith interview, you'll hear him say that Heup gave Knowles full ability to bring whoever on that he wanted.
Now, you can counter any of these points with arguments of course. "Sure we went to the CFP, but we got embarrassed." "Sure, he's recruited well, but not as well as Bama or Georgia or Texas." "Sure, he's gotten a few transfers, but he has missed on some really big targets, and we've lost some big players to it." "Sure, he broke the streak, but he still hasn't beaten Georgia." "Sure, they're acting better, but that's likely NIL, not Heup." "Sure, he made changes, but he probably was told he had to."
Whatever. You can say whatever. I personally have some critiques of Heupel too. I wish he had the cutthroat, confident attitude that you see in Cignetti. I wish he just wanted to dominate people every game. I wish he managed the clock better, especially in end of game situations. I hate how his teams have consistently been highly penalized and have lacked on field discipline.
But in the end? We nailed this hire. And I don't think he has reached his ceiling yet. I think he is doing a great job, and we should be grateful for what we got. Because again, we are not entitled to greatness, or even entitled to 10 win seasons. Heupel is building a program, and doing it the right way. I'm not even close to suggesting we get rid of him. Is it perfect? Nope. But it's a heck of a lot better than the decade we had before him. Looking forward to seeing his offense, plus a revamped Jim Knowles defense on the field this year.
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