Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel will begin his fifth season on Rocky Top when the Vols suit up to tackle the 2025 season next fall. After going 28-8 over three years at UCF from 2018 to 2020, Heupel has gone 37-15 in 52 games as the Vols’ head coach over the past four seasons.
Tennessee’s .769 win percentage in Heupel’s four years in Knoxville is Top 10 in the nation and third in the SEC. Additionally, Heupel has led Tennessee to wins over 10 ranked teams since the start of the 2022 season, which is fourth most among active FBS coaches.
Heupel has also produced five All-Americans, 14 All-SEC players, and 13 NFL Draft picks.
Tennessee has racked up 37 wins in Heupel’s four seasons. The Vols only garnered 38 wins in the six years that preceded Heupel’s tenure on Rocky Top.
As Tennessee moves into year five of the Heupel era on Rocky Top, one college football analyst has taken note of Heupel’s success.
On3 Sports’ Ari Wasserman recently released his list of the top 25 coaches in the college football landscape with Heupel landing at No. 10 on the list.
Heupel lands as the fourth-highest ranked coach from the SEC behind No. 1 Kirby Smart (Georgia), No. 4 Steve Sarkisian (Texas), and No. 9 Kalen DeBoer (Alabama) but in front of No. 16 Brian Kelly (LSU), No. 17 Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss), and No. 22 Brent Venables (Oklahoma).
“In order to properly appreciate the job Heupel has done at Tennessee, you need to go back in time and remember where the Volunteers program was before he arrived,” Wasserman wrote for On3. “Knoxville was in a rough spot. And while many Tennessee fans weren’t thrilled about the hire at first, Heupel has proven to the be model of consistency the program needed after so many dysfunctional years. Tennessee cracked the 12-team CFP this past season and it has beaten Alabama two of the previous three years. There is no question Tennessee’s program is currently on the rise.”
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Tennessee went 7-6 in Heupel’s first season, 11-2 with a win in the Orange Bowl in year two, 9-4 with a win in the Citrus Bowl in year three, and 10-3 with a loss in the College Football Playoffs to eventual National Champion Ohio State in year four this past fall.
Other notable names from Wasserman’s list include No. 2 Ryan Day, No. 7 Deion Sanders, and No. 21 Bill Belichick.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee football coverage as the Vols prepare to ramp up spring training camp work in the coming months.
Check out Ari Wasserman’s full Top 25 coaches list here.
NEW: Top 25 College Football Head Coaches via @AriWasserman👀
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— On3 (@On3sports) February 4, 2025
