Tennessee football has agreed to a contract extension with head coach Josh Heupel with the Vols’ 2025 season opener just days away. The Vols are coming off their best stretch in the last 20 seasons and a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff a year ago.
“The revival of our football program under Josh’s leadership has made everyone in Big Orange Country proud to be a Vol,” Tennessee Director of Athletics Danny White said in a statement. “Josh has brought Tennessee football back to its rightful place among the nation’s elite programs, and he and his staff have fostered a positive culture within the team. Our commitment to supporting Josh and his staff remains strong and unwavering.”
Heupel’s new contract extension is for one additional year and runs through January 2030, effectively through the 2029 football season. Tennessee has now extended Heupel’s contract by one year each of the last three years starting after the 2022 season.
There are no major changes in Heupel’s extension with the coach continuing to make $9 million per year. Tennessee gave Heupel a significant raise that made him one of the SEC’s highest paid coaches following the 2022 season. According to reporting from the USA Today, Heupel’s $9 million salary was tied for the sixth highest in the SEC for 2024.
Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin and Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz make the same as Heupel while Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, LSU’s Brian Kelly and Kentucky’s Mark Stoops all make more annually.
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Tennessee is 37-15 (20-12 SEC) in Heupel’s four seasons as head coach and has won 10 regular season games in two of the last three seasons.
“I greatly appreciate the support of Danny White, President Boyd and Chancellor Plowman,” Heupel said in a statement. “During an era of change in our sport, their leadership and commitment to helping us build a championship football program is strong.
“We took over a program in 2021 during a turbulent time. We quickly built a resilient, player-driven culture and have enjoyed great success on and off the field, but there is still much left to do. I am excited about the future of Tennessee Football, and I can’t wait to run through the T once again with Vol Nation proudly supporting us.”
Heupel inherited an extremely rocky situation in Knoxville with Tennessee firing head coach Jeremy Pruitt after a 3-7 2020 season and amidst a NCAA investigation that eventually landed the Vols on NCAA probation due to recruiting violations under Pruitt and his staff.
At the time, the Vols had failed to regain national relevance since forcing long time head coach Phillip Fulmer’s resignation late in the 2008 season. But Heupel led Tennessee to its first 10-win regular season since 2001 during the 2022 season and did it again in 2024.
The Vols have four combined wins over longtime rivals Alabama and Florida in Heupel’s four seasons as head coach. Tennessee had just two combined wins over those rivals in the prior 16 seasons.
