We’re not even to the month of November, yet we already know of several college football teams that will be looking for a new head coach this offseason. By now, most people know the biggest names, including Florida, LSU, and Penn State. Other programs that will be in the offseason coaching carousel include Arkansas, Oklahoma State, UCLA, and Stanford.
But one that you may have forgotten about is Virginia Tech. The Hokies’ job opened up all the way back on Sept. 14 after a brutal start to the season. Virginia Tech may have gotten a head start on things by firing head coach Brent Pry after a 0-3 start, but the landscape has significantly changed since then with the blue bloods that are also in the pool.
On Sunday, Virginia Tech on SI’s James Duncan wrote a story breaking down Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel as a potential candidate for the Hokies’ job. Duncan refers to Heupel as a “long-shot option,” but does mention that he’s a bright offensive mind. He also states that while it is “incredibly unlikely” that Heupel will be the next coach of Virginia Tech, the Hokies should pursue him “aggressively” if something catastrophic were to happen with the Vols that sees Tennessee go in a different direction.
In the midst of coaching search season, it’s never a bad idea to get names out there. But as On3 Sports’ Andy Stapes said on X, it is a bit of a rage bait as well.
“This is A+ rage bait,” Staples wrote. “Poking Vol Twitter with a stick seems unwise.”
This is A+ rage bait.
Poking Vol Twitter with a stick seems unwise. pic.twitter.com/FkOBWrFYcd
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) October 27, 2025
More From RTI: Tennessee Football Coach Josh Heupel Gives Thoughts on Tony Vitello’s Departure, Josh Elander Hire
If you go back to the Oklahoma Sooners’ coaching search before the hiring of Brent Venables, you may remember Heupel’s name coming up on hot boards from certain directions. It hasn’t happened that much since then with Tennessee’s continual commitment to him, but don’t be surprised if Heupel’s name does pop up on a few more hot boards this time around simply due to the sheer number of jobs that are (and will be) available this offseason.
Take LSU, for instance.
In the immediate hours after the Tigers let go of Brian Kelly, The Bengal Tiger’s Matthew Brune had Heupel as a candidate for the LSU job.
“The argument for Heupel to stay is asking how big of a difference there is between what he’s built at Tennessee and the potential at LSU,” Brune wrote. “It would take massive investment for LSU to pull this off, but if this school and program want to show that they are still the class of the SEC, this is the type of move that stamps that.”
Considering Danny White’s longstanding relationship with Heupel and the success that the Vols have garnered in the last five seasons, it’s nearly impossible to imagine Heupel not being on Rocky Top in the foreseeable future. Heupel has a 43-17 record in 60 games with Tennessee, and has the Vols in a playoff contendership this season when most in the media believed it to be a down year after the departure of Nico Iamaleava. Now, Tennessee may still finish out of the playoff hunt and near preseason expectations, but it’s hard to count out the Vols at this point.
Either way, expect to see Heupel’s name pop up a bit more often than usual on coaching hot boards throughout the fall and the winter.
