Josh Heupel has established himself as one of the SEC’s most consistent coaches, turning around a Tennessee program that hadn’t been on solid footing since Phillip Fulmer led the program from 1993 to 2008. Heupel, who made the jump to the SEC, didn’t look like a clear excellent hire after being brought in from UCF, but now he is indispensable in Knoxville. Rewind a decade, and Heupel looked like he could be the coach of the future for a different powerhouse program: his alma mater Oklahoma.
The former Walter Camp Award winner and All-American quarterback entered coaching at his alma mater as a graduate assistant in 2004, and two years later became the Sooners’ quarterbacks coach, earning co-offensive coordinator duties under Bob Stoops in 2011. After a disappointing 2014 season, Stoops opted not to renew Heupel’s deal, hiring ECU offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley to replace him. That decision ultimately impacted the futures of a number of top programs, and has created something of a quiet rivalry between Oklahoma and Tennessee, SEC foes since last year.
