Josh Heupel of Tennessee was included on both lists of the annual top 25 college football coaches published earlier this week by The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel.
Heupel, the offensive mastermind, has led Tennessee to a 27-12 (14-10 SEC) record in his three seasons as head coach.
Heupel moved up from No. 22 last season to No. 17 in Feldman’s rankings of the nation’s finest coaches. Heupel is ranked sixth among SEC coaches, behind No. 1 Kirby Smart, No. 4 Kalen DeBoer, No. 6 Brian Kelly, No. 11 Steve Sarkisian, and No. 14 Mark Stoops.
Feldman stated, “The Vols had been a joke team for a very long time before Heupel joined from UCF.” Tennessee’s big-play offense allowed him to win.
Though Mandel doesn’t rank Feldman as highly on Heupel, the Vols head coach is still among Mandel’s top 25. Heupel drops six spots from No. 18 a season ago to No. 24 on his list.
Ranking behind No. 1 Kirby Smart, No. 3 Kalen DeBoer, No. 6 Brian Kelly, No. 11 Lane Kiffin, No. 13 Steve Sarkisian, and No. 22 Mark Stoops, Heupel is the seventh-highest rated SEC coach according to Mandel’s ranking.
The Vols ended 9-4 and in the top 20 despite “slipping back a bit from their breakout 11-2 campaign in Heupel’s second season,” according to Mandel. “In his six seasons as a head coach (three at UCF and three at Tennessee), Heupel has coached four teams ranked in the top 25. To put things in perspective:
