Josh Heupel has found considerable success as the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers, and his meteoric rise has sparked conversations about his potential future in the coaching ranks. Given his history as a player at Oklahoma—where he was a Heisman Trophy runner-up and led the Sooners to a national championship in 2000—it’s no surprise that his name is frequently mentioned whenever the head coaching job in Norman opens up or comes under scrutiny. However, Heupel just received a big reminder of why returning to Oklahoma as the head coach might never be a good idea for him, despite his ties to the program.
To fully understand the dynamics at play, it’s important to revisit Heupel’s time at Oklahoma, not as a player, but as a coach. After a successful career as the Sooners’ starting quarterback, Heupel joined Bob Stoops’ coaching staff in 2006 as a graduate assistant before climbing the ranks to become the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. During his time as offensive coordinator from 2011 to 2014, Heupel helped Oklahoma maintain its offensive firepower. But in 2015, following an 8-5 season, Heupel was fired by Stoops, a move that reportedly left a sour taste in Heupel’s mouth.
Being dismissed by your alma mater is a tough pill to swallow, and Heupel’s firing effectively severed the bond between him and the Oklahoma program. His departure was not amicable, and though time has passed, it’s clear that those wounds haven’t fully healed. This tension became evident when Heupel’s name was brought up as a potential candidate for the Oklahoma head coaching position after Lincoln Riley left for USC in 2021. The idea of Heupel returning to Norman was met with hesitation by both sides, indicating that the fractured relationship was still very much in play.
For Heupel, accepting a job at Oklahoma would mean re-entering a program where he was once let go—an awkward situation at best, and a potentially volatile one at worst. The emotional baggage from his departure would make it nearly impossible to focus on football alone. More importantly, his success at Tennessee provides a level of freedom and autonomy that he likely wouldn’t have at Oklahoma, where the pressure and expectations are far more intense.
Heupel’s tenure at Tennessee has been nothing short of impressive. Taking over a struggling program, he quickly revitalized the Volunteers and led them to prominence in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). His up-tempo, high-scoring offense has garnered national attention, and Tennessee has reemerged as a legitimate threat in the SEC, competing with powerhouses like Alabama and Georgia. Heupel’s ability to build something new at Tennessee is a testament to his coaching acumen and vision, and it’s part of the reason why returning to Oklahoma doesn’t make sense.
At Tennessee, Heupel is crafting his own legacy, independent of his playing days at Oklahoma. His success is tied to his own identity as a coach, rather than as a former player. By contrast, if he were to take the Oklahoma job, he’d forever be linked to his time as a Sooner quarterback, and that shadow could make it difficult for him to stand on his own as a head coach. Furthermore, the expectations at Oklahoma—where anything less than competing for a national championship is often viewed as a failure—could overshadow the progress he’s made at Tennessee.
The expectations at Oklahoma are immense, and for good reason. The program has a storied history, filled with national championships, Heisman winners, and conference titles. But those expectations can also be suffocating for a head coach. At Tennessee, Heupel is still in the process of building, and while there is pressure to win, it’s not as immediate or intense as it would be at Oklahoma. The patience required to rebuild a program like Tennessee has afforded Heupel the chance to implement his system and culture without the constant threat of dismissal hanging over his head.
At Oklahoma, the margin for error is much slimmer. Just one or two down seasons could lead to calls for a coaching change, especially after the success that Riley and Stoops enjoyed in recent years. Heupel’s firing as an offensive coordinator is a stark reminder of how unforgiving the Oklahoma job can be, even for someone with deep ties to the program.
### Why Oklahoma is Not the Right Fit
For all these reasons, Heupel’s success at Tennessee is a reminder that being the head coach at Oklahoma might never be the right fit for him. The emotional baggage of his firing, the intense expectations, and the lack of autonomy are all factors that would make the job difficult, if not undesirable, for Heupel. At Tennessee, he has the opportunity to continue building his legacy without the constraints of his past hanging over him.
By staying at Tennessee, Heupel is in control of his own destiny. He is crafting his own identity as a head coach and finding success in one of the toughest conferences in college football. Returning to Oklahoma, where the ghosts of his playing and coaching past loom large, could derail the progress he has made and place him in an uncomfortable position. For Heupel, the best path forward is the one he’s already on, and Oklahoma may just be a chapter he’s better off leaving behind.