Record at time of hire: 42-23-2; Record at Virginia Tech: 238-121-2
Previous schools:
- Murray State Racers: 1981-1986
From a direct parallel standpoint, Frank Beamer when he was hired by the Virginia Tech Hokies is insanely similar to Josh Heupel when he was hired by Tennessee football. His tenure with the Murray State Racers may have been twice as long, but it still mirrors Heupel.
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Beamer took over for Mike Gottfried, who had just enjoyed back to back nine-win season at Murray State, going 9-2-1 and 9-2. Gottfried also won the Ohio Valley Conference title in 1979 and made the NCAA Division I-AA Tournament. In six years, Beamer only went 9-2 once, losing at least three games the rest of the way.
To be fair, he won the Ohio Valley Conference and made the NCAA Division I-AA Tournament his final year there, in 1986, but he went 7-4-1, so on record, it was a regression similar to what Heupel went through with the UCF Knights. Then he took over a VT team that was about to be slammed with sanctions due to an NCAA investigation.
Well, just like Virginia Tech then, Tennessee football is under a serious investigation right now, and it hired a coach with a similar profile to the coach VT hired at that point. Beamer would go on to win seven conference titles and enjoy a long tenure there. His success would be a great model for Heupel on Rocky Top.