Tennessee football further set up for strong 2022 start with Dan Mullen firing
A month ago, when the news came out about the LSU Tigers and Ed Orgeron parting ways at the end of the season, we had a post up about how that combined with the Florida Gators’ struggles would set up Tennessee football for 2022. Recent events since then has amplified that possibility.
Florida has collapsed even worse, falling to 5-6 on the year with a loss to the Missouri Tigers Saturday. Meanwhile, the Vols clinched bowl eligibility in Josh Heupel’s first season and will be going for a guaranteed winning season this Saturday when they face the Vanderbilt Commodores.
One day later, another major factor in this trend happened: Florida fired Dan Mullen. Chris Low of ESPN broke the news, and numerous other sources have reported on it since. At this point, it’s clear Florida will be in rebuild mode next year rather than this year just being a blip on the radar.
That plays right into Tennessee football’s fans. When the possibility of a strong 2022 was starting to emerge last month, it wasn’t yet likely that the Vols would finish with a winning season. Also, Florida just seemed to be in a funk but would be able to rebound with Mullen.
It’s the opposite on both fronts now. When the Vols take the field in 2022, they’ll be hosting a Florida team that has a new head coach and may be coming off missing a bowl game. Meanwhile, Heupel will likely have had the program take a huge step forward. Add in the game being in Knoxville, and Rocky Top finally has a chance to reverse the trend in this series.
Beyond Florida, though, a trip to LSU is also among the Vols’ first five games in 2022. Their other Power Five foe is the Pittsburgh Panthers, and while they lost to Pat Narduzzi’s team at home this year, that Pitt team loses a ton of talent, most notably star quarterback Kenny Pickett.
Simply put, with the news surrounding Mullen, Tennessee football is now set up for a potential 5-0 start in 2022. The Vols get two Group of Five schools, two programs led by first-year head coaches and one mediocre Power Five program that loses everybody from the best team it has had in years.
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Heupel will need to do a better job on the recruiting trail, but a lot of talent could be coming back. He could also potentially add a lot of guys via the transfer portal, particularly players who may leave Florida given the state of that program.
There’s a strong possibility Tennessee football gives the college football world a dose of the medicine it was forced to take this past offseason. If that happens, the Vols could be in line to make a strong early statement next year, and when that happens, anything is possible.