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Tennessee football: Ranking all 28 offseason coaching changes by impact on Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee Herd Coach Josh Heupel at the 2021 Music City Bowl NCAA college football game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.Kns Tennessee Purdue
Tennessee Herd Coach Josh Heupel at the 2021 Music City Bowl NCAA college football game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.Kns Tennessee Purdue /
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Nov 29, 2021; Los Angeles, CA, USA; From left: Southern California Trojans board of trustees chairman Rick Caruso, president Carol Folt, Lincoln Riley and athletic director Mike Bohn pose with a jersey during a press conference to introduce Riley as USC head coach. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 29, 2021; Los Angeles, CA, USA; From left: Southern California Trojans board of trustees chairman Rick Caruso, president Carol Folt, Lincoln Riley and athletic director Mike Bohn pose with a jersey during a press conference to introduce Riley as USC head coach. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Lincoln Riley. 9. 808. Scouting Report. Clay Helton. Pick Analysis. USC Trojans. player

Previous role: Head coach, Oklahoma Sooners

This is a hire involving leaving a future SEC program. That alone makes it more relevant to Tennessee football. Lincoln Riley left the Oklahoma Sooners because the USC Trojans came calling. Sure, the Vols won’t play OU on a regular basis when they join the SEC, but that move alone will make it relevant when the two do face off.

Riley, like Josh Heupel, is an offensive genius. By going to USC, he’ll likely have that program elite within a year. Heck, he won the Big 12 Championship and reached the College Football Playoff each of his first four years at Oklahoma, and the talent pool at USC is deeper.

Given that fact, this is likely a move that benefits the Vols. OU can’t just be good on its own without the right head coach, and the last time UT was dominant, back in the 1990s, that program was down. Now with them joining the SEC, the Vols should root against them even more.

USC’s success won’t be as much a detriment to anything Heupel is trying to do on Rocky Top. They are so far away, and the two schools are going after talent in different areas. However, two Power Five schools plus a future SEC school being affected by this move was naturally going to put it in the top 10 here.

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