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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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Dec 1, 2021; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Newly named LSU Tigers head football coach Brian Kelly answers media questions after being introduced in a press conference at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Dennis-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 1, 2021; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Newly named LSU Tigers head football coach Brian Kelly answers media questions after being introduced in a press conference at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Dennis-USA TODAY Sports /

Pick Analysis. LSU Tigers. Ed Orgeron. 817. Scouting Report. Brian Kelly. 2. player

Previous role: Head coach, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

By very nature of being in the SEC, any SEC school’s coaching hire would in general have the biggest impact on Tennessee football. However, believe it or not, the recruiting wars with Clemson would have actually made Brent Venables and Tony Elliott bigger hires by Oklahoma and Virginia then the LSU Tigers would if not for one big exception: The Vols play LSU this year.

There is no future scenario in which the Vols share a division with LSU, so coaches leaving Clemson is a bigger deal for UT. With the Vols playing them entering Josh Heupel’s second year on the job, though, LSU having a first-time head coach this year is a huge deal.

The Tigers moved on from Ed Orgeron two years after he won a national championship. Brian Kelly left Notre Dame after 12 years there. Although LSU will be rebuilding with a first-year head coach, Kelly is as good as you can get, meaning they will still be a threat to the Vols this year.

Overall, LSU is a better job than Tennessee football. However, if Heupel and co., in his second year on the job, head to Baton Rouge, La., and beat them, which is possible since they’re undergoing a coaching change and went 6-7 last year after Brad Davis lost the bowl game as an interim coach, it could be a huge springboard for them in the future. Just the coaching matters here.

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