Josh Heupel has brought success to Tennessee's football program, which we haven't seen in a few decades on Rocky Top.
Since his arrival in 2021, Tennessee has won 37 games in four years, including two 10-win seasons, an Orange Bowl and Citrus Bowl win, and a trip to the College Football Playoff.
The CFP trip is the most notable, making it the Vols' first trip to the postseason tournament since its inception in 2014.
Tennessee has become a CFP contender under Heupel. The Vols are not yet national title contenders, but they are on the cusp of breaking through and becoming one of the few elite programs in college football.
247 Sports seems to share this belief. They named Heupel one of the top 10 coaches without a national championship ranking, putting the Vols' head coach at No. 10.
"There probably are not 10 different head coaches who will win their first national championship over the next 20 years, much less 10," 247 Sports' Brad Crawford writes.
"That said, what Josh Heupel has done at Tennessee in short order is notable, especially after getting the Vols to the playoff for the first time in 2024. It wasn't the most-talented team he's had in Knoxville, but it was a squad that played together and was more physical than most."
Several other top head coaches are looking for their first national title, so Heupel is competing with some of the best coaches in the country to remove his name from this list in the next couple of years.
247 Sports has Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian at No. 1 on the list, naming him the most likely to win his first national title. He is followed by Oregon's Dan Lanning, LSU's Brian Kelly, Penn State's James Franklin, and Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman in the top five.
Heupel is looking to close in on a few more coaches who come with familiar names, including Alabama's Kalen DeBoer at No. 6, USC's Lincoln Riley at No. 7, Ole Miss's Lane Kiffin at No. 8, and Florida State's Mike Norvell at No. 9.
Many of these coaches are close to closing in on their first national championship, which will make the coming years fun as they all battle for a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff and possibly a national championship.