Be careful what you wish for... Prior to Josh Heupel taking over at Tennessee, the football program had been in its worst spot, ever. It had been a painfully long time since the Vols were last nationally relevant, dating back to their 2007 SEC East division title. Heupel may have brought stability to this program, as well as leading the Vols to the playoff for the first time, but Paul Finebaum does not care.
He mentioned Heupel as the SEC's most overrated head coach, while appearing on Crain & Cone...
"And I bring Josh Heupel up. I like him. He has made the playoff one time, but he's been there, what, four or five years, and it feels like the program is going in the wrong direction. That should not happen, and it's a very bad sign for a name-brand program. Maybe I'm old school enough to still believe that Tennessee is one of those schools that should always be at or near the top?
Finebaum continued by saying how last season ended left a nasty taste in his mouth over Heupel.
"But the end of last season was a complete disaster. Losing at home to Oklahoma, and they also lost at home to Vanderbilt badly. Lost a bowl game. You can't let that happen. And then they got some bad luck in court losing [Joey] Aguilar, but they don't have a quarterback. And you guys all tell me how can you win in the SEC without a quarterback..."
Here is everything Finebaum said about Heupel on Crain & Cone, as well as how they all responded...
“He’s been there, what, four or five years, and it feels like the program is going in the wrong direction. That should not happen, and it’s a very bad sign for a name-brand program.”
— Crain & Cone (@crainandcone) May 7, 2026
Paul Finebaum isn’t sure about Josh Heupel on Rocky Top…🟠 pic.twitter.com/195dhmoFFR
Heupel may be at a crossroads in his coaching career, but we should not tolerate any slander just yet.
Paul Finebaum voices his frustrations over the Josh Heupel experience
Defining Heupel's tenure in Knoxville is easier said than done. No doubt about it, he has elevated the Volunteers' floor, at least back to a respectable level. Even in a trying year for the team, the Vols are still going bowling. They will hover in and around the top 25 most years. We cannot forget how utterly toothless the program was under previous head coaches. Heupel has been a catalyst for real change.
However, pundits like Finebaum are starting to question if Heupel really has a second pitch, or can kick this thing into a higher gear. While the defense comes and goes, the finicky nature of the Air Raid offshoot he runs can quickly be figured out by the best defenses Tennessee goes up against. Again, he wins a lot of games for Tennessee, but the question remains if we have seen the best out of him...
Truth be told, Finebaum being this hypercritical of Heupel may have more do to with himself than anything. He is a Tennessee alum, one who saw this program do extraordinary things on the football field decades ago. Although this is still a program where you can win a national championship at, if Heupel ever does win one for Rocky Top, it will likely be singular. Is that good enough for the fan base?
Right now, we need to do a better job of appreciating the reclamation project Heupel has done so far.
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