'Heupel also pushed the panic button a bit' – National media outlet doesn't like Tennessee's vibes heading into the offseason
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The Tennessee Vols have experienced quite a few changes since the end of the 2025 regular season.
Tennessee has a new defensive coordinator in Jim Knowles after parting ways with Tim Banks. The Vols also have a new strength coach in Derek Owings, who just won a national championship with Indiana earlier this week.
Additionally, the Vols have bolstered their roster by overhauling the defensive side of the ball and adding important depth to the offensive side of the ball.
There’s plenty to be excited about when it comes to Tennessee football after some big moves this offseason, but there’s a lot of uncertainty, too.
Who starts at quarterback? Will Knowles’ defensive system be too difficult to pick up early in the season? How will the new-look roster and coaching staff gel?
Those are all questions that won’t be answered until the season kicks off a little over seven months from now.
The fact those questions exist, though, is a big reason why Tennessee is ranked dead last in The Athletic’s offseason vibe rankings.
The Athletic doesn’t love Tennessee’s vibes
The Athletic’s Seth Emerson ranked the Vols at No. 16 in his SEC vibes rankings that were published on Thursday.
Emerson essentially questioned whether Heupel can get Tennessee to the next level (which is a deep College Football Playoff run).
“The view here on coach Josh Heupel has been that so far, he’s had a low ceiling — something short of national championship caliber — but his offense has kept the floor high,” wrote Emerson. “This year may be the test of that….If (Joey) Aguilar can’t return, the quarterback is…well, who knows. Heupel also pushed the panic button a bit on defense by firing defensive coordinator Tim Banks and bringing in Jim Knowles. Maybe it’ll work. But this is a key offseason for Heupel, whose fan base is starting to get antsy. That was inevitable: Heupel earned credibility by getting the Vols out of the wilderness, but the ambitions of the program go further than 8-5.”
I understand Emerson’s take, and I think it’s fair, but I don’t completely agree.
Heupel has been to the playoff at Tennessee, he’s led the Vols to 11 wins in a season, he has three wins against Florida, two wins against Alabama, and a dominant road win over LSU. Let’s not act like 8-5 has been the ceiling for Tennessee over the last few years.
Also, the current state of college football is going to lead to some random outlier down seasons for teams. A lack of depth across the sport, combined with constant roster turnover, is already leading to more volatility in year-to-year results.
Oklahoma, for example, went 6-7 in 2024. A year later, they made the playoff.
I think the vibes inside of Tennessee’s program are in the right place this offseason. But I understand why the view outside of the building is different — it’s hard for some folks to look past a season-ending blowout loss to Vanderbilt and a loss to Illinois in the Music City Bowl.
It’ll be up to the Vols to change that perception in 2026.
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This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Jan 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the Nashville section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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