 Heupel in 2024 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Tennessee |
| Conference | SEC |
| Record | 45–18 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1978-03-22)March 22, 1978 (age 47) Aberdeen, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Oklahoma |
| Playing career | |
| 1996–1997 | Weber State |
| 1998 | Snow |
| 1999–2000 | Oklahoma |
| 2001 | Miami Dolphins[a] |
| 2002 | Green Bay Packers[a] |
| Position | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2004 | Oklahoma (GA) |
| 2005 | Arizona (TE) |
| 2006–2010 | Oklahoma (QB) |
| 2011–2014 | Oklahoma (co-OC/QB) |
| 2015 | Utah State (AHC/OC/QB) |
| 2016–2017 | Missouri (OC/QB) |
| 2018–2020 | UCF |
| 2021–present | Tennessee |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 73–26 |
| Bowls | 3–4 |
| Tournaments | 0–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| |
| Awards | |
| |
Joshua Kenneth Heupel[1] (/ˈhaɪpəl/HYPE-əl; born March 22, 1978) is an Americancollege football coach and former player who is the head football coach at theUniversity of Tennessee. Previously he was head coach at theUniversity of Central Florida, where he compiled a 28–8 record.
Heupel played college football as aquarterback, most notably for theOklahoma Sooners. During his playing career at Oklahoma, he was recognized as a consensusAll-American, won numerous awards, and led Oklahoma to the 2000BCS National Championship. After two years unsuccessfully trying to make an NFL roster (featuring brief stints with theMiami Dolphins and theGreen Bay Packers), Heupel became a coach. He served as co-offensive coordinator for Oklahoma until January 6, 2015, when he was let go in a restructuring of the program.[2] He was named the assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach for theUtah State UniversityAggies on January 23, 2015.[3] After one season at USU, he was hired onBarry Odom's staff atMissouri, where he was the offensive coordinator before being hired for his first head coaching position atUCF. In December 2017, Heupel was named the UCF head coach.[4] On January 27, 2021, Heupel was named the 27th head coach atTennessee.
Heupel was born and grew up inAberdeen, South Dakota.[5] His mother, Cindy, was a high school principal, and his father, Ken, was a head football coach atNorthern State University. As a child, Josh watched game film with his father.[6]
Josh Heupel attendedCentral High School in Aberdeen, where he playedhigh school football for the Central Golden Eagles.[7] In the second half of the first game of his sophomore season in 1994, he became the Golden Eagles' quarterback in a scaled-down version of therun and shoot offense. As a senior, he was named South Dakota's player of the year. He got recruiting inquiries from major college football programs at the universities of Houston, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Wyoming, but "it seemed I was always the second or third guy on their list," according to Heupel.[6]
Heupel began his collegiate playing career atWeber State University inOgden, Utah.[8] He redshirted in 1996 and saw action in four games as a freshman in 1997, but he suffered an ACL injury during spring practice in 1998,[9] pushing him down the team's depth chart. He transferred toSnow College inEphraim, Utah, where he shared playing time with Fred Salanoa. Heupel passed for 2,308 yards and 28 touchdowns, despite sharing playing time with Salanoa.[10] He later held a scholarship offer fromUtah State University, but committed to theUniversity of Oklahoma after meeting withBob Stoops, the new head coach of theOklahoma Sooners.[11]
Heupel was theHeisman Trophy runner-up in 2000.[12] He was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.[13] He was anAll-American, theAP Player of the Year, and aWalter Camp Award winner.[14][15][16] Heupel led the Sooners to an undefeated season and anational championship with a 13–2 victory overFlorida State in the2001 Orange Bowl.[17][18][19]
Heupel was drafted in the sixth round with the 177th overall pick in the2001 NFL draft by theMiami Dolphins.[20] Compromised by shoulder tendinitis of his throwing arm, he was relegated to fourth string for the entire preseason and failed to make the team.[21]
He was later signed by the Green Bay Packers in the early 2002 offseason but got released a month before training camp.[22][23]
Heupel spent the 2004 season as agraduate assistant for Oklahoma under head coachBob Stoops.[24] In 2005, Heupel was hired as the tight ends coach at theUniversity of Arizona by newly appointed head coachMike Stoops, Bob's brother and an Oklahoma assistant coach during Heupel's playing days.[25]
Heupel became the quarterbacks coach for Oklahoma in 2006.[26] In that capacity he coached Sooner quarterbackSam Bradford, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2008.[27][28] On December 13, 2010, Bob Stoops named Heupel andJay Norvell as co-offensive coordinators at Oklahoma, replacingKevin Wilson, who had accepted the head coaching job atIndiana. Stoops said Heupel would be in charge of calling offensive plays during games.[29] Heupel's contract was not renewed in January 2015 following an 8–5 season capped by a 40–6 loss toClemson in2014 Russell Athletic Bowl.[30][31]
After his job at Oklahoma, Heupel served as assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for one season for theUtah State Aggies and as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for two seasons for theMissouri Tigers.[32][33]
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Heupel was named head coach of theUCF Knights on December 5, 2017, replacing the departingScott Frost.[34] In the 2018 season, Heupel led UCF to a 12–1 record and anAmerican Athletic Conference Football Championship Game victory.[35] The Knights appeared in theFiesta Bowl, where they lost toLSU 40–32.[36][37]
In the 2019 season, Heupel helped lead the Knights to a 10–3 mark that culminated with a 48–25 victory overMarshall in theGasparilla Bowl.[38][39] In the 2020 season, the Knights finished with a 6–4 record in theCOVID-19 pandemic shortened season.[40] The Knights appeared in theBoca Raton Bowl and fell 49–23 toBYU.[41]
Heupel was named the 27th head coach atTennessee on January 27, 2021.[42] In his first season withTennessee, Heupel led the Volunteers to aMusic City Bowl appearance and a final record of 7–6 (4–4 in conference).[43][44] Heupel won the Steve Spurrier first year head coach award for the second time, sharing the 2021 award withShane Beamer.[45]
In his second year atTennessee, Heupel led the Vols to a 8–0 start, their best start since 1998, defeatingPitt for the first time ever (0–3 vs the Panthers prior), breaking a five-game losing streak to theirrivalFlorida, a five-game losing streak to conference foeLSU, and a 15-game losing streak torivalAlabama, launching the Vols back into the top 2 in the AP Poll.[46][47][48][49] On November 1, 2022, Heupel led the Vols to their first #1 ranking since 1998, in the first release of the College Football Playoffs rankings.[50] Shortly thereafter, they tumbled down the rankings after losing to #2Georgia and a historic upset loss to then-unrankedSouth Carolina, knocking them out of playoff contention.[51][52][53] Heupel capped off the 11–2 season with a 31–14 win over theClemson Tigers in theOrange Bowl.[54] Tennessee's 11 wins were the most for the program since 2001 and tied for the second-most in school history.[55] He won SEC Coach of the Year for the 2022 season.[56]
On January 24, 2023, ESPN reported that Tennessee had reached a contract extension agreement that will keep Heupel in Knoxville until 2029, with an annual salary of $9 million.[57]
In his third year atTennessee, Heupel led the Vols to an 9–4 season, with a 4–4 record in theSEC.[58]Tennessee defeated theIowa Hawkeyes 35–0 in theCitrus Bowl to cap off the 2023 season.[59] Tennessee finished ranked #21 in theCFP final rankings.[60]
Heupel started off his fourth season at Tennessee with a 69–3 win over Chattanooga.[61] In the Duke's Mayo Classic, Tennessee defeated NC State 51–10.[62] In the Vols' third game, the team set a modern school record for points in a game with a 71–0 victory over Kent State.[63] In a return to Oklahoma, Heupel helped lead the Vols to a 25–15 win over the Sooners to start 4–0.[64] The Vols suffered their first setback in the fifth game against Arkansas with a 19–14 loss.[65] The Vols rebounded with a 23–17 overtime victory over Florida in the following game.[66] Tennessee defeated Alabama 24–17 in the following game.[67] Tennessee defeated Kentucky 28–18 and Mississippi State 33–14 to set up a road game against Georgia with conference title game and playoff implications on the line.[68][69] In the game, Tennessee fell to Georgia 31–17 on the road.[70] Tennessee closed out the regular season with a 56–0 win over UTEP and a 36–23 win over Vanderbilt to finish 10–2, clinching the Vols' first appearance in theCollege Football Playoff, losing 17–42 toOhio State in the first round.[71][72]
Heupel and his wife Dawn have a son and a daughter.[73] Josh's sister is married to former U.S. RepresentativeDan Boren.[74]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCF Knights(American Athletic Conference)(2018–2020) | |||||||||
| 2018 | UCF | 12–1 | 8–0 | 1st(East) | LFiesta† | 12 | 11 | ||
| 2019 | UCF | 10–3 | 6–2 | 2nd(East) | WGasparilla | 24 | 24 | ||
| 2020 | UCF | 6–4 | 5–3 | T–3rd | LBoca Raton | ||||
| UCF: | 28–8 | 19–5 | |||||||
| Tennessee Volunteers(Southeastern Conference)(2021–present) | |||||||||
| 2021 | Tennessee | 7–6 | 4–4 | 3rd(Eastern) | LMusic City | ||||
| 2022 | Tennessee | 11–2 | 6–2 | 2nd(Eastern) | WOrange† | 6 | 6 | ||
| 2023 | Tennessee | 9–4 | 4–4 | 3rd(Eastern) | WCitrus | 17 | 17 | ||
| 2024 | Tennessee | 10–3 | 6–2 | T–2nd | LCFP First Round† | 8 | 9 | ||
| 2025 | Tennessee | 8–3 | 4–3 | ||||||
| Tennessee: | 45–18 | 24–15 | |||||||
| Total: | 73–26 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
