JUST IN: Josh Heupel is duly acknowledged as one of college football’s top ten coaches. Following….

Josh Heupel receives deserved recognition as top 10 coach in college football

Since becoming Tennessee’s head coach in 2021, Josh Heupel has completely flipped the Tennessee football program. In his four seasons on Rocky Top, the Vols have won 37 games, including two ten-win seasons, a Citrus Bowl win, an Orange Bowl win, and a College Football Playoff appearance.

On3 Sports’ JD Pickell ranked the top ten head coaches in college football, and Heupel landed at No. 10 on the list, coming in right behind Penn State’s James Franklin.

Heupel joins seven other coaches who led their teams to College Football Playoff appearances this season, including Georgia’s Kirby Smart at No. 1, Ohio State’s Ryan Day at No. 3, and Texas’ Steve Sarkisian at No. 3.

The only coaches who didn’t make the CFP this year are Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer and LSU’s Brian Kelly, but both have proven to be competitive at the highest level of the sport.

Heupel is one of the best up-and-coming head coaches in college football. Seven of the ten coaches on the list have established themselves as the best head coaches in the sport for multiple years, while Heupel, Dan Lanning, and Marcus Freeman are hitting their stride.

“Heupel’s done a fabulous job at Tennessee since taking over and got the Vols to the playoff this year, On3’s Nick Kosko writes. “Now it’s about taking it a step further and not taking a bad loss.

“Tennessee was in the thick of things for an SEC title but came up short. QB Nico Iamaleava is back next season, and if Heupel is as good of an offensive coach as advertised, he could be very dangerous next season.”

Kosko is right about Tennessee finding a way to avoid bad losses. That has been Heupel’s Achille’s heel so far in Tennessee. Every season, the Vols have lost a game they shouldn’t have, which has hurt Tennessee’s postseason efforts.

Tennessee’s loss to South Carolina kept it out of the CFP in 2022, and its loss to Arkansas in 2024 prevented it from hosting the first round of the CFP. Instead, Tennessee went to Ohio State and lost in the first round.

Heupel will need to eliminate the annual bad loss against inferior teams if he wants to take the next step toward bringing a national championship back to Rocky Top. It will also help him rise up the rankings of the best coaches in college football.