Tennessee football has returned to national relevance. And Josh Heupel is to be credited for it. In just a few seasons, Heupel has turned the Vols from SEC afterthoughts into legitimate contenders. He snapped the Alabama curse, made a College Football Playoff appearance, and restored swagger to Rocky Top. But as the 2025 season looms, questions aren’t about how far Tennessee’s come. They’re about whether Heupel can keep them there.

In a recent episode of The Joel Klatt Show, Joel Klatt rolled out his annual head coach pressure rankings, dividing them into five tiers: “Just Happy to Be Here,” “We like you but…,” “Trying to be patient,” “Is this going to work?” and “It’s Time.” Heupel was placed in the second tier: “We Like You, But…” Klatt grouped him alongside Florida State’s Mike Norvell, citing both high points and recent disappointments in Tennessee’s run. He said, “Where do we sit, Tennessee fans, with Josh Heupel? I think it’s ‘we like you, but…’ Some really good years with Josh Heupel, some marquee failures under Josh Heupel. It does not help that they lost their quarterback.”

That’s where Josh Pate stepped in with a firm rebuttal. On 104-5 The Zone, the college football analyst dismissed Klatt’s ranking. He said, “I mean all due respect to Joel, there is no world where Heupel and Norvell exist on the same plane right now.” Pate argued that Vols fans should maintain perspective. “If you’re in Tennessee and you’re above the age of, like, 15, you also have to have the wherewithal about yourself to understand you were in the wilderness for a long time and that guy brought you back, and so he did what a lot of others, like, sold you on the promise of but never delivered on, and now you’ve beaten Alabama a couple of times, you’re in the playoff last year.”

Pate didn’t stop there. He stressed that the modern college football landscape has gone through a reset, and fans and analysts should embrace it. He said, “I just don’t think people understand how fine the threading is in some of these seasons now. And the difference between 11 and one and eight and four is way more compacted than it was back when there was really big separation in a lot of these rosters.” Margin between 11–1 and 8–4 is indeed slimmer than ever, and knee-jerk pressure narratives ignore the volatility created by injuries, roster turnover, and schedule depth. 

And just for context, while Norvell came from a brilliant 2023 season, the Seminoles fell hard in 2024. Whereas Heupel has had 30 wins in three seasons, naturally, Heupel deserves to get his flowers. So while Klatt may see rising pressure, Pate sees a coach who’s earned breathing room. Heupel has already reshaped Tennessee’s trajectory. And opinions about his next chapter are becoming increasingly divided.

Klatt’s Words Echo Through College Football as Aguilar’s Arrival Fuels the Doubt

While Josh Pate pushed back hard on the idea that Josh Heupel deserves mounting pressure, recent developments inside the Tennessee program are adding layers to the conversation. With Nico Iamaleava’s exit to UCLA still fresh, the spotlight has now shifted to Joey Aguilar, the Appalachian State transfer. Heupel has weathered adversity before, but this quarterback change gives analysts like Joel Klatt a little more ammo. And let’s not forget the young and unproven wide receiver room in Tennessee.

Aguilar brings tools, no doubt. He’s a back-to-back 3,000-yard passer, he’s mobile, and he has the size to withstand SEC-level pressure. But Vol insiders, including VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs, have raised flags about Tennessee’s inexperience at key skill positions. There’s no veteran WR1 to lean on, no seasoned unit to steady Aguilar’s transition. And for a fan base that just saw a playoff appearance and expects a repeat, that’s a tough reset. 

Analyst Joe DeLeon said, “To be very direct, I don’t think that this team is a playoff team in 2025. I feel as though the Nico situation is going to be such an awful anchor that could hold this team back.” This context doesn’t undo Heupel’s success, but it does explain why national analysts are suddenly circling his name. Pate is right; Tennessee was in the wilderness before Heupel brought them back. But heading into 2025, it’s about whether Heupel’s team is built to last without a generational QB under center.