New Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel speaks during a basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Kansas Jayhawks at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday, January 30, 2021. 013021 Tenn Kan
Maybe Tennessee football should just play without a defensive coordinator this year. Hey, when Danny White hired Josh Heupel, he specifically cited the entertainment Heupel’s offenses bring. That’s a departure from what Phillip Fulmer said when he hired Jeremy Pruitt three years earlier, citing the intensity that comes with coaching defense and is required in the SEC.
Clearly, with the Heupel hire, the Vols are not going for toughness or dominating the line of scrimmage.