Joshua Kenneth Heupel ( ; born March 22, 1978) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

. Previously he served as head coach at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

, where he compiled a 28-8 record. Heupel played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...

. During his college playing career, he was recognized as a consensus All-American, won numerous awards, and led Oklahoma to the 2000

BCS National Championship The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college foot ...

. After two years unsuccessfully trying to make an NFL roster (featuring brief stints with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

and the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

), Heupel became a coach. He served as co-

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

for Oklahoma until January 6, 2015, when he was let go in a restructuring of the program despite having four successful seasons. He was named the assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach for the

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

Aggies on January 23, 2015. After one season at USU, he was hired on

Barry Odom Barry Stephen Odom (born November 26, 1976) is an American football coach and currently the head coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Odom spent 15 years with the Missouri Tigers program as a player, recruiter, assistant coach, and head ...

's staff at

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, where he was the offensive coordinator before being hired for his first head coaching position at

UCF The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

. In December 2017, Heupel was named the UCF head coach. On January 27, 2021, Heupel was named the 27th head coach at

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Heupel offenses frequently rank in the top ten nationally in total offense.

Early years

Heupel was born and raised in

Aberdeen, South Dakota Aberdeen (Lakota language, Lakota: ''Ablíla'') is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, Brown County, South Dakota, United States, located approximately northeast of Pierre, South Dakota, Pierre. The city population was 2 ...

.National Football League, Historical Players
Josh Heupel
Retrieved June 25, 2012. His mother, Cindy, was a high school principal, and his father, Ken, was a head football coach at

Northern State University Northern State University (NSU) is a public university in Aberdeen, South Dakota. NSU is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and offers 45 bachelor's degrees, 53 minors, six associate degrees, 16 pre-professional programs, 23 certifi ...

. As a child, Heupel watched game film with his father.Austin Murphy,
Norman Conquerer
" ''Sports Illustrated'' (December 25, 2000). Retrieved June 25, 2012. He attended Central High School in Aberdeen, where he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the Central Golden Eagles. 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 the

run and shoot offense The run and shoot offense (also known as Run N' Shoot) is an offensive system for American football which emphasizes receiver motion and on-the-fly adjustments of receivers' routes in response to different defenses. It was conceived by former ...

. 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.

College career

Heupel began his collegiate playing career at

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

. 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, pushing him down the team's depth chart. He transferred to

Snow College Snow College is a public community college in Ephraim, Utah. It offers certificates and associate degrees in a number of areas, along with bachelor's degrees in music and software engineering and a four-year nursing program. Snow College is part ...

Ephraim, Utah Ephraim is a city in Sanpete County, Utah, Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 5,611 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the largest city in Sanpete County. It is the location of Snow College and is located ...

, where he beat out Fred Salanoa as the team's starting quarterback. Heupel passed for 2,308 yards and 28 touchdowns, despite sharing playing time with Salanoa. He later held a scholarship offer from

, but committed to the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

after meeting with

Bob Stoops Robert Anthony Stoops (born September 9, 1960) is an American football coach. He was the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1999 through the 2016 season, and on an interim basis during the 2021 Alamo Bowl. He led the Oklahoma ...

, the new head coach of the

. Heupel was the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

runner-up in 2000. He was also an All-American, the AP Player of the Year, and a

Walter Camp Award The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football player of the year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS head coaches and sports information directo ...

winner. Heupel led the Sooners to an undefeated season and a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

with a victory over

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

in the

2001 Orange Bowl The 2001 Orange Bowl, designated as the BCS National Championship Game, was a college football bowl game played to determine a national champion in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for th ...

Professional career

Heupel was drafted in the sixth round of the

2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...

by the Miami Dolphins. Compromised by shoulder tendinitis of his throwing arm, he was relegated to fourth string for the entire preseason and failed to make the team. He was then later signed by the Green Bay Packers in the early 2002 offseason, but was released a month before training camp. He did not pursue a career in professional football afterward.

Coaching career

Heupel spent the 2004 season as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research respons ...

for Oklahoma under head coach

. In 2005, Heupel was hired as the tight ends coach at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

by newly appointed head coach

Mike Stoops Michael Joseph Stoops (born December 13, 1961) is an American football coach and former player, who is the Linebacker, inside linebackers coach at the University of Kentucky. Stoops also served as the head football coach at the University of Ariz ...

, Bob's brother and an Oklahoma assistant coach during Heupel's playing days. Heupel became the quarterbacks coach for Oklahoma in 2006. In that capacity he coached Sooner quarterback

Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings. He was also a member of the P ...

, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2008. On December 13, 2010, Bob Stoops named Heupel and

Jay Norvell Merritt James Norvell III (born March 28, 1963) is an American college football coach and former player who is currently the head coach for the Colorado State Rams. Norvell served as the head football coach at University of Nevada, Reno from 2017 ...

as co-offensive coordinators at Oklahoma, replacing Kevin Wilson, who had accepted the head coaching job at

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Stoops said Heupel would be in charge of calling offensive plays during games. Heupel's contract was not renewed in January 2015 following an 8−5 season capped by a 40−6 loss to Clemson in

2014 Russell Athletic Bowl The 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 29, 2014, at Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Florida. This was the 25th Russell Athletic Bowl. It was one of the 2014–15 NCAA football bowl games that co ...

. Following his job at Oklahoma, Heupel served as assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for one season for the

Utah State Aggies The Utah State Aggies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Utah State University, located in Logan. The school fields 16 sports teams – seven men and nine women – and compete in the Mountain West Conference. Sports spon ...

and as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for two seasons for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...

UCF

Heupel was named head coach of the

UCF Knights The UCF Knights are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. The Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I F ...

on December 5, 2017, replacing the departing

Scott Frost Scott Andrew Frost (born January 4, 1975) is a former American football coach and player. He was the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 2018 to 2022. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Frost played college football as a qu ...

with an entirely new coaching staff. In 2018, Heupel led UCF to a 12–1 record and an appearance in the 2019

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...

, where they lost to

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

Tennessee

Heupel was named the 27th head coach at

on January 27, 2021. In his first season with

, Heupel led the Volunteers to a bowl game and a final record of 7–6 (4–4 in conference). Heupel also won the Steve Spurrier first year head coach award for the second time, sharing the 2021 award with

Shane Beamer Shane Beamer (born March 31, 1977) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head coach at the University of South Carolina. He is the son of former Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechni ...

, despite beating Beamer's South Carolina Gamecocks 45-20 head-to-head when they faced off in week 6 of the 2021 season. In his second year at

, Heupel led the Vols to a 8-0 start, breaking a 5-game losing streak to their

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

Florida and a 15-game losing streak to

Alabama, launching the Vols back into the top 2 in the AP Poll. 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.

Personal life

Heupel and his wife, Dawn have a son and a daughter. His sister, Andrea Heupel, is married to former U.S. Representative

Dan Boren David Daniel Boren (born August 2, 1973) is the Secretary of Commerce for the Chickasaw Nation, based in Oklahoma. He is a retired American politician, who served as the U.S. Representative for from 2005 to 2013. The district included most of th ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

*
Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heupel, Josh 1978 births Living people American football quarterbacks Arizona Wildcats football coaches Barcelona Dragons players Miami Dolphins players Missouri Tigers football coaches Oklahoma Sooners football coaches Oklahoma Sooners football players UCF Knights football coaches Utah State Aggies football coaches Snow Badgers football players Tennessee Volunteers football coaches Weber State Wildcats football players All-American college football players People from Aberdeen, South Dakota Coaches of American football from South Dakota Players of American football from South Dakota