Josh Heupel has 'the right mentality' to manage pressure from Tennessee fans

Heading into the 2024 season, one thing that was readily apparent at the SEC Media Days was just how loose Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel appeared to be.

On the surface, you might think he’s as nervous as ever. His program just took a step backward by two wins in 2023. Once again he must replace a starting quarterback.

Yet despite the enormity of the pressure on Josh Heupel, he seems ready to roll.

“I realize Alabama fans and Auburn fans would say no, no, no, our job’s (harder),” On3’s Andy Staples said on the Paul Finebaum Show. “Being the Tennessee coach is the ultimate pressure cooker, and it will cook you if you don’t have the right mentality. I think Heupel has the right mentality.”

One of the reasons that Josh Heupel should feel at least somewhat secure is that despite last year’s step back to nine wins, many Tennessee fans still feel as confident as ever about the direction of the program.

And, boy, are they invested in it.

“It just feels like every single human being you run into only cares about what you’re doing,” Staples said. “If you’re involved with the Tennessee football program, every single human you meet in east Tennessee cares so deeply about what you’re doing.”

That’s not to say Tennessee fans are shouting from the rooftops that they’re a playoff team and will lock up a first-round bye. They’re not Alabama fans, Finebaum pointed out.

The same level of confidence Crimson Tide fans might have isn’t there for the Volunteers just yet.

“No, they don’t (have that),” Staples said. “But they have the passion level. And that’s the thing. This is a group that never stops caring. Tennessee, as bad as things got, never got apathetic.”

Staples harped on that passion level from the fanbase as something that can work in Josh Heupel and the Volunteers’ favor, so long as they keep on the right side of the momentum.

“I talk to ADs a lot about this, and I say, you know, if they’re mad at you, that’s good, right?” Staples said of the fans. “Because they still care. It’s when they don’t care that you’ve got to work to get them back. And Danny White when he took over, as dire as things were when they just fired Jeremy Pruitt, they had the NCAA investigation going on, the fanbase never stopped caring. And they’re as intense… like I’ve pissed them off and they’ve come after me, but they love their Vols. And they’ll never stop.”