Paul Finebaum: 'I don't know of a coach more secure' than Josh Heupel after Nico Iamaleava exit

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum is very confident in the job security of Tennessee coach Josh Heupel. This all came on the heels of QB Nico Iamaleava’s departure and eventual transfer to UCLA.

At the time, Finebaum was willing to give Heupel a pass this season. Of course, Tennessee can’t have a disastrous campaign, but the “record” won’t matter much. It should be noted Finebaum had this opinion prior to Tennessee landing Appalachian State and, shortly, UCLA quarterback Joey Aguilar in the transfer portal. Now, it certainly seems like the Vols are on the up and up.

“In the interim he is a hero,” Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic earlier this month. “There’s no question on that conversation. Ultimately, every coach is graded in the same way, but we’ve seen in different situations … where if you have the right leadership, and Tennessee does … I guess I want to say it doesn’t really matter what the record is, and I’m going to say it really doesn’t matter what the record is this year, because Josh Heupel has earned the goodwill of that fan base and really of a lot of people. 

“Ultimately, it does matter. We’re talking about the short term, because this college football season is underway at the moment, and Tennessee doesn’t have a serviceable quarterback, so if they blow a bunch of games, fans will give him a pass. Ultimately, you have to win. But in the short term, I don’t know of a college football coach who is more secure than Josh Heupel.”

Heupel did lead Tennessee to the College Football Playoff last season, a first round loss to eventual champ Ohio State. So he definitely bought himself some leeway anyway.

Sure, there would’ve been higher expectations in 2025, but losing Iamaleava, after taking a stand against his out-of-nowhere negotiations, bought some faith from the fans. Now with Aguilar, perhaps Tennessee and Heupel can soar up the SEC again.

Aguilar transferred to UCLA in December after spending two seasons at Appalachian State. However, he opted to enter the transfer portal after the Bruins signed Iamaleava on Sunday. Iamaleava likely would’ve started over Aguilar next season. 

Aguilar is virtually swapping places with Iamaleava and will look to have even more success at Tennessee than his predecessor under Heupel. In his two seasons at Appalachian State, he amassed 6,760 passing yards and 56 touchdowns while throwing 24 interceptions.

In the ground game, Aguilar recorded 456 total rushing yards and five touchdowns. His 3,757 passing yards in the 2023 campaign are the most in a single season in program history. He also broke the record for passing touchdowns (33) in a single season that year.