Question about Josh Heupel

[AVCIShow]

Hello! First of all, I’m a Tennessee fan, but I come in peace. I’m a writer for the All Vol Call In Show, and I’m working on an article about the perception of Coach Heupel among Sooner fans. If you’d like to share your opinion, let me know, and I’ll be sure to include it.

[UtahSooner83]

Well, I love Josh for what he did for us as a player. We liked him as a coach. It’s my personal opinion. However, he was given too much responsibility too early, and as a result, didn’t do a good enough job to keep his job.

He clearly missed on a lot of his quarterback recruits. Moreover, at one point, he was trying to switch to the pistol midseason if I remember correctly. It wasn’t really suited for our personnel.

[SoonerTony]

Josh is always a Sooner in my book. We wouldn’t have won the 2000 national title without him. I’m glad he has found success as a head coach.
I hope he loses on Saturday and then wins the rest of ‘em.

[OU Chinaman]

...OKLAHOMA'S history of great QB's goes back 70 years.
Most of them are held damn near in reverence, but not all.
Darrel Royal was loudly booed the last time he appeared at Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium
Charles Thompson, Rhett Bomar, Spencer Rattler are a few other names that maybe aren't held in such esteem.

Please understand, I speak for no one but myself, and there are a lot of SOONER Fans that have always loved Josh Heupel and always will.
For me personally, it's a kind of love/hate thing.
Love him for the season he had as a player in 2000 which featured "Red October" a perfect record and OU's last national Title.
But, thought he showed his rear when Bobby Stoops fired him after a dismal performance at OU vs. Clemson.
Read that he refused to say the word OKLAHOMA for several years. Willfully declined some invitations to appear in Norman.
Now, he's a damn fine HC for Tenn. following another successful stint down in Fla. Glad that he's done well and think he will continue to.
Yet Josh represents the opponent this Saturday, and like the aforementioned Royal, he returns in Orange!
I'm like the Boz1 The color orange makes me want to puke.
I expect him to come to Norman with a giant chip on his shoulder and an intention to turn his dogs loose for 4 quarters.
Wouldn't want or expect anything less.
Welcome back to the "snakepit", Josh!

Hope you get to come to the game ACVIShow!

[WishBone]

Great QB
Mediocre OC/Recruiter (while Here)
Good Head Coach (with jury still out)
But Always a Sooner and welcome Back.

[Fly]

I think you guys have a great coach in Josh. He showed what he could do at UOCF. He made them what they have become today.
I have much respect for Josh.

Fly

[Aries]

I loved Josh the player. We struggled offensively with him as OC, but I'm not sure that was all his fault. He has done well as an HC. I wish him all the best, but hope we beat him.

[StatesEye]

Josh Heupel is an all-time legendary Sooner. He will always be remembered fondly, loved and received warmly here in Norman. He was one of those players that just had "it". Great leader and the 2000 team overall went the way of Josh Heupel.....no doubt about it. He was not going to be denied in 2000 and neither was that team.

As a coach at Oklahoma....
Fantastic QB coach, IMO. I don't think Sam Bradford becomes Sam Bradford without Josh Heupel, nor does Landry Jones. I also think he was a very good recruiter. He landed every target that was assigned to him and that he wanted. However, the only one that really "hit" was Landry Jones. He was asked to change the offense into one resembling Texas A&M with Johnny Manziel after Landry's departure and it turned into a disaster. He was probably given too much responsibility too soon. He was fired for poor performance under circumstances that were not entirely his fault. With that said, Josh, himself, has said that he deserved to be fired. However, he also said that Mike Stoops deserved to be fired that year too.....and he is absolutely correct. An example of why nepotism is a terribly bad idea. This has caused a horrible rift between Josh and Bob Stoops, and by extension to some degree, the University of Oklahoma.

However, going back to Josh refusing to be denied, I am in no way surprised by his success. The Vols have a good one in Josh Heupel, and we are all (vast majority anyway) very proud of him and happy for him.

With all of the above stated, Josh needs to "get over it". He owes almost as much of his success to OU (and Bob Stoops) as he does himself. This also extends to his firing at OU. I don't think Josh ends up where he is today if he remained at OU, especially if he was demoted instead of fired. He also doesn't land an OC position at Utah State without first getting OC experience at a program like Oklahoma. It wouldn't hurt Josh to show a little more gratitude.....at least that's how I think most Sooner fans feel in that regard.

I'll always cheer for Josh unless the Vols are playing OU or a Vol loss helps OU in some way.

[JoeSooner]

I love the guy. Changed the trajectory for OU as a player, an absolute gamer. I think part of the issue of his time as OC here was not having a clear identity for his offense, and not having the power or clout to say "no, this is how we're going to do things." Once he got out on his own and established his own identity, he's taken off. He probably should have gone off on his own earlier, but loyalty kept him here. I hope to God he suffers a Sooner Magic defeat on Saturday, but I'll always root for him otherwise.

[SoonerMike]

Came in and led OU to a natty, then quickly ascended coaching ranks. Maybe too quickly. Always a great player we love and cheer for, and a former assistant coach who learned from experiences at OU, and went on to become a really good head coach. The best to him always.

[Triple Option]

AVCI - welcome to the bored board!

I would echo what everyone else has said - I expect most Sooner fans have great fondness for Josh the player, because of what he did for us, the warm feelings are probably less fervent for Josh the coach.

OU was 12-22 the 3 years before Stoops and Leach and Josh came (and there were some bad losses in there). Then we went 7-5 and then 13-0 with a national championship with Josh at QB (Josh was runner-up for the Heisman). Nothing will ever change that, he helped turn OU football around and restore some former glory.

When Josh was OC, we were pretty good on offense, and then started to slip some. I was surprised when Stoops fired Josh, because the offense was still much better than the defense. If the love for Josh the coach is tempered among Sooner fans, it's because he seemed to carry some bitterness toward OU for a good while after all that happened. I hate that it ended that way.

I appreciate that you came in peace! Nevertheless, I hope the Vols leave in pieces Saturday. No offense.

Sooner born and Sooner bred
And when I die I'll be Sooner dead!

[OUGENO]

Josh was a great QB and won us a natty. He is the HB of Tenn now and as much as we like him we want to beat him and he knows about SOONER MAGIC!

[humblesooner]

For his 2 years starting the Bob Stoops era, Josh is a favored son.
He wasn't the most talented QB around, but, he had "it" as a QB.
Had that ability to do what needed to be done to secure a W.
I talked to Josh at a Sooner Caravan in Houston after the 2000 season.
He was picked up by Green Bay, I believe.
He finished the NC game with a wrist injury.
I asked if he thought he would be able to hang with it in GB.
His reply (forgot what it was) led me to believe he was going to give it his all, but he wasn't confident his wrist was going to allow him to be successful.
You knew after his first year at OU that he was a COACH. Very, very football intelligent.
Josh was the next man up when Bob's success meant his coordinators were in high demand. Leach, Mangino, Long, etc.
He was probably not ready to be our OC, but, he deserved the opportunity.
Josh needed to be relieved of his OC duties. As also stated above, he would likely not be UT's head coach, if he had been demoted by Stoops.
Though he probably was crushed when it happened, it was the best thing for him long-term. (Most of us had bad experiences that ended up being good for us).

You didn't ask, but, Mike Stoops was mentioned above, also. Mike was kept on too long at OU as DC.
I have a theory that Mike was OC in title only. Bob still ran the show on the defensive side of the ball.
The failure of the defense at that time was on Bob and firing Mike would have been scapegoating him, which Bob knew wasn't right.
The biggest mistake Bob made in his time at OU was bringing Mike back as CoCoordinator after getting fired at Arizona.
If Bob wanted to give him a job, it should have been as a position coach. BV was as good a recruiter and DC as you could ever hope for. Ask Dabo and look at the DL that Brent put in the NFL from Clemson every year.

[Rough Rider]

AVCI - welcome to the bored board!

I would echo what everyone else has said - I expect most Sooner fans have great fondness for Josh the player, because of what he did for us, the warm feelings are probably less fervent for Josh the coach.

OU was 12-22 the 3 years before Stoops and Leach and Josh came (and there were some bad losses in there). Then we went 7-5 and then 13-0 with a national championship with Josh at QB (Josh was runner-up for the Heisman). Nothing will ever change that, he helped turn OU football around and restore some former glory.

When Josh was OC, we were pretty good on offense, and then started to slip some. I was surprised when Stoops fired Josh, because the offense was still much better than the defense. If the love for Josh the coach is tempered among Sooner fans, it's because he seemed to carry some bitterness toward OU for a good while after all that happened. I hate that it ended that way.

I appreciate that you came in peace! Nevertheless, I hope the Vols leave in pieces Saturday. No offense.

Sooner born and Sooner bred
And when I die I'll be Sooner dead!

This mirror’s my thoughts.

[Echo]

If I remember correctly Josh went to the Miami Dolphins. I thought it was his elbow that was the problem, I remember him playing in the NC game and his elbow was twice the normal size. He will always have a special place in my heart. I truly wish he could put the past behind him and make peace with Bob and OU. Living life with bitterness in your heart is not a good thing.