Bruce Feldman raised a new coaching-cycle possibility this week: Baylor could make a move for Josh Heupel if Tennessee slips to an 8-5 type of season in 2026. The idea centers on whether Baylor would actually be open when the next coaching cycle arrives, and whether Tennessee’s hold on Heupel would still look as firm as it does now.
That is why Heupel is back in the search stream today. Feldman tied the discussion to a clear trigger, not a vague rumor, and framed it around a specific record threshold rather than a broad sense that a change might be coming. Heupel led Tennessee into the Playoff in 2024, and Feldman pointed to that run as evidence that he had pulled the Vols out of a deep hole.
Feldman’s scenario was direct. He wrote that if Baylor comes open, the Bears could try to bring Tennessee’s coach back to the Southwest. He also said Heupel has “another 8-5 type of year” to answer for if Tennessee is to keep moving forward. The report makes the timing plain: the conversation is about 2026, and the question is whether that season would be enough to change the market around him.
There is a reason that possibility still feels remote. Tennessee is described as a place where Heupel and Danny White are in lockstep, with the program investing around him and building toward being a legitimate contender in 2027. The Vols also did not land an experienced transfer starting quarterback this offseason, which leaves the spotlight on Faizon Brandon, a true freshman who turned 18 last June. Add in a new defensive coordinator in Jim Knowles, and Tennessee looks more like a program trying to rise than one preparing for a reset.
That is where the friction sits. Heupel has no connection to Baylor AD Doug McNamee, so any pursuit would be based on fit and opportunity, not a preexisting bond. Baylor is only a destination if it actually comes open, and even then the pitch would have to overcome Tennessee’s support structure and the fact that Heupel has already shown he can win there. For now, the cleaner read is that the job would need to become available and Tennessee would need to wobble in 2026 before this line of speculation turns into anything real.
