Grade Heupel & Staff’s performance in 2022

Your grade?

  • A+

    Votes: 169 26.4%

  • A

    Votes: 264 41.3%

  • A-

    Votes: 161 25.2%

  • B+

    Votes: 38 5.9%

  • B

    Votes: 6 0.9%

  • B-

    Votes: 1 0.2%

  • C+

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • C

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • C-

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • D+ or worse

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    639
#26
#26
I gave them a A. I thought at the the first of season 9-3 was reachable so they exceeded my expectations. A+ if they had beaten SC but I will take a win against Bama, Fla and LSU in the same season and deal with the SC loss.
 
#27
#27
Gandalf said:
Because that’s what achievers do - adjust their expectations to rise with their level of success. Winners do not possess a “good enough” mindset.

It’s fine to make a realistic assessment of how things went once you are studying the proverbial tape once the season is finished but WINNERS never settle mid season. They build one win on top of another and use a victory to gain confidence and ambition to greater things than they had first dreamed.
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I agree with you that there is no "good enough" for competitors, and I think this is true even when they go undefeated and are national champions. There are still things to work on, things to improve. That said, if we are grading their body of work I don't think our mindset has to involve our own expectations being adjusted.

I may not have expected 10-2 at this point, but giving the staff a lower grade because of South Carolina is not me being unreasonable because my expectations changed, as the guy you are quoting suggests. If I or others were saying the season was a failure and it was a C/D/F because of SC then sure I think that would be unreasonable.

The reason can still give a lower grade is because wins and losses were not the only things that we had expectations of before the season started. I at expect our team to show up prepared to play to the level they are capable. If they do not do so that is ultimately a reflection on the staff's ability to get their guys ready consistently. If we had lost a competitive game while playing to our ability then maybe it would be unfair to lower the grade, but the game was not anything like that.
 
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#28
#28
volfanhill said:
IMO that's you adjusting expectations as the year went on. All that does is give him watered down credit for the progress shown, which is why you would grade him at A, and cause people to down grade it. If I told you before the year we would go 10-2 and win the games we won but get ass smacked by SC you would have said hell yea. A+++ year
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The season is based off of twelve games, so expectations change week to week. Preseason expectations ranged from 7-5 to 9-3, with the most optimistic TN fan predicting a 10-2 record.

The projectory of the season changed each week as expectations increased after wins against: Pitt, FL, LSU and then Bama.

I would’ve given them an “A,” even after the UGA game, though Heup and Co. were out coached Vs UGA. But GA has better talent and our team was shocked and looked confused. Again, Ga has better talent and Kirby has coached more (bigger) games than Heup, but Heupel will improve.

After the Bama win, I predicted a 11-1 fifth ranked Vol team hopeful for a playoff berth with a USC or TCU loss. However, USCjr thumped us and there isn’t an excuse for a defense giving up 9 TDs with only one defensive stop for the entire game.

With that said, I gave Heup and crew and “A-“ for the entire season as they rebounded Vs Vandy and 10-2 is a awesome accomplishment.

While I am disappointed with Banks’ locker room drama the week of USCjr game & irritated he missed a mandatory practice, I give Heupel credit for preparing this team and spanking Vandy with a backup QB.

A- for entire year as expectations change each week, esp with each win along. Plus a bad loss against inferior USCjr team.

If based off preseason prognostications, then I’d give them an “A.”
 
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#31
#31
SpookyAction said:
We've had 10 wins less that 24 hours, and already sounds like it is expected and business as usual.
"Downgraded for losing to South Carolina."
"Should have had 11 wins. Easy."

This place is funny.
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I am going with A+ and nothing else.

We are two years from a complete disaster. I never expected us to do this well, our coaches never expected us to do this well. This was an absolutely fantastic season. Believe it or not, you typically are not going to win every game
when you play great SEC teams week in and week out.

Don't kid yourself everyone deserves an A+ except maybe J Banks for screwing up and missing the SC game.
 
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#34
#34
OffTackleVol said:
What a loser...........
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B+=Above average (undefeated at home, 10 win regular season, lost to an undefeated Georgia and 8 win South Carolina on the road) I also had to drop part of his SC loss to give him a B+

Grading Scale:
A+ =Excellent ( national championship+ undefeated season or 1 loss)
A-=slight excellence( making the playoffs, undefeated season, or one road loss, SEC Championship)
B+= Above Average (undefeated at home, double digit winning season)
B-= Slightly Above Average
C+=Average (South Carolina)
D=Florida
F=Vanderbilt or Texas A&M (No Bowl Game!)
There is always room for improvement. Let's do this for other SEC coaches

Nick Saban, B-= Slightly Above Average (undefeated at home, 10 win regular season, but struggled at home to Texas A&M and on the road to Texas + road losses to TN and LSU)
 
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#36
#36
Given our roster and history over the past two decades, it's got to be a n A+. I think the SC defense was the result of young men being stupid, a bit out of his control.

Anyone calling for a 10-2 season with wins over Florida, Bama, and LSU in a curb-stomping, while blanking Vandy would have been run out of town before the year.

Expectations are now higher than we've seen in many years. The pressure will be on in '23 and '24. You can't pull a SC game performance again.
 
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#37
#37
I looked at the question as a simple test.
The team got 10 of 12 questions correct.
That's an 83 on the grading...most scales, that's a B.

I did give extra credit for beating 2 of "the three" that every seems to gaga every coach UT against and bumped up to A-
 
#38
#38
A. 11-1 and playoffs would’ve been A+. 12-0 was unattainable with this roster. South Carolina game sucked. But the 2022 season is easily the best season I’ve ever experienced as a UT fan. If South Carolina was the price we needed to pay to beat Bama, so be it. Worth it.
 
#39
#39
As long as we are asignnng grades, I feel like this forum gets a C+ this year, tops. It's as if it was so unfamiliar with success that it just became a schizophrenic. And the Dunning-Kruger behavior this past month was unreal.

Went from being unranked and saying our linebackers were so bad we should just play a 4-7 defense, to being ranked 1 and biting peoples heads off when they expressed concerns about "trap game" stumbles in the final 3 games (note to newer fans: UT has a long history of stumbling at the threshold). And all the "confidently wrong" assertions over bowl projections.

Anyway, the players themselves were awesome, and the staff did a terrific job with them. A+ I look forward to watching them finish out the recruiting season now that they have so much success to talk about.
 
#40
#40
Gave the Staff an A- because of the 2 games where our D just didn't show up. The Offense got an A+ but there wasn't an option to split the grades.
 
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#41
#41
First 10 win season since 2003. O/U for the year was 7.5 I think before the season started. Objectively we overachieved. That's an A Performance.
 
#42
#42
A-

inconsistent D
Failure at SC
Could not get Hyatt the single season receiving record in a 52 - 0 blowout
 
#43
#43
He_Made_It said:
How well did they do through your eyes this regular season?
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With a roster like this, 10 wins and a New Year's 6 bowl gets an A+ from me. Yeah, they chit the bed vs SC, but to even be in a position of being mentioned for the playoffs with this roster is miraculous. A+ and Heupel is COY. No doubt about it.
 
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#46
#46
As a group project an A-, but there's always a couple people who don't pull their weight in group projects.
 
#48
#48
brockytop said:
A- from me—which is about three grades higher than any other coach since Kiffin.
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and Kiffin's lone year was a B. This year is the best grade since 2004 in my opinion when we were down to our 3rd string QB after Ainge and Schaeffer both went down with injuries.
 
#49
#49
I gave a B+. It was an overall above average performance but you as a ranked team do not get boat raced and blown out by an unranked team late in the season like we did and keep a low A grade.
 
#50
#50
A-.. SC game obviously. Really good year though with a roster that isn't a 10-2 roster especially with the schedule they played. I had them at 8 or 9 wins and i was thinking 9 would be a stretch at the beginning of the year.
 
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