Paul Finebaum, the longtime SEC analyst and ESPN personality, isn't mincing words about the state of Tennessee football. During a recent appearance on the "Crain and Cone" college sports show, Finebaum expressed serious concerns that head coach Josh Heupel and the Volunteers are heading in the wrong direction.

It all started when host Jake Crain asked Finebaum to predict Alabama's upcoming season. Finebaum suggested the Crimson Tide would make the College Football Playoff—if they beat Tennessee at Neyland Stadium on October 17. That comment quickly turned into a broader critique of the Vols' trajectory.

"I bring Josh Heupel up. I like him. He's made the playoffs one time. But he's been there four or five years, and it feels like the program is going in the wrong direction," Finebaum said. "That should not happen, and it's a very bad sign for a name-brand program. Maybe I'm old school enough to still believe that Tennessee is one of those schools that should always be at or near the top."

Let's put this in perspective. Heupel took over a program in 2021 that was reeling from a recruiting scandal under former coach Jeremy Pruitt. He quickly turned things around, making the Vols competitive and narrowly missing the four-team College Football Playoff in 2022. They even made the expanded 12-team bracket in 2024. But the momentum has stalled.

The 2025 season ended with a disappointing 8-5 record, including back-to-back November home losses to Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, followed by a narrow 30-28 defeat to Illinois in the Music City Bowl. To make matters worse, Tennessee struck out on landing a premier quarterback in the transfer portal, and Joey Aguilar's legal bid to regain another season of eligibility fell short in court.

For Finebaum, these aren't just bad breaks—they're signs of a program losing its edge. And for a fanbase that still sees itself among college football's elite, that's a tough pill to swallow. Whether Heupel can reverse the trend remains to be seen, but the clock is ticking in Knoxville.