"You never say never" - CFB insider reveals Josh Heupel could ditch Tennessee for Oklahoma amid Brent Venables' hot seat rumors

Brent Venables is not in the best of situations at Oklahoma, and some see a path for Josh Heupel taking over the Sooners in the not-too-distant future. After all, Venables is fresh off two losing seasons over the last three years, and who better to replace him than an Oklahoma alumnus like Heupel?

Someone who thinks this could be a very real possibility is ESPN writer Chris Low. On Monday, on "The Next Round," he said:

"I don't think so. You know, Josh is a pretty private guy. He doesn't talk a lot about that type of thing. But I think there's a clear disconnect between he and his alma mater. Now with that said, he's still very close to a lot of the guys he played with there. In fact, several of them were there last year and some of them were on the Tennessee sideline."

"So he still has a real deep appreciation and connection with a lot of guys he played with. I don't know, though, that he would go back there and be the head coach. You never say never. Right?" (1:25)

Heupel has been in charge of Tennessee for four seasons, achieving a winning record in all of them and taking them to the College Football Playoff last year. In 2022, he won the SEC Coach of the Year. It's not difficult at all to see why the Sooners would want him, even without his Norman connections.

Josh Heupel played at Oklahoma between 1999 and 2000. For the 2000 season, he was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.

He was also an All-American and a First Team All-Big 12 selection. Heupel also started his coaching career at Norman as a graduate assistant for the 2004 season. Between 2006 and 2014, he was a quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator for the Sooners.

The question would be, is Josh Heupel interested? He already has a CFP-ready roster at Tennessee. Would he leave for Oklahoma in 2026?

CFB analyst believes Oklahoma is Josh Heupel's most important game of the 2025 season

According to Fox Sports' Joel Klatt, the home game against Oklahoma in November is Tennessee's most important encounter of the season. It could be the one that determines if Josh Heupel's Volunteers make the CFP or not.

"You know the game that it really is, it's Oklahoma," said Klatt this week. "That's the game. That's the moment that the pressure comes to fruition for Josh Heupel. I think they really should be 5-1 ... going into the second half of the year. I think that they're going to lose to Georgia. So 5-1 going into this stretch (second half of the season).

"The second half of the schedule is much tougher. So then, let's say they lose to Alabama, then they're 5-2. Let's say they win (against Kentucky), now they're 6-2. Now you've got OU, and it's like you're either a 6-3 team or you're a seven win team moving forward."

The second half of Tennessee's season starts with back-to-back road games against Alabama and Kentucky, which is followed by the home game against Oklahoma. To close out the year, they will play New Mexico State (H), Florida (A) and Vanderbilt (H).