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Josh Heupel's history with the Oklahoma Sooners football program is well-known. As the last quarterback to lead Oklahoma to a National Championship, Heupel returned to the Sooners as quarterbacks coach from 2006 to 2010, later serving as offensive coordinator from 2011 to 2014 before his controversial dismissal. To say the relationship has been strained since would be an understatement. However, the hatchet may finally be buried—at least from Heupel's side. I reached out to Sooner fans on X and message boards to gauge their feelings toward their once-beloved quarterback.
I contacted multiple OU fans on X, but only received a reply from one. Here’s what “Major General Grumpy Dool” had to say:
“From my perspective, we love him for what he did with OU, and we are also happy that he's got Tennessee chuggin' along very nicely. But this is Tennessee hate week. We want the dub. Josh knows we want the dub. We can start loving on him next week. But this week isn't that week.”
After my attempts on X ran dry, I turned to the most active Sooners message boards. I started a thread on “SoonerTimes” and these were the replies I received:
From 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 that 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.”
From 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.”
From OU Chinaman:
"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, I thought he showed his rear when Bobby Stoops fired him after a dismal performance vs. Clemson. I read that he refused to say the word OKLAHOMA for several years and 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 Boz—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."
From 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. He knows about SOONER MAGIC!”
And finally, from 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."
In conclusion, it seems as though the Sooner fanbase, or at least the side on the internet, looks back fondly on Heupel’s time at Oklahoma. If Tennessee fans get their wish, Oklahoma fans may not be too happy with Josh Heupel on Saturday.
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