One of the underrated headlines of the offseason is how Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel brought in Seth Littrell and named him an offensive analyst. Littrell was fired as offensive coordinator of the Oklahoma Sooners last year, and he was head coach of the North Texas Mean Green from 2015 to 2022.
Although his production hasn’t been there, as the Jackson Arnold debacle last year is what put Brent Venables on the hot seat, Littrell could see a major career rebound with Heupel. Remember, they were teammates at OU, and Littrell cut his teeth coaching in the air raid offense under Mike Leach in the 2000s.
Perhaps he just needed a better fit, and Heupel can give it to him. Heupel made a pretty illuminating comment about the offensive analyst, and it may make Tennessee football OC Joey Halzle nervous. He said Littrell is expected to a big part of the Vols’ offense this year.
“His knowledge, expertise, his understanding of some of the things that we do offensively and the ability to bring some creative things that are maybe good additions to what we’re doing,” Heupel said. “Seth has been great for us since he got there in February.”
That’s not just coach speak. Given Littrell’s past, he probably brings more to the table than Halzle brings for Heupel, and it’s exactly what Heupel needs to return his offense to the level it was at under Alex Golesh and Jeff Lebby before that, back during his days with the UCF Knights.
Heupel’s system is just that. It doesn’t change regardless of who the OC is, as he is the common denominator. What the OC can do, outside of just run the system Heupel’s way, is throw the necessary creative wrinkles, including scripted plays, that can make the difference in a game.
Football often comes down to five plays, and those five scripted plays make a difference. Halzle has been unable to do that so far, at least that’s how it seems, in the Heupel era. It appears as if he is just running Heupel’s offense without any creative twists, and the unit has suffered.
Littrell could bring that new element.
Now, if you know Heupel and his own past, it’s highly unlikely he would ever get rid of an OC he hired. Beyond just being a bad look for him, Heupel knows what that feels like since Bob Stoops and OU fired him as OC back in 2014, and he doesn’t want to put anybody else through that.
However, there’s another way to ease out Halzle.
If Littrell scripts the creative plays we’re talking about this year, Halzle’s offense could reach another level. Allow him to do that for two more years, likely with two other quarterbacks, and Halzle will look a lot better, good enough to get a head coaching job. Then Heupel can promote Littrell.
Perhaps that’s the plan for Tennessee football long-term. Either way, Littrell being in the system is a big deal for the Vols despite his seemingly minor role, and what Heupel said at SEC Media Days only validated that. He could be the future of UT’s offense.
