Nick Saban has some advice for Tennessee HC Josh Heupel in his return to Oklahoma

Former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban had some advice for Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel in his return to Norman on Saturday night.

Heupel, who led Oklahoma to a national championship as a player in 2000, was let go by then OU head coach Bob Stoops as the program's offensive coordinator after the 2014 season. On Saturday night, Tennessee will take on the Sooners in Heupel's first trip back to OU as a competitor.

Saban said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday that Heupel can't let his return to Oklahoma impact his team.

“Well, I’m sure that I’ve been in situations where I’ve been fired before and went back and played in those situations, or left and had to go back in those situations,” said Saban. “I think to you, maybe personally, there’s something there. But the number one thing you want to do for your team is not let that impact your team....You want your team to stay focused on what they need to do to play well in the game and not worry about those kind of external factors in terms of their emotions.”

Heupel's certainly done a great job of not making this week about his return to Oklahoma. He's happily answered questions about his time at OU, but he's made sure the focus is on the actual game this week.

There's no doubt that Tennessee's players know what this game means to Heupel, but that's because of what's been said in the media and the lore surrounding Heupel's exit from Norman.

Inside of Tennessee's facilities, the main focus this week has been exclusively on competing at an elite level for four quarters against a quality opponent.

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