Missouri will promote defensive coordinator Barry Odom to head coach, multiple media reports announced Thursday night.

Odom, who played and coached at Mizzou, left in 2009 to become defensive coordinator at Memphis. He returned to Columbia, Mo., in that capacity prior to the 2015 season.

As coordinator in ’15, despite a historically bad offense and a significant personnel drain, Odom led the defense to a very strong season. Mizzou finished third in the SEC in scoring defense (16.2 points per game) and fourth in total defense (302.0 yards per game).

According to a school release, Odom has signed a five-year contract to replace the retiring Gary Pinkel, the winningest football coach in school history.

Earlier in the day, Memphis gave many in Columbia a scare, as the university president teased everyone on Twitter by announcing in vague terms that the Tennessee version of the Tigers had hired a coach. Odom was heavily involved in that search as well.

But as it turns out, Memphis went another direction. After kicking the tires on a number of veteran coaches, Missouri decided to hire one of its own. The Pinkel-espoused hashtag #MizzouMade lives on, as Odom played for the Tigers from 1996-99, then worked as an administrator and an assistant coach in the 2000s, all the way through 2011.

“I’m tremendously honored to have this opportunity,” Odom said, according to a school release. “It’s something I’ve thought about for a long time as I’ve made my various stops leading up to this point. I understand the responsibility we have to not only carry on the tradition of excellence that Gary Pinkel has built here, but also to help this program reach new heights.

“Mizzou means the world to me and to my family, and we couldn’t be more proud and excited to be in this position. There are so many people I am thankful for from throughout my career – they are responsible for allowing me to learn and understand all the facets of building a program – that I couldn’t name them all. I’m grateful to Chancellor Hank Foley, President Mike Middleton, the Board of Curators and Mack Rhoades for their faith in me, and to Gary Pinkel for his support over the years. I can’t wait to get started.”