Gary Pinkel

Long-time Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel retired after the 2015 football season, and he was replaced by defensive coordinator Barry Odom.

An elder Big XII statesman with a 2013 SEC Eastern Division title in his back pocket as one of the league’s newcomers, the winningest coach in Mizzou football history has shown intense commitment to his craft over the last four decades, preferring consistency over flair and an abrasiveness only possible through success.

At Mizzou, Pinkel’s established himself as one of the nation’s best at developing lower-ranked players into NFL talent and has strengthened the Tigers’ recruiting handle in several areas that weren’t promising historically, including St. Louis. Tied with Georgia’s Mark Richt as the longest-tenured coach in the SEC, Pinkel has always pushed a family-first mentality, part of the reason he commands so much respect from his players and peers.

The Akron, Ohio native began his coaching career in 1974 at Kent State as a grad assistant after starring at tight end with the Golden Flashes the previous four seasons. Over the next 15 years, Pinkel was a position coach at Bowling Green and Washington before becoming a first-time head coach in 1991 when he inherited the Toledo football program from current Alabama coach and college teammate Nick Saban.

Pinkel went on to win 73 games in 10 seasons with the Rockets and is the team’s all-time winningest coach. Pinkel’s only undefeated season in his career came in 1995 when Toledo finished 11-0-1 and won the Vegas Bowl. He departed five years later when the Rockets were left out of the bowl season despite finishing 10-1 with a landmark victory at Penn State.

As a head coach, Pinkel has suffered just five losing seasons since 1991.

Brad Crawford