Ad Disclosure
Missouri Coaching History
By Ethan Stone
Last Updated:
Missouri has seen 33 head coaches across its history, from A.L. McRae in 1890 to Eli Drinkwitz in 2025. That group of 33 includes 6 Hall of Famers and some pretty important names from across college football history.
On this page we’ll take a closer look at some of the more prominent figures to oversee the sidelines in Columbia while also listing all 33 head coaches, their years coached and overall record at Missouri.
Let’s not waste any time.
Missouri Coaching History
A pair of former Mizzou head coaches reached the century mark in wins: Gary Pinkel (117) and Don Faurot (101). We’ll discuss both in further length down the page. And while both of the above are revered figures in Mizzou history, neither hold the best winning percentage among coaches to stay more than 4 years in Columbia.
No, that honor goes to Dan Devine, who coached from 1958-1970. Devine’s Tigers never finished lower than 4th in the Big Eight during this time, and he left Colombia with a 93-37-7 record (.706). Hall of Famer Bill Roper (who won 4 titles with Princeton) deserves a nod here as well, because he led the 1909 Tigers to a 7-0-1 record before leaving after his first and only year with Missouri. Technically, he owns the best winning percentage in Missouri history at .938.
On the other side of the coin there’s Frank Carideo, who had a stint to forget. Carideo won just 2 games across 3 seasons, finishing 2-23-2 (.111). He won just 1 conference game from 1932-1934.
As mentioned above, Missouri boasts 6 Hall of Famers: Roper, Pinkel, Devine, Frank Broyles, James Phelan and Don Faurot.
Don Faurot
Don Faurot was born in Missouri and died in Missouri. He played halfback at Mizzou from 1922-1924, got his first head coaching gig at Kirksville (in Missouri) and landed at Mizzou in 1935 as both HC and AD.
Faurot joined the Navy from 1942-1945 before returning to coach at Mizzou, staying in Columbia until 1956. He stayed on as athletics director until his retirement in 1967.
All that to say: Faurot practically bled black and gold. He was also a winner on the field, overseeing 101 wins across his 18 years as head coach. Faurot won 3 Big 6 titles and is credited with inventing the Split T formation. As many know, the playing surface at Memorial Stadium was officially named “Faurot Field” in 1972.
Faurot was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1961. He passed away in 1995 at the age of 93.
Gary Pinkel
Gary Pinkel is the winningest head coach in Mizzou history and oversaw the Tigers’ transition from the Big 12 to the SEC in 2012. He totaled 117 wins in Columbia and finished with a 6-4 record in bowl season.
Pinkel was never able to win Mizzou a conference championship – mostly thanks to Sam Bradford in 2007 and 2008. The Tigers were unable to down Oklahoma in back-to-back years. However, the Tigers were able to win the Cotton Bowl in 2007, decimating Arkansas 38-7 after falling to the Sooners in the Big 12 title game.
Notably, Pinkel was named the 2014 SEC Coach of the Year for leading the Tigers to an 11-3 record and Cirtus Bowl victory. The previous year, Mizzou won 12 games and finished with a Cotton Bowl win over Oklahoma State.
Pinkel was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
