What's Gary Pinkel's opinion of Mizzou hiring Barry Odom?

Barry Odom has the support of Gary Pinkel.

The former Mizzou coach, who retired at the end of the season due to a cancer diagnosis, praised the hiring of his defensive coordinator as his successor.

Pinkel joined the SEC Network’s “SEC Nation” on Saturday from Atlanta. Pinkel made an important distinction, telling the panel that Odom was the “best guy.”

Pinkel joins crew on SEC Nation. on Odom: "It's not the right fit because he's a Mizzou guy. It's the right fit because he's the best guy."

— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) December 5, 2015

Odom played on Mizzou bowl teams in the late 1990s and later served as a defensive assistant at Missouri before joining Justin Fuente’s staff as defensive coordinator at Memphis. Pinkel brought Odom back before this season when Dave Steckel took the head coach position at Southwest Missouri.