The last time I did a coach analysis, I threw it open for requests. It’s not so much that I was out of ideas, but I wanted to make sure I would be covering the people that folks are interested in.
The first request was for Gary Pinkel, which gave me pause. First of all, he wasn’t who I was expecting to see as the first request. Second, I really don’t know that much about Pinkel or Missouri football.
I spent over 22 years of my life in Florida, with the rest in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the entire time I have been a Florida fan and an SEC guy. Before 2007, I really only knew two things about Missouri football beyond its location and conference—Brad Smith was really good, and a lot of people thought Pinkel was an underachieving coach.
I suspect the two of those were related. After all, Smith was an exceptionally talented player who has set all kinds of records for dual-threat quarterbacks. He’s the all-time quarterback rushing leader, the first ever to 8,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards in a career, and first ever to 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in multiple seasons.
Smith began to get preseason hype for the Heisman in 2004, and his Tigers were ranked 17th in the preseason. Unfortunately, Mizzou would limp to a 5-6 record.
It was especially puzzling considering the Tigers defense gave up just 19.5 points per game, the lowest of Pinkel’s tenure up to that point. One would figure that with a defense that stout and Smith at quarterback, the team could have found a way to a winning record.
I think for the national audience, this was the year that really branded Pinkel with the underachiever label. His program actually had expectations, but it failed to live up to them. As a national observer, that’s all I can really speak to.
To get an insider’s opinion on Pinkel though, I asked the Bleacher Report Community Leader for Missouri Football, senior writer Peter Fleischer, for his thoughts on his head coach:
“Pinkel was pretty much hit or miss with Tigers fans. I personally liked him and felt like he got a bad rap for not producing as much at Mizzou as he could have.
The fact of the matter is that at the end of the Larry Smith era, Missouri football wasn't exactly a perennial powerhouse, so it's not like Pinkel ruined the program, a la Quin Snyder. I didn't think that he underachieved with Brad Smith and felt like his teams had a knack for losing the games they should have won.
The most painful loss in my memory of Gary is the 2006 Sun Bowl against Oregon State, where the Tigers blew a huge lead and lost. I felt like Gary was a decent coach but never could really execute the big games. He couldn't get over the hump.
I think he and his staff have finally done that. The spread offense is clicking on all cylinders, and he finally is starting to close the borders of Missouri, keeping in-state talent at home. If he keeps this up, he should be able to build something special at Missouri.”
Big thanks to Peter for the insight.
14 comments Last one added 8 months ago — Leave a Comment
James Doker 12 months ago
Another great article, albeit for a coach with far less cachet than the previous ones in the series. My knowledge of Missouri football was about the same as yours until the start of last season, although I do remember that they were the writers' pick to win the Big 12 North in 2007.
I'd be very interested in an article about Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno. They seem like a logical pair to compare.
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David Wunderlich 12 months ago
I'll try to fit them in, but that would be the longest one yet. Perhaps the most interesting though, so probably worth the effort.
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Lisa Horne 12 months ago
David-
You nailed it. Here's thing about Pinkel...last year he was on the hot seat. This year, he's on the edge of winning the Big 12 and I think that speaks volumes about the improvement he has made.
Sure it's been slow, but in the Big 12, for the last 15 years, it's been Oklahoma and Texas. Yes, Kansas made a huge impact last year, but (don't hate me, Jayhawks fans!) that's because they played nobody. (No Texas, no Oklahoma!)
Mizzou has to beat one of the big two to take the next step, and now that Chase has had a taste of "almost" getting there, he wants it all.
Mizzou is on the verge...I think Pinkel challenges Oklahoma the Big 12 and lo and behold, the Big 12 is rocking and rolling all over the place!
Many thanks for writing this (yep, it was me who suggested him!)...you did it justice!
Thanks David! You're an All-star!
Hugs!
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David Wunderlich 12 months ago
Thanks, Lisa. I get the feeling Chase Daniel is going to shred a lot of defenses this fall. The big tests will be Nov. 18 @ Texas and potentially Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game since Pinkel has yet to beat either of them.
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JJ Stankevitz 11 months ago
The perception was that he was on the hot seat going into last year, but in reality, he wasn't, as AD Mike Alden signed him to a contract extension following the Sun Bowl, I believe.
However, closing the borders and reaching that #1 plateau have cemented Pinkel as Mizzou's coach for a long time, unless somebody else hires him away.
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JJ Stankevitz 11 months ago
Also, this was easily my pick of the day. And, David, the game against OU (if both teams make it) would be played two hours from Columbia in Kansas City. Crazy stuff happens at Arrowhead—just ask K-State.
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David Wunderlich 11 months ago
Thanks, JJ. I forgot that the Big 12 title game will be in Kansas City this year. That should be an advantage for Missouri if it can make it.
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todd Bli 11 months ago
mizzery will fold. They have a booger eater at qb and who cares about mizzouri. When or if they ever when a national championship people might care.
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Terry Merriman 11 months ago
41-6 Todd Bi.
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todd Bli 11 months ago
terry. 5 national championships
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Chris Ferguson 11 months ago
You guys clearly are being honest when you say you don't know much about Missouri football. Bear Bryant, Tom Landry, Vince Lombard or whoever you want to insert could not have won many games with the program that Gary Pinkel inheritted. Larry Smith left this program in a mess. High School coaches in St Louis would not even meet with Pinkel when he came to their schools becasue of the way the previous staff had treated them. How can you recruit when you inherit that?
Pinkel has restored discipline, enthuisiasm, recruiting and everything else.
I think you need to look at this as a progression - where they are and how they got there. In many ways, Pinkel had to build this entire program from scratch. Doing that in a BCS conference is almost an impossible task. Yes 2004 was a set back and the Sun Bowl loss hurt. But what Pinkel has done in Columbia is nothing short of remarkable.
When is the last time you have seen someone take a program that bad and move it to such a high level? When is the last time you saw a school make this kind of commitment to a coach, staff and program to have the patience and faith to let him grow and develop like this? In this immediate gratification, win now or get fired sports world - this is in reality an amazing story.
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W B 11 months ago
I'm sorry, but your story lacks insight and reasonable analysis technique. Anybody can look at somebody's record vs. top tier teams over an extended period and be critical, but those numbers might not tell the story behind those losses. You need to look deeper and consider what factors were associated with those records. For example, if somebody took over the head coaching job at OU, UT or Ohio St. and went 2-12 vs. the top tier, that would be a more meaningful stat to consider. Pinkel, however, took over a downtrodden program (Mizzou had 2 winning seasons out of the 17 prior to Pinkel's arrival) with minimal talent, average (at best) facilities, a cynical, snakebit fanbase and poor in-state recruiting relationships. Those are meaningful facts to consider when looking at win/loss breakdowns. And, what about trends? They are another useful evaluation tool that you fail to consider: It would be helpful to note that Pinkel's Mizzou teams have gone 25-10 since mid-season 2005. They have now won 15 of their last 16 at home, with the only loss to 11-3 OU in 2006. They have gone 10-9 away from home in that time period. Those numbers, though not ideal, are good indicators of the progress Pinkel and Mizzou are making. Proof that Pinkel is doing a great job of solidifying Mizzou as a contending program, which is a fine achievement thus far, especially considering what poor shape the program was in 7 years ago.
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bill 8 months ago
What top ten ranked teams have the Missouri Tigers under Gary Pinkel as their head coach won?
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David Wunderlich 8 months ago
Kansas last year is the only one, I believe.
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