With the Michigan coaching search beginning to draw a line between contenders and pretenders to replace Brady Hoke in Ann Arbor, a very interesting name has been bandied about in rumors as of late - Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel.
With a 185-103-3 record over 24 seasons as a NCAA head coach, Pinkel is the winningest coach in both Toledo Rockets and Missouri Tigers history. At 62-years-old, some analysts believe that Pinkel will be unwilling to leave Columbia at an age that some people consider retirement. Throw in that Pinkel declined the Michigan job back in 2011 and signed a contract extension through 2020 with the Tigers in March, and there are a lot of hurdles to clear for UM to land the coveted coach.
Regardless, the Michigan Wolverines have long been impressed with Pinkel's coaching pedigree - a career that started at his alma mater, Kent State, when Pinkel worked as a graduate assistant in 1974 and 1975.
After his two years at Kent State, Pinkel moved on to the University of Washington and took a job as the program's tight ends coach in 1976. Pinkel would move to Bowling Green for a couple of seasons to works as a wide receivers coach (1977-1978), but would return to Seattle for a successful 12-year stint (WRs coach from 1979-83, offensive coordinator from 1983-90).
Following the 1990 season, Pinkel landed his first head coaching gig with the Toledo Rockets. Over ten seasons with the program, Pinkel compiled a 73-37-3 record, capturing four Mid-American Conference Western Division titles and a conference championship in 1995.
That 1995 team put Pinkel on the national map, as the Rockets went 11-0-1, winning the Vegas Bowl and finishing ranked in the AP Top 25. Pinkel's Toledo squad joined national championship participants Nebraska and Florida as the only three programs to finish the 1995 regular season undefeated.
From there, Pinkel would lead Toledo to three more 1st-place finishes in the MAC West, including finishing tied for 1st with a 10-1 record in 2000. After a head-to-head tiebreaker sent 9-2 Western Michigan to the MAC title game instead of Toledo, the Rockets were left out of the postseason completely and Pinkel was left to assess the next step in his career path.
Likely seeing the limitations that playing in a non-Power 5 conference placed on teams (prior to Boise State's ascendance over a half-decade later), Pinkel signed on as Missouri's new head coach in 2000. He replaced veteran head coach Larry Smith (1994-2000) who was fired after the 2000 campaign after his fifth losing season in seven campaigns with the Tigers.
Success wouldn't come without work in Columbia for Pinkel, as Missouri would finish 4-7 and 5-7 respectively in 2001 & 2002. However, as Pinkel's recruits started to cycle into bigger roles with the squad, Missouri would break through with a 8-4 regular season and an appearance in the Independence Bowl after the 2003 regular season.
Missouri would regress slightly in 2004 (5-7), but 2005 signaled the beginning of one of arguably the most impressive stretch of football in the history of the Tigers' program. Under Pinkel over the past decade, Missouri has made nine bowl games (including 2014's invitation to face Minnesota in the Citrus Bowl), winning five.
In addition, the Tigers won 3 Big 12 North Division titles under Pinkel (2007-2008, 2010) before moving to the SEC in 2012. Keeping the momentum rolling, Pinkel has guided the Tigers to two SEC East crowns in three seasons in the conference, including a 12-2 campaign in 2013 which finished with a Cotton Bowl victory over Oklahoma State.
That win (his 102nd) over the Cowboys pushed Pinkel past Hall-of-Famer Don Faurot as Missouri's all-time winningest coach. Far from satisfied with that, Pinkel has added 10 wins to his coaching record in 2014 and another SEC East title to what has been a storied tenure with a now-perennial SEC power.
Gary Pinkel is a proactive coach who believes in helping build his players' confidence and character off the field to ensure that his players are both good men and quality players when they hit the gridiron. That's evidenced by Missouri being the only school since 2007 to rank in the top-10 among Power 5 conference schools in wins, top-5 in Academic Progress Rate, and top-5 in most NFL first-round draft picks.
With a background as a tight ends and wide receivers coach, Pinkel's Tigers have been known to sling the ball around the field. However, this current 2014 incarnation has relied heavily on a defense that has held six out of nine SEC opponents to 21 points or less. Pinkel is known to be an adaptive coach that knows how to get the most out of his talent regardless of strengths and weaknesses - a malleable approach that could serve him very well if he decides to throw his name into the hat in Ann Arbor.
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