Mizzou’s next coach using this job as a stepping stone isn’t necessarily a bad thing

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY SportsMissouri was in a sort of coaching nirvana for nearly a decade. The Tigers’ administration, from the mid-2000s until 2015, never really had to think twice about their football coaching situation.

Gary Pinkel was a great coach. And Gary Pinkel would never leave Mizzou.

It doesn’t get much better than that. A great coach who wants to stay at a mid-level power five job is hard to come by. When you find such a coach, you hold on as long as possible. That’s what Missouri did.

And now here we are.

Gary Pinkel was the exception, not the rule. It’s rare for coaches to stay at any institution for 15 years, much less such a highly respected coach staying at a program…