Gary Pinkel
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Gary Robin Pinkel (born April 27, 1952) is the head college football coach of the University of Missouri. Pinkel, who has been coaching at Missouri since the 2001 season, previously coached at the University of Toledo, where he experienced success in the Mid-American Conference, winning a conference championship with the Rockets in 1995. Before becoming a head coach, he was an assistant at the University of Washington, where he served as Don James's offensive coordinator.
Early years
Pinkel graduated from Kenmore High School in Akron, Ohio, and received his bachelor of science degree in education from Kent State University in 1973, where he played tight end under James. His roommate at Kent was Pittsburgh Steelers great Jack Lambert. He did post-graduate studies at Kent and Bowling Green State University, and in 1997 was inducted into the Kent Athletic Hall of Fame.
Coaching career
Missouri
Since arriving at Mizzou in December of 2000, Pinkel has guided the Tigers to two Independence Bowls. The first was in 2003, a 27-14 loss to the University of Arkansas, and the second was a thrilling 38-31 win over the University of South Carolina on December 30, 2005.
Coach Pinkel also ended the Tigers 24-year losing streak to the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2003 with a 41-24 win in Columbia, Missouri. In 2007, the Tigers again beat the Cornhuskers 41-6 in Columbia.
Despite these successes, early on Gary Pinkel struggled against non-conference opponents from non-BCS conferences. In each of his first two seasons at Missouri, the team lost to Bowling Green State University. The next year, Missouri survived Middle Tennessee State University at home by one point. That was followed up the next year with a loss at Troy University on ESPN. In 2005 Pinkel's Tigers lost to the University of New Mexico at home.
In 2006, Pinkel led the Tigers to a 6-0 start, the team's first 6-0 start since 1973. However, as the team entered the Big 12 portion of the schedule, things soon fell apart and the team finished 8-5.
During the 2007 season, Pinkel guided the Tigers to a 12-2 (7-2) season with an average of 40.0 points per game, a Big 12 North Championship, and a 38-7 Cotton Bowl victory. The only losses during the season were against the Oklahoma Sooners. The first loss was in Norman, Oklahoma and the second was in the Big 12 Championship. Pinkel’s Tigers were tied with the Sooners at half time but ended up losing. If the Tigers had won they would have retained their then number one BCS ranking and would have played for the BCS National Championship.
In 2008 Pinkel guided his Tigers to a second Big 12 North title and a chance to have back to back double digit win seasons. After their tremendous 2007 season, 2008 might be considered a disappointment with four losses including one to rival Kansas and again to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game, but on December 29th Missouri helped redeem their season by defeating Northwestern 30-23 in an overtime win at the Alamo Bowl. This was the second season in a row that the Sooners defeated Missouri to win the Conference Championship. During the 2008 season Missouri’s potent offensive averaged 43 points per game.
On November 25, 2008, Pinkel signed a new seven-year contract that would bring him $2.3 million per year, from Jan. 1, 2009 through Dec. 31, 2015.[1]
Personal
Pinkel lives in Columbia with his wife and three children. An avid motorcyclist, he is often spotted on the Columbia streets riding his Harley-Davidson, given to him upon his hiring at Mizzou by the company's Kansas City plant.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toledo Rockets (Mid-American Conference) (1991–2000) | |||||||||
| 1991 | Toledo | 5-5-1 | 4-3-1 | T-3rd | |||||
| 1992 | Toledo | 8-3 | 5-3 | T-3rd | |||||
| 1993 | Toledo | 4-7 | 3-5 | T-7th | |||||
| 1994 | Toledo | 6-4-1 | 4-3-1 | 6th | |||||
| 1995 | Toledo | 11-0-1 | 7-0-1 | 1st | W Las Vegas | 24 | |||
| 1996 | Toledo | 7-4 | 6-2 | T-2nd | |||||
| 1997 | Toledo | 9-3 | 7-1 | 1st (West) | |||||
| 1998 | Toledo | 7-5 | 6-2 | 1st (West) | |||||
| 1999 | Toledo | 6-5 | 5-3 | T-2nd (West) | |||||
| 2000 | Toledo | 10-1 | 6-1 | 1st (West) | |||||
| Toledo: | 73-37-3 | 53-23-3 | |||||||
| Missouri Tigers (Big 12 Conference) (2001–present) | |||||||||
| 2001 | Missouri | 4-7 | 3-5 | 5th (North) | |||||
| 2002 | Missouri | 5-7 | 2-6 | 5th (North) | |||||
| 2003 | Missouri | 8-5 | 4-4 | 3rd (North) | L Independence | ||||
| 2004 | Missouri | 5-6 | 3-5 | 2nd (North) | |||||
| 2005 | Missouri | 7-5 | 4-4 | 2nd (North) | W Independence | ||||
| 2006 | Missouri | 8-5 | 4-4 | 2nd (North) | L Sun | ||||
| 2007 | Missouri | 12-2 | 7-1 | 1st (North) | W Cotton | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2008 | Missouri | 10-4 | 5-3 | 1st (North) | W Alamo Bowl | TBD | TBD | ||
| Missouri: | 59-41-0 | 32-32 | |||||||
| Total: | 132-78-3 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
See also
References
- ^ Mizzou, Gary Pinkel Agree to New Contract, Mutigers.com, November 25, 2008