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There are many outstanding coaches in college football, and that list needs to include Gary Pinkel. The head coach of the Missouri Tigers just keeps winning, no matter what factors happen around him.
Missouri is not exactly a football hotbed. In fact, prior to Pinkel’s arrival in Columbia, the Tigers had won 10 games in a season just once (in 1960 under Dan Devine). Pinkel has now won at least 10 games in five of his 14 seasons at the helm of the program. And Thursday’s 33-17 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl gave Mizzou consecutive seasons of 11 or more wins for the first time in school history.
Pinkel has been able to do all of this despite competing in the mighty SEC. When Missouri made the move to the nation’s toughest football conference, it was thought that they could be competitive, but no one saw back-to-back SEC East titles coming.
Seemingly, Pinkel takes less talented teams into games yet finds a way to win. He is able to take second-tier recruits and turn them into players who make significant contributions for Missouri. Perhaps no coach in the country does that as well as Pinkel.
The Tigers don’t do anything spectacular on either side of the ball. They are solid on defense and quarterback Maty Mauk is able to make just enough plays to win games for the Tigers, despite the fact that he makes too many mistakes.
Pinkel has won more football games than any coach in Missouri history and he shows no signs of slowing down. As long as Pinkel is at the helm of the Missouri program, the Tigers will be competitive in the SEC. And that’s due to his ability to recruit and develop the type of players that he wants for his program.
Tim Letcher is a contributing writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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