by Gary Pinkel
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By then, Blake, our youngest son, was a senior in high school, so it was time to start considering other options if they came my way. For 10 years we had built the program at Toledo with a goal to win championships—not to get out of town for a bigger and better job. A lot of coaches take those jobs for that very reason, but that was never my approach. Shortly after the Penn State win we started hearing from schools that might be interested. Later in the season, I started talking to Arizona State, Maryland, and Missouri. I interviewed at Arizona State. They had fired Bruce Snyder, and I figured my Pac-10 experience would be a plus for the job. I had a good feeling about the situation. Maryland left me with some concerns. My gut told me it wasn’t the right time or place, and I wasn’t sure how they felt about me.
Missouri’s athletic director, Mike Alden, had only been on the job a couple years, but he knew me from his time working at Arizona State when I was at Washington. He had followed my career over the years. He called me the week we were preparing for our final game against Bowling Green, which came on a Wednesday. The next day, we met at a hotel in Toledo.
A man named Brad Epple had flown the jet that brought Mike and his contingent to Ohio and he sat in on Mike’s interviews. Years later Mike told me that Brad came out of our meeting and told the others, “Well, I’m done. We don’t need to talk to anybody else. That’s my guy. It’s not even close.”
Missouri had fired Larry Smith, who had guided the Tigers to consecutive bowl games in 1997-98, but the program had problems sustaining the success.
But I wasn’t the only coach Missouri was considering. Mark Richt was a candidate. He had been Florida State’s offensive coordinator and would leave for the top job at Georgia. Jon Hoke, Mizzou’s secondary coach, was in the running. Gary Darnell, the head coach at Western Michigan was another, along with Jim Chaney, the offensive coordinator at Purdue.
Mizzou flew me into Columbia to meet with Chancellor Richard Wallace for a second interview, and Mike made sure to have the pilot fly us over Memorial Stadium to get a view of the field. We had to avoid the team facility while Mike tried to keep the visits a secret. We talked about staffing and I said I’d prefer to bring all my coaches from Toledo. The search team flew me back to Toledo then huddled in Chicago at Gino’s East to feast on deep-dish pizza and decide on their next head coach.
Missouri had only two winning seasons in 17 years, but in the coaching industry, people always talked about the program’s potential. It’s the only Division I program in the state. There were recruits all over in a state with two major cities, St. Louis and Kansas City. Why can’t you win here? In the 1960s, Dan Devine proved for a decade that you can win at Missouri. But ever since then, other coaches couldn’t consistently win. A lot of people cautioned me against taking this job, but it was appealing to me.
This became the job I wanted. Around the same time, Arizona State hired Dirk Koetter, a former Mizzou assistant who had been the head coach at Boise State.
Meanwhile, Alden and his crew were making decisions over pizza. Mike told me he was going to call me at a certain time. I was having lunch in Toledo and couldn’t keep my mind off the phone call. I’m waiting…and waiting…and waiting. The phone never rang. I called my agent, John, and told him to call Missouri.
“You tell them if I don’t hear back from them in 15 minutes,” I said, “I’m withdrawing my name for the job. I’m out.” I had just gone through this with Washington and I wasn’t going to let it happen again. If I’m Missouri’s second or third choice, that’s fine. I’ll get another good job some other time. Toledo’s going to be good for the next few years. I told John, “I’m not pulling a power play here. I’m just being honest. I cannot go through this again.”
John called Mike, who said they were still talking to another candidate or two. At that point, I think Mike understood my urgency. He called right back and apologized. I explained that I couldn’t go through this process any longer. He understood…and offered me the job.
I had a trust with Mike right away. If the AD had been just an average guy who I couldn’t connect with, I wouldn’t have taken the Missouri job. I felt like Mike respected my track record. It wasn’t about Xs and Os and being a brilliant play-caller on offense. It was our structure, our organization, our commitment to certain standards. I told Mike, if I took his job, at some point me and my coaches were going to be criticized for having a Mid-American Conference staff. That never bothered me, but I knew it would happen.
When Mike hired me, he mentioned Mizzou’s men’s basketball program. “I’ve got a good young basketball coach here,” he said. “But with your experience and background, I don’t have to work as much to help you like I do this other guy. He’s really good, but I need to help him more.” That, of course, was Quin Snyder, who won big early at Mizzou.
I believed in our program, but Missouri needed to show commitment. We couldn’t be the lowest-paid staff in the conference. We needed the right facilities and resources. But I liked Mike Alden. I told him, “This job is going to be difficult. And I’m going to need your support. There’s going to be a point some time down the road when people here are going to say, like they have for decades, ‘Get this guy out of here and bring in somebody else to coach the team.’ When that happens, I’m going to need you.” I was right on that one.
Mizzou vs. Kansas
November 24, 2007 Kansas City, Missouri
The No. 2–ranked Jayhawks vs. the No. 3–ranked Tigers. Bitter enemies playing for the Big 12 North and the No. 1 ranking in the national polls. The Border War had never been bigger.
Team Meeting Thursday, November 22, 3:30 pm
“Let’s look at Kansas. They’re the only undefeated team in the nation. They are playing very good football. They lead the nation in turnover margin. They have not turned the ball over in their last four games. We are going to hit their ass even harder than they’ve been hit this season! Our goal is to play the most physical game of the year. For our offense and defense, we know KU. We know what we have to do on both sides of the ball. We will prepare to play our best game of the year.
“This rivalry is one of the longest in the nation. They’ve played this game for 114 years. They don’t like us and we don’t like them. You play this game for every player who has played in this rivalry for the last 114 years and every fan and alum. KU is in our way. We have to maintain our composure so we can stay in total control.
“You should be very confident because you know how to prepare and as you guys say, overprepare…because you believe in each other…because you trust your teammate and trust your coach. You know we are a really good football team. And when we play our ‘A’ game, nobody can beat us. And we are going to play our best game of the year Saturday night. We started a six-game mission five and a half weeks ago. We have five pressure-packed victories. Game six is up. It’s Kansas. They are in our way and we HAVE TO TAKE THEM OUT!”
FINAL: Mizzou 36, Kansas 28
The game lived up to the hype as Chase Daniel stepped into the Heisman Trophy race and we captured the Big 12 North Division.
5. Mizzou: Building a Winning Culture
Before I met my team at Missouri I had to do something I absolutely dreaded. I had to say good-bye to my players at Toledo.
It was awful. The night I made the decision, word had gotten out that I was leaving. I told the staff I had taken the job. I had just hired an assistant coach, but I wasn’t taking him to Missouri. He just wasn’t ready for that kind of job. I called the rest of my coaches and asked each one, “Are you in?” They all probably wanted me to take the Arizona State job instead, but they were all on board. That was a relief. But the next morning was difficult.
I called a meeting for 8:00 am. I had to pull into the stadium through the back entrance because there were some reporters and TV vans hanging around. Nancy, my secretary, helped me sneak into the building and avoid all the
cameras. She was an emotional wreck. You get really attached to the people you work with every day, and Nancy had been my secretary since I first came to Toledo a decade earlier. She put up with me through some dark days, and sometimes in this business you don’t have a whole lot of friends. But I could always count on my secretaries, Nancy Frazier at Toledo and Ann Hatcher at Mizzou. They were so important to me.
The team gathered for a meeting and I could barely hold back my emotions. I told them, “I’ve been here for 10 years. This is a great opportunity for me and my family.” Nothing I could say would make them feel better, but I had to face them and tell them the news in person. It was the right thing to do. Some coaches skip town without having that difficult conversation. But we are a team, coaches and players, and consideration, respect, and trust is part of that relationship. We had just won 10 games and would have another great team coming back. There was a lot of anger that we were leaving. A few players stole some items out of the locker room. That was really hurtful to me—until I spoke with my son Geoff, who was a student at Toledo and knew a lot of the players. He told me, “Dad, they’re angry because they love you and they want you to stay. That’s what this is about. That’s the way you want it to be.” That conversation really helped me. Not too many coaches stay in that league for 10 years, but I was fortunate. We flew out later that day for Missouri.
I knew Larry Smith before I took the Missouri job. We coached against him when he was in the Pac-10 at Arizona and USC. He had done a great job taking Missouri to back-to-back bowl games. I called him right after I got the Mizzou job. He wished me well and told me it was a tough job. My old coaching colleague Bob Stull had advice, too. He had been Mizzou’s coach before Larry. After he left our staff at Washington he eventually landed in Columbia and didn’t have much success there. The climate was much different at the time. Academic standards were different for athletes. Facilities were in poor shape. But he always believed it was possible at Mizzou. Bob told me, “That place has potential.”
Everyone always said that. Missouri has good high school football. It’s the only Division I school in the state. I heard it all the time. Why can’t Missouri win at a national level?
One thing I did with my players and staff was I made it really clear in our first meetings that we would never say anything negative about Coach Smith. We’d never complain about anything. When you make that transition, that’s the right thing to do. However, we inherited some problems. At my introductory press conference a theme started to develop. Over and over again people asked me, “Why are you doing this?” Someone seemed to imply, “Why do you think you can win here?” It was almost like the next Missouri coach was expected to fail. The message was clear that is the climate here. That’s what happens when you have two winning seasons over 17 years. The press conference ended and Mike Alden took me over to the team facility. I didn’t get to see the building during my interview because they wanted to keep the process a secret. But when we got to the building the first thing I noticed was the parking sign: head coach. Most college football programs have the head coach’s name on his parking spot. I figured out really quick that this place had flipped coaches so fast they don’t even change the sign.
I’ve told this story a million times, but while I was meeting the media and donors at various functions the first few days, David Yost, my quarterbacks coach, was in the office working. He had flown in with me from Toledo to get a handle on our recruiting situation. I was at a hotel in Columbia waiting to meet more fans when Yost called. “Coach, do you want the good news or the bad news?”
“David, just give me the news,” I said, using a serious tone.
“Okay, the good news is we have one cornerback on scholarship. The bad news is he’s having surgery tomorrow morning.”
At that moment, I sat down in a chair and went numb. Welcome to Missouri. Here we go.
We had to start working immediately. The great thing is when you have a structured staff that knows the process, you can get going right away on installing your program. I didn’t have to train the staff. They believed in the program. Their passion helped that process. I brought most of my Toledo staff to Missouri: Dave Christensen, Brian Jones, Bruce Walker, David Yost, Tom Amstutz, Cornell Ford, Craig Kuligowski, Matt Eberflus, plus Dave Steckel, who had been at Rutgers for a few years. I figured that both coordinators, Christensen on offense and Amstutz on defense, would be considered for the head coaching job back at Toledo. The job eventually went to Tom, a former Toledo player and longtime assistant coach there. He did a great job there with the teams we left behind. I had more than a few friends in Toledo ask me, “What are you doing leaving all that talent?” We had 17 starters returning from a 10-win team. There was certainly no rebuilding job in Toledo after we left. Tom guided Toledo to two MAC championships after we left.
I didn’t have that luxury when I took over at Toledo and inherited Nick Saban’s staff. But at Missouri, I was surrounded by loyal soldiers. My guys thought the same way, they talked the same way.
I kept Andy Hill from the previous staff and that was a great decision. He was a Mizzou guy, a former player for the Tigers, and he was popular with the players, high school coaches, and our supporters. I really liked my interview with him and I thought it was important to have someone in our meetings who knew Mizzou and could help us with the transition. He was on the staff before I arrived and he’d stay after I left.
Our first recruit was Justin Smith, a junior defensive end who was coming off an All-American season. Right after I got the job I met with Justin and we had a good talk. He was thinking about entering the NFL draft—for good reason. He was an outstanding player for Coach Smith. Obviously it would be great for our team if he came back for the 2001 season. He might be the best defensive player in the country. I called some people I knew in the NFL and I kept hearing back, “He’s a top 10 pick in the first round if he comes out this year.”
When we sat down to talk about his decision, I had to be honest. I had to look at his situation like he was my son, not a player in our program. I said, “Justin, do you feel you’re ready for the NFL?” He said he was. “Okay,” I told him. “I’ve done some checking and everyone says you’re a top 10 pick. If you feel like you’re ready, and I was your dad, I’d tell you, ‘You have to go.’” And he went.
People flipped out when Justin later said, “Coach Pinkel said I should leave.” Of course, we would have loved to have him on the team, but I had to do what was best for the player. That’s my obligation as a coach when you recruit players—and in this case, when you inherit a player. You tell the parents of these players that you’re going to take care of them like you’re their father. And that’s how I had to approach Justin’s situation. I remember hearing the media say at the time, “We’ll see how good a recruiter this guy is if he can keep Justin Smith on campus for another year. We’ll see.” Yeah, well, that’s not how I do things. This kid’s decision wasn’t about Gary Pinkel. Years later we’d face similar situations with some of the great players we recruited and developed, and I always took the same approach. It’s about the player and his future.
Oh, by the way, Justin was the No. 4 pick in the 2001 draft and spent 14 years in the NFL, made five Pro Bowls, and put up Hall of Fame numbers for the Bengals and 49ers. We never coached him at Missouri, but we sure were proud of everything he accomplished.
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I had to make a strong impression with my new players. Almost every time I raised my voice at players, it was calculated. Not to say I didn’t lose my temper at times, but for the most part those blow-ups were planned in advance. For my first team meeting I had one hope: I wanted a player to show up late. Wish granted. Thank you, Jamonte Robinson. He was a linebacker in the program, great kid. But he popped in late to our first team meeting. I flipped out on him. “Don’t you ever, ever, ever be a second late for my meetings or I’ll throw your ass out!” And I did. I had to instill the mess
age. We were going to be disciplined. We were going to be accountable. We were going to be responsible. One second late is late. I didn’t realize what kind of impact that first meeting would have, but for years players from that first team would tell me they walked out of the room knowing things had changed.
After I got settled in, my old friend Coach Lauterbur told me, “They don’t know that they don’t know.”
I walked away from that conversation thinking, “What the hell is he talking about?” Then I realized his point. When you take over a new program after a coach gets fired, all the returning players must be thinking they’re not the problem; it was the coaching that wasn’t any good. Give us a new coach and we’ll be fine. The reality is it’s probably a combination of both factors. Mistakes are made in recruiting and you have players who aren’t good enough for the team to win. Maybe the coaching wasn’t very good either. But the past doesn’t matter. We had to establish our standards. Not rules, not regulations. Standards. This isn’t the United States Army. We had standards and they were consistent. Our players would know exactly where they stood. We loved them but didn’t back off discipline. You can’t run a disciplined program without sticking to the standards and the details. By our third year, the players started talking like me. My family pointed that out to me. They’d hear our players talk in interviews and they noticed. It goes back to your staff, too. You can’t have three coaches handle discipline issues one way and another three coaches handle problems another way. If a running back is two minutes late and gets disciplined differently than a linebacker who’s also two minutes late, that causes friction within your program—not when you’re winning but when you’re going through struggles. We needed consistency. And consistency would lead to trust. When you start to develop trust, your players climb on board to your process.