The Missouri Tigers have been dealt a shocking blow in wake of a successful 2014 football season. According to reports delivered over the weekend, the Tigers’ defensive coordinator Dave Steckel– to whom they owe much of that success– has elected to leave his thriving role in Columbia to take a head coaching job at an FCS program.
There has been no official announcement from his camp, the school or the athletic department. But multiple sources have reported that Steckel is on his way out.
Although Steckel had two years left on his current contract with MU and he was a fan favorite in Columbia, it appears as though he has bolted from one Mid-Missouri school to another, as Missouri State has tapped him to fill its head coaching vacancy in Springfield.
South Bound & Down
Steckel was highly touted by college football experts and was consistently cited by fans as the most viable asset on the Missouri sideline. It was even hoped by many that should for some reason Mizzou want to part ways with its head coach Gary Pinkel, who in years past was deemed on the “hot seat,” that Steckel would be the one to take over.
Steckel, 57, has been a member of the Tigers Coaching staff for 14 seasons, including five as the defensive coordinator, and has been in charge of the Tiger linebackers since joining the team. Missouri was in the top 15 in total defense in the adjusted statistic totals– the No. 23 overall ranking defense in basic statistic measures. The team also boasted two consecutive defensive player of year award-winners in the SEC.
If these reports are true, it’s a heartbreaking end to an outstanding tenure on the Tiger sideline. While it’s understood that there will always be outside interest in a successful coordinator, there wasn’t really a lot of publicity around Steckel’s possible departures.
The fact the he’s leaving for an FCS school leads us to believe that– in terms of big name school potential– there wasn’t any. But some coaches feel the pressure to get their head coaching career started anywhere they can, and Steckel, this appears to be his best way in.
It doesn’t help the odds of Steckel standing pat at Mizzou that the aforementioned FCS school is a very close distance away, making the family move and transition much easier. It looks like the perfect storm of opportunity presented itself and Steckel took it and ran.