We knew Missouri Tigers football head coach Gary Pinkel was probably going to be sticking around a while. Now it seems he’ll be coaching a little bit longer– and he’ll be doing it for more money too.
Pinkel, who had a contract that was good through 2020 worth 3.2 million, agreed to new terms with the university’s athletic program on Friday that will keep him at Mizzou until December 31, 2021. His salary was increased to a guaranteed $4.1 million over that time.
The winningest coach in Mizzou football history appears to have earned this after the second consecutive SEC East title and resulting News Years (or better) Bowl game. Pinkel received the previous contract as a result of 2013’s 12-win season and SEC Championship game appearance.
One could easily have argued that the contract was very generous– even for a coach with such a good track record– for one season of success. But Gary Pinkel gave us two great seasons and he’s getting paid for it. The contract lands him in the top 7 highest paid college football coaches in the country. The jury is still far out on whether or not this is a worthy contract.
Pinkel has won 113 games as Mizzou’s coach in his 14 seasons, a milestone if there ever was one. Surely he deserves to be treated well at this point. But does he deserve to be paid this highly, having never led the program to a conference championship? The program thinks so.
Jan 1, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Gary Pinkel gets the ceremonial Gatorade bath during the second half in the 2015 Citrus Bowl agains the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Florida Citrus Bowl. Missouri wins 33-17 over Minnesota. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
For now, we’ll agree with the move, although it should be taken with a grain of salt. In this tough of a league, there is no guaranteed stability. We all know how easy it is to compete for a conference championship one year, then be near the cellar the next. It was only 2012 when the move to the SEC was looking outright foolish as the team was getting crushed week in and week out. Hopefully this contract pays off in a big way for Missouri Tigers football.
“With the tremendous academic and competitive successes of our football program,” Director of Athletics Mike Alden via press release from the University, “including winning the last two SEC East championships, Gary is well-deserving of this extension. His impact on our students, athletic department and University are immeasurable and he represents what is great about Mizzou. I know the Tigers are in great hands for a long time to come.”
Gary Pinkel has continually showed his ability to recruit, to find hidden gems on the recruiting trail, to develop players and instill confidence in his team that they can over perform. It would be great to see him continue that success, all while doing so with some new faces on the coaching staff too.
One thing we’d really like to see improved under Pinkel his the team’s discipline, both on the field and off of it. As good as the Tigers were last year, they missed several opportunities because of really foolish, and preventable, mistakes on the field like countless false starts and unsportsmanlike penalties.
The Tigers also have lost a number of talented players due to their inability to stay out of trouble off the field. The talented Lawrence Lee was dismissed after multiple run ins with the law. And so was the infamous Dorial Green-Beckham in a very public series of arrests and suspensions before being expelled from the school. In the three seasons since joining the Southeastern Conference, Mizzou football leads all Division-I programs in athlete arrests. These things need to change in Pinkel’s next six seasons. Those are the type of issues that coaches are ultimately held responsible for.
Still, Gary Pinkel has already cemented his place in Missouri Tigers football lore. His legacy is one that is held in very high regard and can only get better by bringing the program its first conference championship and first national championship. He has six seasons to do it. Let’s hope they’re able to bring the trophies home.
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