Missouri Football: Barry Odom has earned a contract extension
Following a six-game win streak to end the season 7-5 while landing a bowl game, it’s time for Missouri to extend head coach Barry Odom’s contract.
The rumors of a likely contract extension continue to swirl, amid opinions that one season doesn’t prove much, while others argue that uncertainty at the position is as bad for recruiting, if not worse.
When I first learned that Odom and Athletic Director Jim Sterk were mulling a contract extension, my first reaction was that of “one good season doesn’t say a lot.” After giving the rumor 24 hours to settle, I gained more clarity.
Odom, having essentially completed the second year of his contract, still has three years left. Considering the team’s second half success this season, and making a bowl game, it stands to reason that he has earned a third year as the head coach.
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Since Odom will, most likely, return for the 2018 season, then it stands to reason that he will probably receive a contract extension, because he lived-up to his post-game diatribe of “this is a turnaround.”
When Odom stated, in week four, that the season was a turnaround, it left many of us wondering what he meant by that. Going into the season, the team was considered fairly stocked with talent, especially on offense.
Why would Odom, going into the season make overtures about winning championships and bowl games, if this was a “turnaround” type of season? Clearly, at the time, he believed his team had the potential to be and do more than it was given credit for.
So in hindsight, I feel like, perhaps the “turnaround” wasn’t so much about rebuilding the program, as it was simply turning around what the Tigers were doing – changing-up the game plan a bit, and seeing where the younger guys fit into Mizzou’s scheme.
Missouri is now facing a new dilemma, of sorts: Offensive coordinator Josh Heupel is UCF’s new head coach, so he will not be on the sideline for the Tigers in their bowl game against Texas.
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With Heupel’s departure, it’s very possible, in the short-term, that Odom will have a hand in calling offensive plays in addition to calling the defense, and being the head coach. If Missouri wins, then everyone should buy into an extension for Odom.