Jim Sterk breaks down Mizzou’s coaching search after firing Barry Odom
Jim Sterk has officially embarked upon his first football coaching search as Missouri’s athletic director.
Sterk fired football coach Barry Odom after a tumultuous finish to the season. Odom, 43, completed his fourth year as Mizzou’s coach Friday in a 24-14 win over Arkansas.
The final gasp of a win wasn’t enough to save Odom’s job. Sterk spoke at a Saturday news conference about how Mizzou had “tremendous momentum” going into the 2019 season, pointing to the new south end zone facility and other investments into the program as examples.
But then the Tigers collapsed in a five-game losing streak, ultimately burying Odom. Sterk fired Odom Saturday morning, one day after the win at Arkansas, though Sterk said the final decision was made 24-48 hours before letting Odom know.
“We lost a great deal of energy over the last half of the season, which caused great concern as we looked to the future,” Sterk said. “Mizzou is a great place. It’s an outstanding job. We have the necessary resources for this program to be successful at the highest level.”
The change in leadership leaves Sterk searching for a new football coach — on a tight deadline.
Between the early signing period from Dec. 18-20, along with new transfer portal rules, Sterk has little time to waste in finding his next coach. Sterk said he hopes to have a new coach in place within the next two weeks.
He also has to deal with sanctions against the program after the NCAA denied Mizzou’s appeal Tuesday. Along with the postseason ban for this year, other penalties include recruiting restrictions and a loss of scholarships, which the next coach will contend with once hired.
Sterk will use Parker Executive Search, the same firm Mizzou utilized to find basketball coach Cuonzo Martin in 2017. Mizzou paid $80,000 plus expenses the last time it used the firm. Sterk’s search committee will also be small, he said, including input from Chancellor Alexander Cartwright and MU President Mun Choi.
Sterk has hired three football coaches in his career: two at Washington State and one at San Diego State. From those experiences, Sterk stressed “confidentiality” will be crucial for the search; he is hoping to move swiftly and be “up front” with potential candidates.
“We’re going to have a lot of interest, so we’ll have to gauge who’s truly interested,” Sterk said. “I don’t want to talk to someone who is just trying to leverage for a better contract. I want someone that wants to be here that can lead this program in the right way.”
As for what he’s looking for in a new coach, Sterk said the next hire doesn’t necessarily have to be someone with head coaching experience, though that would be “helpful.”
Sterk also wouldn’t lean either way toward an offensive- or defensive-minded coach. Odom was Mizzou’s defensive coordinator for a season under Gary Pinkel before Odom was promoted to head coach.
“Someone that brings a lot of energy and experience to the program,” Sterk said. “A leader. Quality individual that has had success in leading a program or as a coordinator at a high level. Those are some of the qualities.”
Mizzou deals with financial uncertainty, too. The athletic department is set to lose $8 million to $9 million because of the postseason ban imposed by the NCAA. SEC rules stipulate that member schools must give up their share of overall conference bowl revenue if they’re barred from the postseason.
Missouri also must pay buyouts to Odom and his assistant coaches. That number could rise as high as the $6 million range, though if Odom and his assistants are hired elsewhere that number would factor in their future salaries.
However, as pointed out at Tuesday’s news conference on the NCAA’s denial of the appeal, the university will give the athletic department a loan to offset costs. That’s similar to when Mizzou was transitioning from the Big 12 to SEC and didn’t receive a portion of conference revenue for a year.
Sterk now has the chance to make a signature hire in a very visible position. Odom, who compiled a 25-25 record in four years, wasn’t hired by Sterk, but by Sterk’s predecessor, Mack Rhoades, who left for the same job at Baylor in 2016.
“Missouri has the resources to be Top 25, consistently in the postseason, to compete for championships,” Sterk said. “Coach Pinkel showed that in the couple times when he went to the championship game in the SEC.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2019 at 6:47 PM.