Gary Pinkel showed Mizzou what was possible in SEC, believes Drinkwitz can follow suit
Gary Pinkel said the idea was to take in the introduction of new Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz while sitting among a group of boosters. But when University of Missouri System president Mun Choi noticed the former Tigers coach before the festivities began, he brought Pinkel to the front of the room.
“He kind of dragged me up there. I couldn’t say no,” Pinkel said. “It was very nice of him.”
And symbolic. Mizzou made a coaching change after the season, firing Barry Odom because the program wants to return to a level of accomplishment established by Pinkel.
From 2001 until he stepped down for health reasons in 2015, Pinkel went 118-73, with four conference championship game appearances — two in the Big 12 and two in the SEC. His teams won at least 10 games five times during an eight-year stretch. In four seasons, the Tigers reached the Top 10, and they were No. 1 team in the land for a brief period in 2007.
Odom, Pinkel’s successor and former defensive coordinator and player, compiled a 25-25 record and didn’t post a winning record in SEC play.
Pinkel believes better is possible.
“Back a few years ago, we had five double-digit wins in an eight-year period of time,” Pinkel said “We’ve done it. We did it in the Big 12, did it in the SEC. Is it easy? No. But we did it.
“That’s where the bar is now. You can choose to have the bar down at seven, six (victories). I don’t want it down there, and I don’t think Missouri fans want it down there. Let’s go for it. And we know we can do it. Let’s keep the bar where it should be and work hard to get there.”
Drinkwitz and Pinkel have crossed paths before. Drinkwitz said he was an assistant coach at Springdale High School in Arkansas when he came to Columbia with a young recruit.
“You may not remember me, but you visited with me as a high school football coach and impressed upon me what it means to lead with integrity, what it means to lead the right way,” Drinkwitz said.
The next meeting wasn’t as inspirational. Drinkwitz was an Arkansas State assistant in 2013 when the Tigers prevailed over the Red Wolves 41-19.
Drinkwitz follows a similar path to Mizzou as Pinkel, in one sense. Neither had Power Five head-coaching experience until they got the Missouri job. Pinkel spent 10 years at Toledo, succeeding Nick Saban there.
Drinkwitz, 36, spent one season at Appalachian State, but it was a memorable one. The Mountaineers are 12-1 after winning the Sun Belt Conference championship game last weekend and became the first FBS team from North Carolina to win a dozen games in a season.
So did Pinkel have any advice Tuesday for a guy stepping up a class in the world of coaching?
“At the end of the day, it’s still all about football,’’ Pinkel said. “It’s about making decisions on personnel, it’s about recruiting and developing personnel. That really doesn’t change. It’s just a bar or two up. Or three or four or five up, in the SEC.
“One thing you learn quickly about the SEC, there are no breaks. It’s the best conference in America year in and year out. But you attack it, you don’t fear it.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 3:51 PM.