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Gary Pinkel, Tough Disciplinarian By: Malamute, Updated 27 July 2003 A few days ago, it was rumored on the Internet that Don James might take the coaching job at Washington. Now, the Internet is rumoring that Gary Pinkel, 51, met with Barbara Hedges yesterday. Although the next football coach at the University of Washington will apparently be Keith Gilbertson, that won’t stop us from taking a look at Coach Gary Pinkel of the Missouri Tigers. We are not attempting to start any rumors, but Gary Pinkel, coach of Toledo at the time, was mentioned as a prominent candidate to replace Jim Lambright after his firing at Washington in 1999. Rick Neuheisel was offered the job, and the rest is history. Pinkel is not a candidate for the Washington job now, and he deserves a chance to finish the program he started with the Tigers, bringing them to the national prominence he envisions. He has the credentials. Prior to becoming a head coach, Pinkel learned the trade from the legendary Don James at Washington, serving as an offensive coordinator at Washington from 1984-1990. Previously, he coached the receivers at the UW from 1979-1983. After ten years as a coach at Toledo, he took over as Missouri’s head coach in 2001, and has a record of 9-14 in two seasons’ play. His overall coaching record is 82-51-3 in 12 seasons, ranking him among the top 25 of active Division IA coaches. Pinkel is recruiting players for speed and strength, qualities that were lacking in the the Tigers' program when he assumed head coaching responsibilities. He talks about constantly maintaining athletes at all positions to prevent glaring gaps in the depth chart. That's something he learned from Don James, who was a genius at that, he says. He's an intense coach, but an easygoing interview, with the charm and wit of a John McKay. He was asked how his players felt about losing their last three games, just before the Kansas game in 2002. Pause. Sigh. “I didn’t ask them.” “Her (Vicki, his wife's) birthday was Sunday. You can imagine what a piece of sunshine I was around that house.” "Eventually, you (fans) have to trust me. I can tell by looking in your eyes, you don’t." Just prior to the 2002 season, Pinkel was given a two-year extension of his original contract at Missouri, which now runs through the 2007 season. Reportedly, his guaranteed income is $585 thousand per year, not including incentives. It is the lowest guaranteed salary in the Big 12. Pinkel is known as a tough disciplinarian that believes in a balanced offense and an aggressive defense. The fall of 2001, Pinkel and the Missouri program was the centerpiece of an article written in Sports Illustrated titled, “Lords of Discipline.” The Tigers rushed for 1,841 yards and passed for 1,895 yards in the 2001 season. In Pinkel’s 10 years at Toledo, the Rockets twice led the nation in turnover margin. The 2000 Toledo defense ranked third nationally in overall defense. At the UW, AD Barbara Hedges has little choice but to upgrade Gilby’s status. With the specter of a hostile media and the investigative arm of the NCAA haunting the program, the promotion of a low-profile, whistle-clean coach seems logical. However, if Gilbertson doesn't work out. Maybe? Well, someday, who knows? The following are a few excerpts taken from an interview with Pinkel by Mike Kelly on Tigertalk. Recruiting: “Don James was a genius at handling personnel. I’m certainly not close to that, but I learned an awful lot from him. The whole key is constantly maintaining athletes at all positions. It’s sounds easy, but it’s very difficult. It requires, obviously, not making very many recruiting mistakes. It’s not signing enough great players that hurt programs; recruiting mistakes destroy football teams. They actually get coaches fired. If half the players you sign don’t play in future years down the road--they aren’t good enough to play in this league--then you are going to have giant gaps all over your depth, and you’re going to have very serious problems.” Morale: How did your players feel about losing the last three games? Pause. Sigh. “I didn’t ask them.” Redshirting: “We have a policy of never giving up a game to preserve a redshirt year.” Family: In talking about his wife in the context of suffering three-straight loses: “Her (Vicki’s) birthday was Sunday. You can imagine what a piece of sunshine I was around that house.” To the fans: “You fans deserve a great football team. I expect you to set the bar high for us. Eventually, you (fans) have to trust me. I can tell by looking in your eyes, you don’t. On switching players to other positions: “Never make a player go play, where he doesn’t want to play.” -------------- Pinkel played under Don James at Kent State and was hired by him as a graduate assistant at Washington (1976) after two years as a graduate assistant at Kent State (1974-75). After one year working with the tight ends at UW, Pinkel was hired by former Bowling Green head coach Denny Stoltz as wide receivers coach and worked with Bowling Green from 1977-78 before James called him back to Washington. Gary Pinkel's record: 82-51-3 overall in 12 seasons; 9-14 at Missouri in 2 seasons. His coaching itinerary is as follow: •2001-Present Head Coach, Missouri •1991-2000 Head Coach, Toledo •1984-90 Offensive Coordinator, Washington •1979-83 Receivers, Washington •1977-78 Receivers, Bowling Green •1976 Tight Ends, Washington •1975 Graduate Assistant, Kent State •1974 Student Assistant, Kent State Playing Experience.: Tight End at Kent State (1971-73); A.P. Honorable Mention All-American (1973) Richard Linde (a.k.a., Malamute) can be reached at malamute@4malamute.com
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