We learned this past Friday that Gary Pinkel, the all-time winngest head football coach in Mizzou football history, will retire following the 2015 season due to health reasons. Here are some names to keep an eye on as the search begins:
Barry Odom
Current title: Missouri defensive cooridnator
Age: 39
Division 1 head coaching experience: 0
Previous jobs of note: Defensive coordinator at Memphis from 2012-2014
Alma mater: Missouri
There is no doubt that Odom would be a safe hire at Mizzou. Obviously, he has strong ties to the school and is known as a rising star in the coaching ranks. He has the Tiger defense playing at a very high level and, statistically, he’s coaching one of the top defenses in the nation this season. He’s also not someone that you would likely have to worry about bolting for a different job should he have success.
Justin Fuente
Current title: Head coach at Memphis
Age: 39
Division 1 head coaching experience: 4 years
Previous jobs of note: Co-offensive coordinator, running backs coach at TCU
Alma mater: Oklahoma
Fuente’s name is going to pop up a lot this off-season. It may come down to the highest bidder becoming the proud winner of his services as he is likely the hottest coaching prospect in the country currently. Fuente is 25-22 as the head coach of the Memphis Tigers and was instrumental in turning around a bad program.
Tom Herman
Current title: Head coach at The University of Houston
Age: 40
Division 1 head coaching experience: 1 year
Previous jobs of note: Offensive coordinator at Ohio State, Iowa State, Rice and Texas State
Alma mater: Sam Houston State
Herman has done a tremendous job during his first season as the head coach of the Houston Cougars and has them at 10-2 with two games remaining. Current Missouri A.D. Mack Rhoades hired Herman during his tenure in Houston so a natural tie certainly exists. Herman is another name that will be thrown around for many top jobs so Missouri would have to hope that Rhoade’s history with Herman would make the difference.
Scott Frost
Current title: Oregon offensive coordinator
Age: 40
Division 1 head coaching experience: 0
Previous jobs of note: Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Northern Iowa
Alma mater: Nebraska
Many believed that Frost should have been a serious candidate to replace Bo Pelini at Nebraska last season after he coached the Oregon offense to its best statistical season in school history. Despite having been involved in one of the more heartbreaking endings in Mizzou football history, Frost would bring a lot of swagger to the offensive side of the ball and certainly has ties to the Midwest.
Dave Doeren
Current title: Head coach at NC State
Age: 43
Division 1 head coaching experience: 5
Previous jobs of note: Head coach at Northern Illinois, defensive coordinator at Wisconsin, co-defensive coordinator at Kansas.
Alma mater: Drake
After a rocky start in Raleigh, Doeren has the Wolfpack on the verge of playing in back-to-back bowl games. Perhaps the timing is right for him to climb up the ladder into the SEC. He is an impressive 40-22 as a division 1 head coach and would be it would be very impressive if Mizzou could lure him to Columbia.
Matt Rhule
Current title: Head coach at Temple University
Age: 40
Division 1 head coaching experience: 3
Previous jobs of note: Offensive coordinator at Temple, New York Giants assistant offensive line
Alma mater: Penn State
Another name that is going to get a lot of consideration for some of the bigger jobs around the country. Many believe that if you can win at Temple then you can win anywhere and Rhule has won 14 games the past two seasons there including an 8-2 start this year. He does not appear to have any ties to Mizzou but making a jump to the SEC would not be a stretch at this point.
Mark Richt
Age: 55
Division 1 head coaching experience: 3
Previous jobs of note: Offensive coordinator Florida State and Eastern Carolina
Alma mater: Miami
As unlikely as it may seem considering Richt is currently employed at one of the top football schools in America, there are a lot of rumblings that he will be out at Georgia following this season. Richt actually interviewed for the Mizzou job back in 2001 and could very well be in need of a change of scenery. He is, without question, a top coach in the profession but lofty expectations at Georgia could see him going elseware (Miami would also be very logical).
Matt Campbell
Age: 35
Division 1 head coaching experience: 5
Previous jobs of note: Offensive coordinator at Toledo, assistant coach at Bowling Green
Alma mater: Mount Union
Missouri certainly hit a home run the last time they looked to Toledo to find a head coach and Matt Campbell has been very impressive during his time there. His career record is 34-14 and he is a pretty hot name in the coaching profession despite being the second youngest head coach in the FBS.
Charlie Strong
Age: 55
Division 1 head coaching experience: 6
Previous jobs of note: Defensive coordinator at Florida and South Carolina. D-line coach at Notre Dame
Alma mater: Central Arkansas
Strong has struggled to get his footing as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns and if Texas decides to make a change after this season then Strong would be a solid fit at Mizzou. He has ties to the south and might just simply be a better fit at a school like Missouri.
Mike Leach
Age: 54
Division 1 head coaching experience: 16
Previous jobs of note: Head coach at Texas Tech, offensive coordinator at Oklahoma and Kentucky
Alma mater: BYU
Leach’s personality may not seem like an ideal match for Missouri but he has a great track record of winning, first at Texas Tech and now at Washington State. His offense at Texas Tech helped usher in the “spread offense” era that Missouri jumped on board with a decade ago.
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