Gary Pinkel

Gary Robin Pinkel (born April 27, 1952) is a former American college football coach.

His roommate at Kent State was Jack Lambert, who would have a Hall of Fame career as middle linebacker for the legendary Pittsburgh Steelers teams of the 1970s.

Pinkel received his bachelor's degree in education in 1973 and began his coaching career as a graduate at Kent State under James, who left after the 1974 season for Washington.

Pinkel joined him in Seattle for a season in 1976, spent two years at Bowling Green, then returned to Washington for 12 seasons.

Pinkel and Alabama head coach Nick Saban were college teammates.

Before becoming a head coach, Pinkel served as an assistant at the University of Washington, under Don James, from 1979 through 1990, the last six of those years as an offensive coordinator.

Pinkel was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022.

Born in Akron, Ohio, Pinkel graduated from Kenmore High School and attended Kent State University, where he played tight end for the Golden Flashes under head coach Don James.

He served as the head football coach at the University of Toledo from 1991 to 2000 and the University of Missouri from 2001 to 2015, compiling career record of 191–110–3.

Pinkel took over the head coaching job at Toledo in 1991 when Saban left to become defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.

Pinkel has the most wins of any head coach in the history of the Toledo Rockets football program and led the 1995 team to a Mid-American Conference championship.

He also holds the record for most wins by a head coach of the Missouri Tigers football program.

His teams won three West Division titles and the conference championship in 1995.

In 1995, Pinkel's Rockets finished undefeated with an 11–0–1 record, won the Vegas Bowl and finished ranked in the top 25 of the AP poll.

They were one of only three teams in the nation to finish the regular season undefeated.

The others were Nebraska and Florida, who played for the national championship.

. Pinkel did post-graduate studies at Kent State and Bowling Green State University, and was inducted into the Kent State Varsity "K" Hall of Fame in 1997.

Pinkel posted a record of 73–37–3 (.650) in ten seasons at Toledo, including a 53–23–3 (.680) record in conference.

In 2000, Toledo went to Penn State and defeated Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions, 24–6.

Pinkel guided Toledo to a 10–1 record that season, 6–1 in conference play.

Arriving at Missouri after the 2000 season, Pinkel led the Tigers to ten bowl games in fifteen years, winning six.

Pinkel's other accomplishments while at Mizzou include ending the Tigers 24-year losing streak to Nebraska in 2003 with a 41–24 win in Columbia.

Since this win, the two schools have had an intense rivalry, with Missouri falling short in the series only 3–4, until both schools left the conference.

The first was in 2003, a 27–14 loss to Arkansas, and the second was a thrilling 38–31 come-from-behind win over the University of South Carolina on December 30, 2005.

Missouri then lost to Oregon State, 39–38, in the Brut Sun Bowl.

In 2006, Pinkel led the Tigers to a 6–0 start, the team's first 6–0 start since 1973.

However, the team finished 8–5.

In 2007, a historic year for the Mizzou program, Pinkel led his team to a No. 1 AP ranking at the end of the regular season after finishing 11–1.

They fell to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game, and played in the Cotton Bowl Classic against Arkansas.

The Tigers throttled the Razorbacks, strolling to an easy 38–7 victory and a final season ranking of No. 4 in the AP Poll.

During the 2007 season, Pinkel guided the Tigers to a 12–2 season with an average of 40 points per game, a Big 12 North Championship, and a 38–7 Cotton Bowl Classic victory over Arkansas.

The season's most memorable moment came when Missouri defeated rival Kansas 36–28 on a nationally televised game at Arrowhead Stadium.

The win propelled Missouri to the No. 1 ranking and ruined Kansas' previously unbeaten record.

The only losses during the season twice came at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners.

The first loss was on the road in Norman and the second was in the Big 12 Championship.

Pinkel's Tigers were tied with the Sooners at half time but ended up losing.

If the Tigers had won they might have retained their then number one BCS ranking and could have played for the BCS National Championship.

In 2008, Pinkel guided his Tigers to a second consecutive Big 12 North title and a chance to have back to back double digit win seasons.

Despite four tough losses, the 2008 campaign concluded with a Big 12 North Championship, the first back to back 10 win season in Missouri history and an Alamo Bowl victory against Northwestern.

On November 25, 2008, Pinkel signed a new seven-year contract that would bring him $2.3 million per year, from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2015.