Gary Robin Pinkel (born April 27, 1952) is a former American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...

from 1991 to 2000 and the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

from 2001 to 2015, compiling career record of 191–110–3. 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 The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

championship. He also holds the record for most wins by a head coach of the Missouri Tigers football program. Before becoming a head coach, Pinkel served as an assistant at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, under Don James, from 1979 through 1990, the last six of those years as an

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

. Pinkel was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 2022.

Early years

Born in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

, Pinkel graduated from

Kenmore High School Kenmore High School was a public high school in Akron, Ohio. It was 1 of 7 high schools in the Akron Public Schools district. The schools mascot was the Cardinals. They were a member of the Akron City Series athletic conference. History The origi ...

and attended

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

, where he played

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the Golden Flashes under head coach Don James. 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 Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

for a season in 1976, spent two years at

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

, then returned to Washington for 12 seasons. Pinkel and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

head coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

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

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. His roommate at Kent State was Jack Lambert, who would have a

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

career as

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for the legendary

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

teams of the 1970s. . Pinkel did post-graduate studies at Kent State and

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

, and was inducted into the Kent State Varsity "K" Hall of Fame in 1997.

Head coaching career

Toledo

Pinkel posted a record of 73-37-3 () in 10 seasons at Toledo, including a 53-23-3 () record in conference. He compiled 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 (AP Poll). They were one of only three teams in the nation to finish the regular season undefeated. The others were

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, who played for the national championship. In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, Toledo went to

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

and defeated

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...

's Nittany Lions 24-6. Pinkel guided Toledo to a 10-1 record that season, 6-1 in conference play.

Missouri

Arriving at Missouri after the

season, Pinkel led the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

to ten bowl games in fifteen years, winning six. The first was in 2003, a 27–14 loss to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, 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

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, 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 Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

in the Big 12 Championship game, and played in the

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

against

. The Tigers throttled the Razorbacks, strolling to an easy 38–7 victory and a final season ranking of No. 4 in the AP Poll. Pinkel's other accomplishments while at Mizzou include ending the Tigers 24-year losing streak to

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

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. In

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, Pinkel led the Tigers to a 6–0 start, the team's first 6–0 start since 1973. However, the team finished 8–5. 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

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 Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...

. The first loss was on the road in

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

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 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, 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. On October 23, 2010, Pinkel guided the Tigers to their first win over the

since 1998, winning 36–27. The Sooners were ranked No. 1 in the BCS Poll at the time, leading to the third straight week that a No. 1 team lost. The Tigers finished the regular season 10-2 (6-2 Big 12) and tied Nebraska for the Big 12 North Championship, Mizzou's 3rd in 4 years. The Southeastern Conference asked Missouri to join in 2011 in part so the league would not have an uneven number of teams after

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

became the SEC's 13th member. The 2011 season was a letdown, marked by Missouri's record falling to 8-5 and Pinkel's arrest on DUI charges in mid-November. Pinkel's 2012 team finished 5-7 in the SEC East Division and was the first in eight seasons to not go to a bowl game;

president

Bernard Machen James Bernard Machen (; born March 26, 1944) is an American university professor and administrator. Machen is a native of Mississippi, and earned several academic degrees before becoming a university administrator and president. Machen had been t ...

later said that other members saw Pinkel as a "quality guy" but "didn't think Missouri had been that good of late". The

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

teams were very successful, however, winning the division in both years; "We had no idea Pinkel was gonna turn around and beat us and be that good that quick", Machen added. Beginning with the 2002 NFL Draft, Pinkel has had 26 players selected, including seven first-round choices since 2009. On November 13, 2015, Pinkel announced he would retire at the end of the season. He stated that he has

non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of hematological malignancy, blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include lymphadenopathy, enlarged lymph nodes, fever ...

, and wants to spend his remaining years with family and friends.

Honors and achievements

Pinkel is the record holder for all-time wins at both Toledo and Missouri. For his accomplishments at Toledo, Pinkel was inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame in February 2009. Pinkel released his autobiography "The 100-Yard Journey: A Life in Coaching and Battling for the Win" (Triumph Books) in September 2017. On 1/10/22, it was announced that Gary Pinkel would be inducted into the

Head coaching record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinkel, Gary 1952 births Living people American football tight ends Bowling Green Falcons football coaches Kent State Golden Flashes football coaches Kent State Golden Flashes football players Missouri Tigers football coaches Toledo Rockets football coaches Washington Huskies football coaches College Football Hall of Fame inductees Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Akron, Ohio