re: Just how good is Gary Pinkel, really?

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He's also won a lot more than missouri.

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Or has he?

How about this 27 point 4th quarter explosion?

LINK

I agree about coaching stability and continuity are important, but Jones has had way better recruits than Pinkel has had when when he was hired.

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Richt has played in a consistently better conference-division than Pinkel, that's not even debatable, so Richt has needed more talent, and he has won more div/conferences with it also.

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I think he has won 2 (maybe 3) division titles in those 10 years. Zero conference titles in those years. GP has won 2 division titles in 3 years (I won't even touch the B12 titles in that same time frame) but zero conference titles as well.

Better conference division? I'll assume that's sarcasm. 2 years ago the east had 2 teams finish the season ranked in the top 5 in the nation.

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On the other hand GP's Tigers have surpassed ten wins three times from 2007 to present. The last time Nebraska did that was 2001. That was also GP's first year at Mizzou. So even with that loss to Indiana, GP's Tigers are demonstrably better than Nebraska.

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Good summation of the numbers, they appear correct, and your rating seems pretty fair. There is a reason you will hear Pinkel refer to the Bowl Wins and Division titles as "championships" because without them he has none in a power conference.

Pinkel is known for his "solid effort" style and head down do the work attitude, he will often attribute his coaching style to being a "Don James disciple", his former mentor and boss. Among his coachisms are the oft self quoted "We do what we do" and "We have a system", he believes in his system to the point that he thinks it "speaks for itself" which as pointed out has been somewhat of a double edged sword.

Part of the "we do what we do/we have a system" mantra is often attributed to the lack of "recruiting splash" that MU makes under Pinkel. Many fans will incorrectly claim "we don't recruit stars" and "our system is better than the recruiter services" which is of course nonsense, as MU does recruit stars(see DGB), we just don't get that many, but we love to get them(see Lock, TBJ this class) and would love to have more of them, (assuming we would actually like to win a championship). Because we have a few 3 or even 2 star recruits that succeed, fans will also claim this is somehow unique to Mizzou, which is also of course silly, and then forget about the contribution of the star players like Richardson, Gabbert, Maclin, Ealy, Boehm, Franklin and so forth.

As part of his "system" Pinkel tends to automatically redshirt the incoming freshman assuming no immediate need of position or the clear ability to win first year playing time. Preferring to keep the kids learning in his system longer rather than try to produce immediate stars of them.

Pinkel likes player consistency and also detests coaching churn, but when he does need to make a staff move, he will nearly always promote from within if he can, this tendency has bitten him (see promotion of Dave Yost) but also paid dividends, (see success of D-line/Coach Kuligowski). For the most part his coaching tree is barren, you won't see any former Pinkel staff coaching at elite programs, possibly that will change, and Mizzou fans hope that will start with returning, rising Mizzou DC, Dave Odom a former MU position coach.

In the past, Pinkel has run a very "bland" version of the spread, implementing "ball control" into the package and trying to minimize big plays from the competitor. Nothing flashy in what MU does and nothing tricky though he has been known to put in a gimmick here and there. His gimmicks have backfired at times, eg. freezing his own kicker in an attempt to draw an offsides. Pinkel is no great X's and O's football mind, if he can't win with mistake free basics, then he isn't going to coach out a win over a better team.

Finally, although it will draw some guffaws from the crowd, Pinkel really is a "character" guy, in spite of his personal flaws of DUI/divorce, he doesn't sink his own ship that often. His record visa vie player graduation and GPA do speak for themselves, and he has no reluctance to pull the trigger on bouncing a problem player when it is warranted, yet again see DGB. In spite of being no ones brain trust chair elect, Pinkel doggedly aspires to do what he deems "the right thing" is, and it's hard to fault him for that.

Hope that helps fill in your "who is HCGP" in a nutshell questions.

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While I might quibble with a point here or there, this is a very fair evaluation of Pinkel.

One thing to add... He recognized his XII spread wasn't going to work in the SEC and cut down the line splits and implemented a more north and south running attack. He's also been upgrading the size of RBs he's recruiting in reaction to the league.

I love the subtle arrogance of Pinkel when he's winning - the humble bragging and "We Do What We Do".

Whoever said Pinkel was close to being fired and can now orchestrate his own exodus is also spot on.

I agree with everything you said. Would be happy with him at Bama.

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this is a very fair evaluation of Pinkel.

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thank you, I try..

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He recognized his XII spread wasn't going to work in the SEC

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he seems to be getting better at the game, I mentioned his failed gadget play but some of his gadget plays do work, and overall I think he's gotten better at making gameday decisions.

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the humble bragging and "We Do What We Do".

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I'm fine with that too, it does bother me somewhat that when he loses, (SEC CC game vs Auburn) he doesn't seem to acknowledge that it's not just "the players didn't play good enough", and that maybe his coaching(staff) wasn't up to the task as well.

I'd put GP on equal footing with Bielema as far as coaching ability. Both should be around an 8/10, but I think (without favoritism) that Bielema has a higher ceiling. Both are very good fits for their respective programs because they can develop and "do more with less" at programs that don't have much in-state talent to work with.

I don't know much in-depth about Pinkel, so I'll lay out what Bielema's strengths and weaknesses are and maybe one of you Mizzou fans can fill me in on how they compare.

Bielema's strengths:

Offensive identity is tailor made for a program that has to scrape and look to other states to find skill positions

Has a good redshirt program / develops players well

Runs a relatively clean program and recruits players by evaluating character as much as on-field talent, then holds his players to high standards and doesn't go back on his word

Finds quality assistants from off the radar, sets them up for success (not including the failed Tennessee reject Chaney experiment). While he may dictate the overall style of plays ran, he delegates the majority of responsibility to his assistants

Can always recruit some of the best RBs, Oline, Dline, and TEs in the nation from top to bottom

Has a hot wife for a fat guy, and both seem to be all-in on Arkansas and both represent the state and university well

Is always a good interview/TV personality (picture the exact opposite of Harbaugh)

Weaknesses:

Not the best Xs and Os coach, more of a CEO type

Can't seem to get over the hump (i.e. championships and BCS bowls while at Wisc) but can get his teams there often

Stubborn with his offensive identity to a fault, at times when the personnel does not fit (picture Petrino's skill players and an OC who likes to air it out stuck in a ground and pound system, aka his first 2 seasons here)

Can't seem to recruit high profile, game changing WRs - most likely based on the system he runs

Occasionally oversteps his boundaries during interviews, while on TV, or especially Twitter

Can sometimes make some "WTF just happened?!" in-game decisions, which are a thing of beauty when they work and a source of frustration when they don't

Likes food too much


Now, if some nice Mizzou fan will compare in-depth with GP and fill me in on the particulars it would be much appreciated. Pinkel is probably the SEC coach I know the least about currently.