With head coach Gary Pinkel set to step down at the end of the season, Missouri AD Mack Rhoades discussed some potential head coaches he’s interested in
The Missouri Tigers will be in need of a new head coach after the 2015 season. Longtime coach Gary Pinkel announced recently that he would be stepping down at the end of the season, to spend the rest of his life with his family while battling non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
With big shoes to fill at the head coaching position, Missouri AD Mack Rhoades is going to have a tough job after the season, to find the right coach the replace the coach that had the most wins in Missouri Tigers football history.
The good news for Rhoades and the rest of his staff at Missouri is that there will be plenty of intriguing options available to the program. With the Tigers being a good program in the SEC, it shouldn’t be too hard for the school to find their next man to take the reigns from Pinkel.
Two of those intriguing candidates are Tom Herman of of Houston and Justin Fuente of Memphis, who both have done a tremendous job turning their programs into top teams, despite not being in a Power-5 conference.
According to Ben Frederickson, Rhoades is intrigued by both, but still hasn’t locked in on anyone yet.
Rhoades says he's "certainly partial" to Tom Herman. Says Fuente is "another terrific coach" ... Cautions he's not locked in on anyone.
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) November 18, 2015
If the Missouri Tigers are looking to hire the next big thing to take their school to the top of the SEC East, both of these coaches would be a great option. They’ve proven they can build teams at the lower levels that can compete with the bigger schools.
While coaching in the SEC is a whole different game, Missouri should look to the success that Florida is having with their new head coach, Jim McElwain, who also came from a small school.
The Missouri Tigers have always been a good program. Perhaps one of these young coaches, should either of them be the pick, can turn them into a great one.