Tennessee football: 10 historic coaching hires that resemble Josh Heupel
Record at time of hire: 73-37-3; Record at Missouri: 118-73
Previous schools:
- Toledo Rockets: 1991-2000
In 2001, the Missouri Tigers hired Gary Pinkel based on the success he continued at a program after following the guy who would become the greatest coach of all time. Yes, Pinkel and Nick Saban have a connection. Pinkel took over as head coach of the Toledo Rockets after Saban went 9-2 there in 1990 and won the MAC championships.
Through 10 years, Pinkel continued that success, winning one MAC title and then three subsequent MAC West titles once the conference split into two divisions. He didn’t immediately maintain Saban’s success, though, going only 23-19-2 through his first four years.
However, succeeding a successful coach makes him similar to Josh Heupel. Pinkel then went to Mizzou, which is ironically where Heupel became a national phenomenon as an offensive coordinator under Barry Odom, who succeeded Pinkel in 2016. Anyway, in 16 years there, Pinkel never won a conference title, but he saw tons of success.
There may be higher expectations, fair or not, for Heupel as Tennessee football’s head coach. The key, though, is that Pinkel is proof you can be an up and down coach following a successful coach at a smaller school and still work out long-term. That’s enough for him to make the list.