Former Missouri Football Coach Gary Pinkel was the guest speaker at the Tiger Club of KC meeting today at the Westport Flea Market Bar and Grill.
Said he is enjoying his role in PR and Fundraising at MU. Had an 8 a.m. meeting yesterday with AD Jim Sterk to discuss the South End Zone project. He had worked closely with Mike Alden to get to the point they had reached on the project. When Mack came on, Gary shared his thoughts with Mack. When the AD headed another direction, Gary was a team player and jumped on-board. But he is glad that Jim is now back focused on the SEZ, as it should be.
Said he talked extensively with Mack about Barry Odom. That is the guy Coach Pinkel wanted and we have a good one, he said. Very excited to watch Barry and excited to help get the SEZ underway to help. Said the donors are going to have to step up to make this happen.
Gary had a hard time adjusting last December. He was used to getting up at 3 a.m. and getting a lot done by 5. It’s just the way you are wired, he said, and hard to change. Said he finally started sleeping better a couple weeks ago.
Said that his wife Missy invited people over to watch the West Virginia game so she could try to keep him calm. She joked that she was going to go out and buy some headphones, cut the wires off, and let him feel like he was on the sidelines.
Went to some tailgates for the Georgia game and had no idea how fun it was. All these years we have been hanging out having fun while he was inside the stadium working his butt off and worrying about the game. Said he is looking forward to watching the leaves change colors. Usually, he says, everything is green and the next thing he knows all the leaves are gone.
Saw a couple of his grandchildren yesterday, stopped by and saw some more this morning in KC, and will stop in Sedalia on the way home. All 8 of them within 24 hours. Sometimes, he’ll just jump on the motorcycle and make that loop around to see them all. Told his kids now that he realized how much he was gone from home over 25 years of coaching.
Hated to single out a few games because he didn’t want to exclude any of his players. But mentioned 2003 Nebraska, 2007 ku at Arrowhead, 2010 Oklahoma and Game Day, and 2013 beating A&M for the division.
Martin Rucker was there. Gary recalled with T about driving up to Arrowhead, the fans joyfully pounding on the bus for encouragement, the atmosphere, the once-in-a-lifetime match-up. Really seemed to relish that memory. Said that Mark Mangino was a good guy, which is hard to be as the coach of that school.
Talked a little about Les Miles. Said he liked Les and as a fellow Ohioan had gotten to know him over the years. Said with the $9 MM buyout he thought Wes would be just fine.
Was all onboard for the SEC move. Talked to Chancellor Deaton, AD Alden, and several Curators through the process. Said then, as he says now, it’s the best conference with the best venues … but everybody has to step up. With the new football facility improvements, even Kentucky gets it, he says.
Misses the players, and putting on the headset for the game. The tragic loss of Aaron O’Neal changed him, made him hug his players more. Was proud of the run with quarterbacks, starting with Brad Smith. Said the problems with QB last year really proved how important that position is to the team. Thinks Drew will be a very good one. Was most proud of graduating 90%+ of his players, and the affect that has on them, likely meeting their spouse at college, then having them send their own children to college. Gary is very proud of creating that cycle for his players.
We had about 140-150 people at the meeting. We'll post a couple videos soon. Next week, we meet on Thursday for AD Jim Sterk.
Said he is enjoying his role in PR and Fundraising at MU. Had an 8 a.m. meeting yesterday with AD Jim Sterk to discuss the South End Zone project. He had worked closely with Mike Alden to get to the point they had reached on the project. When Mack came on, Gary shared his thoughts with Mack. When the AD headed another direction, Gary was a team player and jumped on-board. But he is glad that Jim is now back focused on the SEZ, as it should be.
Said he talked extensively with Mack about Barry Odom. That is the guy Coach Pinkel wanted and we have a good one, he said. Very excited to watch Barry and excited to help get the SEZ underway to help. Said the donors are going to have to step up to make this happen.
Gary had a hard time adjusting last December. He was used to getting up at 3 a.m. and getting a lot done by 5. It’s just the way you are wired, he said, and hard to change. Said he finally started sleeping better a couple weeks ago.
Said that his wife Missy invited people over to watch the West Virginia game so she could try to keep him calm. She joked that she was going to go out and buy some headphones, cut the wires off, and let him feel like he was on the sidelines.
Went to some tailgates for the Georgia game and had no idea how fun it was. All these years we have been hanging out having fun while he was inside the stadium working his butt off and worrying about the game. Said he is looking forward to watching the leaves change colors. Usually, he says, everything is green and the next thing he knows all the leaves are gone.
Saw a couple of his grandchildren yesterday, stopped by and saw some more this morning in KC, and will stop in Sedalia on the way home. All 8 of them within 24 hours. Sometimes, he’ll just jump on the motorcycle and make that loop around to see them all. Told his kids now that he realized how much he was gone from home over 25 years of coaching.
Hated to single out a few games because he didn’t want to exclude any of his players. But mentioned 2003 Nebraska, 2007 ku at Arrowhead, 2010 Oklahoma and Game Day, and 2013 beating A&M for the division.
Martin Rucker was there. Gary recalled with T about driving up to Arrowhead, the fans joyfully pounding on the bus for encouragement, the atmosphere, the once-in-a-lifetime match-up. Really seemed to relish that memory. Said that Mark Mangino was a good guy, which is hard to be as the coach of that school.
Talked a little about Les Miles. Said he liked Les and as a fellow Ohioan had gotten to know him over the years. Said with the $9 MM buyout he thought Wes would be just fine.
Was all onboard for the SEC move. Talked to Chancellor Deaton, AD Alden, and several Curators through the process. Said then, as he says now, it’s the best conference with the best venues … but everybody has to step up. With the new football facility improvements, even Kentucky gets it, he says.
Misses the players, and putting on the headset for the game. The tragic loss of Aaron O’Neal changed him, made him hug his players more. Was proud of the run with quarterbacks, starting with Brad Smith. Said the problems with QB last year really proved how important that position is to the team. Thinks Drew will be a very good one. Was most proud of graduating 90%+ of his players, and the affect that has on them, likely meeting their spouse at college, then having them send their own children to college. Gary is very proud of creating that cycle for his players.
We had about 140-150 people at the meeting. We'll post a couple videos soon. Next week, we meet on Thursday for AD Jim Sterk.
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