Quick!  Name the head
coach of the two-time defending SEC Eastern Division Champions Missouri
Tigers.  Can you?  Can the majority of SEC fans?  I’m not so sure.

This was his fourth SEC Media Days, and he could most likely
still walk the lobby of the Hyatt in Hoover unnoticed.  He looks way younger than 63 years of age,
almost as if he could still line up at tight end for Kent State, his alma
mater.

The name you are looking for is Gary Pinkel, and he has
quietly transitioned Missouri from Big-12 finesse team to a defensive-minded
SEC power.

Pinkel stated that the program is “Mizzou Made”, meaning
that while he might not get the five-star recruits most SEC programs hoard,
those players that come to Columbia that work hard will become a player.

“They don’t have to be great football players (when they
arrive),” Pinkel said.  “We can teach
them how to be great football players.”

The Tigers can score the ball too, but it is their defense,
led by back-to-back SEC Defensive Players of the Year in Michael Sam and Shane
Ray, that has helped them reach Atlanta two out of their three years as a SEC
member.

Missouri’s success under Pinkel is nothing new, either.  After taking over the struggling Tiger
program in 2001, Missouri has had five ten-win seasons, including 23 wins in
the last two seasons.  Pinkel holds the
record for all-time wins at Missouri – he also holds that record at Toledo –
and is in the top five of wins by active coaches.

“We have to be doing something right,” Pinkel said on
Wednesday. 

So why is Pinkel not mentioned in the same breath as his
successful SEC colleagues?  There could
be a few reasons:

–      
For all of its success the past two years,
Missouri is still an outsider in the SEC, and seen as a team that won the
Eastern Division due only to the division’s weakness.  It doesn’t help that the Tigers lost by a
combined 46 points in the two SEC Championship games.

–    
In a conference full of big personalities,
Pinkel just does his job.  While Nick
Saban, Les Miles and Steve Spurrier get the headlines, Pinkel continues to
work.  Think I am wrong?  Just take a look at what coaches get the most
coverage during this week.

–    
Titles, Titles and Titles!  Those two division titles are nice, but it
pales in comparison to the other coaches in the league.  Three – Spurrier, Saban and Miles – have
national titles on their resume, while Gus Malzahn was the key architect in
Auburn’s 2010 title when serving as offensive coordinator and led the Tigers to
the 2013 national title game as head coach. 

Rest assured, if Missouri keep on winning and break through
with a SEC Championship, Pinkel will start to receive the attention he
deserves.  Until then, we are stuck
looking at pictures of Spurrier working out shirtless and Nick Saban on a boat
instead of reading of one of the top coaches in college football.