Despite losing four of the past five games, many fans
and Mike Alden like the direction of the program.
AMES, Iowa — Oops.
A day after agreeing to terms with coach Gary Pinkel on a new, five-year contract that will keep him at Missouri until 2011 and give him $1.3 million per year in guaranteed money, reactions ranged from positive:
“You need stability to have any sort of success,” said Jim Dorhauer of Odessa. It really means a lot to walk into recruits’ home and say that you’ll be around for the next five years.”
To questioning:
“It’s probably appropriate to do,” said Jim Bleigh of Olathe, Kan. “I just hope they beat Kansas because it would be brutal if he was the first (Missouri coach) to lose four in a row (to the Jayhawks).”
To downright brutal:
“I think it was horrid,” said David Payne of Council Bluffs, Iowa. “Let me rephrase that. I think they should’ve kept Quin Snyder, too. They should have at least waited until the end of the year.”
And those responses were before Missouri lost 21-16 at Iowa State on Saturday.
Late Friday afternoon, Missouri Athletic Director Mike Alden announced the new contract, one that will give Pinkel a raise of $225,000 in guaranteed money and will make him the seventh-highest paid coach in the Big 12 Conference. Under his previous contract, Pinkel was the 10th-highest paid coach in the conference. Pinkel’s base salary of $255,000 will remain the same.
Twenty-four hours after the big announcement though, Missouri had lost to a Cyclones team that was previously winless in conference play.
After the game, Alden faced an ugly scenario most didn’t think was possible before the game.
In what was supposed to be a message that would bring further stability to a program that was taking major steps forward, Alden was forced to answer questions surrounding the timing of giving a new contract to a coach that has now lost four of his last five games, including three straight.
“No, it’s not a nightmare day,” Alden said. “Certainly we are disappointed that we lost the football game, but Gary is our guy. It’s a loss, so it’s disappointing.”
Pinkel and Alden began serious contract discussions around late July and Alden said once the contract was completed, he wanted to get the message out rather than wait.
The other message it sent though, was that Pinkel was the guy for Missouri regardless of how the end of the season would play out.
Alden was asked about what the loss, coupled with the new contract, said about the state of the football program.
“I don’t know if this one loss in particular can put me in a position to say where we are at as a program is concerned,” Alden said. “We believe that Gary has done a really good job with our program. We are disappointed with some of the losses and we think we have an opportunity this next week, but I wouldn’t put a position based on one loss at Iowa State.”
Despite frustrations over the loss to Iowa State, fans like the direction of the program. They like Pinkel as a person. They really like the fact that he has kept the program clean and away from the scandalous headlines that plagued the basketball team under the previous regime. They like that Missouri will appear in three bowls in four years, and that Pinkel will become only the fifth coach in Tiger history to lead Missouri to three bowl games.
Fans wish he could defeat the marquee teams in the Big 12, but they realize smaller steps need to be accomplished first, such as defeating struggling teams like Iowa State .
Still, with a 6-0 start and now a 7-4 record, a new contract for Pinkel wasn’t the most popular topic for Missouri fans.
With one game remaining in the regular season and plenty of bowl possibilities still out there for the Tigers, Larry Shutt of Odessa, a Missouri season-ticket holder since 1969, summed up the feelings of Tiger fans on Pinkel’s new contract.
“Tell Mr. Alden that we like Gary Pinkel very much,” Shutt said. “But he needs to beat Kansas.”