It was against that backdrop that the Tigers headed down Interstate 70 to Arrowhead Stadium for their game against BYU, which had been riding a five-game winning streak. He was focused exclusively on beating BYU at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The kicker known as “Lucky” made a 23-yard field goal in the first half – but missed his first point-after touchdown of the season in the fourth quarter to keep BYU from pulling within a field goal late in the game.
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“I did the right thing and I would do it again”, Pinkel said Monday, hours after the boycott ended with Wolfe’s resignation.
“We knew they were going to come out with a lot of energy”, Mangum said.
Pinkel fought back tears several times during the news conference that served as a formal goodbye. Pinkel, 63, was diagnosed in May with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.
On Friday, however, rumor turned into substance when PowerMizzou.com and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch latched onto the story that Pinkel would resign for health-related reasons at the end of the season.
Pinkel always tells players that they’ll have his phone number for life, that he’ll always be there for them.
“I liked kids and coaching to me- I never worked a day in my life”, Pinkel said.
“I decided at that time I was going to embrace the healthy times and battle in the tough times”, Pinkel said. “We wanted to do it for coach”.
Pinkel’s resignation was a stunning conclusion to a week of furor on the Missouri campus.
The timing is coincidental to campus upheaval last week that resulted in the removal of the university system president and chancellor following student protests – including a prominent promise of a boycott from members of the football team, a stance Pinkel supported.
Mizzou has fielded one the worst offenses, statistically, in the nation this season, but the Cougars simply couldn’t stop the Tigers on third downs. Rather, the winningest coach in school history wanted to turn his focus to his health and begin spending more time with his family.
Three of his grandchildren stood near during his postgame news conference Saturday night. The team mobbed him after the win, chanting his name while they danced on the field. “He’s like a dad to us, really”.
Sure, there were other subjects discussed at the news conference. But he did say his form of lymphoma is not as serious as a few others. He also plans to spend more time with his eight grandchildren, his second wife Missy and their five children. “My prayers go out to them”.
The 63-year-old Pinkel said his decision had nothing to do with the turmoil at Missouri, or with the team’s struggles this season. His career mark is 191-108-3. His Tigers played in the Big 12 Championship Game and SEC Championship Game twice each. He now has 117 wins as Missouri coach. The Tigers (4-5) have two more games after BYU to get to the six wins required to be bowl eligible. “It’s a tragedy that Coach Pinkel is going through what he’s going through and there’s nothing we can do about it. The thing that we can do for our coach that we love so much and hate to see him leave is play our hearts out for him”. “That, to me, really showed the passion, the drive and the commitment that he had to build Mizzou to something that people would respect and recognize”. Everything he promised he would do, he did for me.
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“I love what I do”.
