Mizzou’s Gary Pinkel to retire after season, opens another coaching job

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri coach Gary Pinkel will step down at the end of the season because of health reasons.

Missouri joins South Carolina as one of at least 10 coaching openings. Others include Southern California, Virginia Tech, Miami and Maryland, meaning a lot of competition for available candidates.

Pinkel and the Tigers announced the decision Friday afternoon and noted Pinkel had been diagnosed with lymphoma in May. The stunning move comes days after his team threatened to boycott Saturday's game against BYU over concerns about racial strife on campus. Pinkel supported his players.

Pinkel said he had decided to resign before this week.

The 63-year-old Pinkel is the winningest coach in school history with a 117-71 record over 15 seasons. His team has won the last two SEC East titles, but is out of contention for a conference title this year.