Nov. 30, 2000

Head Coach Gary Pinkle

Opening statement

"I am honored and excited to be the head football coach at the University of Missouri. I've been looking for this opportunity for a long time, I was in the right position at the right time. I love the enthusiasm, I love everybody that is here, they're excited and that means a lot to me, because that means football means a lot to you, and that's why I'm here. We'll work very had to build a first-class, winning program that's respected in the Big 12, and respected nationally. We'll also work very hard to keep the best players in the state of Missouri, at the University of Missouri. That is something that will not happen over night, but something we'll work as hard as we've ever done before. My responsibility is to win, and I like to win. I think also getting a degree is as important as winning. When I walked out here and saw all these people and all these cameras I knew this is the place I wanted to be."

About keeping the current offense styles at Mizzou

"We'll do an offensive system that will try to be fifty-percent run, fifty-percent pass. I think you try to be good at both, and you try to lean toward an area that you're better at. From a defensive standpoint we'll have an attacking style defense. Different types of blitzing, but a type of defense where you try to create turnovers."

What made him choose to come to Missouri

"Let me first say that Toledo is a great place, a great university, they're committed with great fans and great people, but I've been in two places in twenty-two years of my life. But what I saw when I came here was a tremendous commitment, I see tremendous potential. There is a lot of work to be done, but we have a plan of what we're going to do and how we're going to do it, and we're going to be very diligent at getting it done. I think they want to win and have an excellent football program."

On coaching changes

"I'm hoping we can bring some coaches down (from Toledo), there's a lot of decisions that have to be made quick, especially recruiting, we have to hit the trail right now. The staff will be critical and there's a lot of people that you talk to from a standpoint of who goes and who doesn't go. There's also a lot of people I have to talk to here at the University of Missouri, and I need to talk to them before I can say anything publicly."

On recruiting

"Certainly we're behind, recruiting is year around now, people started recruiting last February and what we're going to have to do is evaluate that. We're going to build on high school athletes, I think when you evaluate is if you have any weaknesses then you try and draw from the JUCOs."

"I can sit here and give you a list of all the things we're going to do, and we're going to have a plan, but I would suggest that the most important thing that we might do is call these high school coaches out in St. Louis, and around the state and listen. Just listen to find out what their concerns are, what they're problems are, and then adjust and react accordingly. We have to find out what these concerns and problems are and correct them."

On rival games

"I think rival games, like the KU game, it's big, it's huge, but I don't think a game like that you circle on your schedule. I think a game like that is something stands out and when it gets there and it lands up on your schedule you should not have to say much about it."