Pinkel Names his Coaching Staff
12/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 6, 2000
COLUMBIA, Mo.- Missouri Head Football Coach Gary Pinkel officially named his coaching staff on Wednesday. Pinkel announced that he is bringing eight coaches from his previous staff at Toledo with him to the University of Missouri. A majority of that group has been together for the last five seasons.
TOM AMSTUTZ, Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Tom Amstutz has spent the last 10 seasons with Gary Pinkel and the last seven seasons as his defensive coordinator. Amstutz is a 24-year veteran coach who spent 21 of those seasons at his alma mater, Toledo. From 1977-86, he served as the defensive ends and kickers coach before departing for Navy for three seasons (1987-89). Pinkel brought Amstutz back to Toledo in 1990 as his outside linebackers coach. In 1995, Amstutz took over as Toledo's defensive coordinator and transformed the Rocket defense into one of the country's best at creating turnovers. Toledo had 34 takeaways in 1995, and led the nation in turnover margin (+2.0 per game). Again in 2000, Amstutz's defense was number one in turnover margin (+2.0 per game). The Rockets' defense forced 31 turnovers while the offense turned it over just nine times. Amstutz is known for his exceptional recruiting abilities, having recruited more than 20 all-conference players. He will be in charge of recruiting the St. Louis area at Missouri. Prior to coaching at Toledo, Amstutz was a two-year starter as an offensive guard at Toledo in 1975 and 1976. He earned a bachelor of education in physical education and sociology in 1977, and has completed work on his masters in athletic administration.
DAVE CHRISTENSEN, Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Dave Christensen has coached under Gary Pinkel since 1992 and has been Pinkel's offensive coordinator since 1997. He has coached the offensive line the past nine seasons. Under Christensen's guidance, the Toledo offense set or reset 73 school records. Since 1995, the Toledo running game powered the Rockets to 49-16-1 record. In 1999, Toledo ranked 10th in the nation in rushing (239.2) and No. 1 yards per attempt (5.35). This past season, Christensen's offense jumped up to 9th place in the country (253.8 yards rushing per game) and averaged 5.43 yards per carry. Christensen's linemen have won over 10 all-conference honors while seven of the top 20 single-season rushing performances at Toledo occurred under Christensen. In 1999, his offensive line allowed just eight quarterback sacks. Christensen came to Toledo from Idaho State University where he coached the offensive line, tight ends and running backs for two years. Prior to ISU, he served two years as an assistant under Don James at the University of Washington. He also played football for the Huskies from 1980-82. Christensen has coached six current or former NFL players. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Western Washington in 1985 and a masters in sports science/college instruction from Eastern Washington University in 1988.
MATT EBERFLUS, Secondary Matt Eberflus will enter his eighth season under Gary Pinkel, his third as the secondary coach. Eberflus played for Pinkel at Toledo in 1991 and was a three-year starter for the Rockets. Eberflus spent his first five seasons as the outside linebackers coach at Toledo, guiding six players to all-conference honors. In 1995, his outside linebackers assisted on 22 of the team's 34 takeaways in helping the Rockets lead the country in turnover margin. Eberflus is a solid recruiter and served as Toledo's recruiting coordinator in 1994 and 1995. A native of Toledo, he earned a bachelor of education degree in 1993.
CORNELL FORD, Outside Linebackers Cornell Ford has served under Gary Pinkel as wide receivers coach since the 1996 campaign. Previous to that, he coached at Marietta College and coached the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers. He was a graduate assistant coach at Toledo in 1991 and 1992. This will be his first season coaching outside linebackers. Ford brings a reputation of developing depth at the wide receiver position. In 1998, four Toledo receivers caught 30 or more passes. In 1997, the same receivers hauled in 27 or more receptions. Ford spent three seasons coaching high school football at Maumee (OH) High school. He holds a bachelor's degree in physical education (1991) and a master's degree (1993) in sports administration.
ANDY HILL, Wide Receivers Andy Hill enters his first season under Gary Pinkel, and his sixth season at the University of Missouri. Hill will coach the wide receivers as he has since joining the Mizzou staff in 1996. Hill has help mold several young receivers into key components of the Missouri offense, including such players as Kent Layman, John Dausman, and most recently, Justin Gage. Hill helped coach Gage into one of the top receivers in the Big 12 Conference last season after converting from a quarterback to a receiver in the spring. Gage caught 44 passes for 703 yards and 4 TD. Previous to Missouri, Hill coached for four years at Hutchinson Community College. He spent two years as the offensive coordinator before taking over as head coach in 1994. Hill led Hutchinson to its first Jayhawk Conference title since the 1969 campaign and finished the season ranked ninth nationally. He was named the conference "Coach of the Year." Hill earned his bachelor of arts degree in economics from Missouri in 1985. He walked onto the Missouri football team in 1980 and eventually earned a scholarship. He lettered for the Tigers in 1980, 1981, 1983 and 1984 and played on three bowl teams.
BRIAN JONES, Running Backs Brian Jones has been a member of Gary Pinkel's coaching staff since 1992. After coaching the wide receivers from 1992-94, he has guided an excellent running game for the last six seasons. This past season, Toledo was ranked 9th in the country in rushing (253.8 yards per game) and ranked 10th nationally in 1999 (239.2). Four of the top five rushing seasons in Toledo history occurred under Jones. In 1995, the Rockets were ranked fifth in the nation in rushing. Jones, born in Jamaica and raised in New York City, previously coached one season at Lafayette College and three years each at Massachusetts (1988-91) and Villanova (1984-87). He also had coaching stints at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1983-84), Norwich (VT) University (1982-83) and New York Institute of Technology (1981-82). Jones was an offensive lineman at the University of Connecticut, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in marketing in 1981. He also holds a master of science degree in administration and physical Education from Norwich (1993).
CRAIG KULIGOWSKI, Defensive Line Craig Kuligowski has been with Gary Pinkel for the last 10 seasons. He has coached the defensive line for the past five years. He coached tight ends and the offensive line from 1992-95 and was Toledo's recruiting coordinator in 1992 and 1993. Kuligowski is credited with building one of the best defensive lines in the Mid American Conference. His line helped Toledo become one of the top defenses against the run in the MAC the last two seasons and one of the top teams in the league in scoring defense and quarterback sacks. In 1998, the Rockets held opponents to 17 points or less in all but one MAC regular season game, an average of 12.6 ppg. Kuligowski was a four-year letterwinner at Toledo and two-time first team All-MAC offensive tackle. He earned a bachelor of business administration from Toledo in 1991.
BRUCE WALKER, Tight Ends, Asst. Offensive Line Bruce Walker has been tight ends and assistant offensive line coach since the 1996 season for Gary Pinkel. He has coached two of the best tight ends in Toledo history during his tenure. Walker came to Toledo after spending eight years at Central Washington University, where he served as offensive coordinator. He was also CWU's offensive line coach for six seasons. In 1993, behind Walker's offensive line, the Wildcats led all NAIA schools in total offense, averaging 517 yards per game. CWU ranked first in the nation in rushing and in 1995, ranked sixth in total offense. His 1995 team shared the NAIA national title, tying Findlay (OH) in the title game. The quarterback of that team was current Seattle Seahawks quarterback John Kitna. Walker spent two seasons as both a linebacker and center at Yakima Valley College before transferring to Central Washington (1980-81). A 1983 graduate of CWU, he earned a bachelor of science degree in physical education in 1989.
DAVID YOST, Quarterbacks/Recruiting Coordinator David Yost enters his fifth season as Gary Pinkel's quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator. Yost has spent the last four seasons coaching two of the most productive quarterbacks in Toledo history, Tavares Bolden and Chris Wallace. As recruiting coordinator, Yost is responsible for all aspects of the recruitment of high school student-athletes. Toledo's last three recruiting classes were heralded as among the most talented in school history. Yost began his coaching career at Tiffin University where he coordinated the offense along with coaching the quarterbacks and wide receivers. Yost spent two years (1994 and 1995) at Tiffin before joining the Toledo staff as graduate assistant coach. A graduate of Kent State University, Yost was an offensive lineman. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in early childhood education in 1992. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in educational psychology.
