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Every week, PowerMizzou.com publisher Gabe DeArmond answers questions from Tiger fans in the mailbag. This format allows for a more expansive answer than a message board post. Keep your eye out each week to submit your question for the mailbag or send them to powermizzou@gmail.com. On to this week's inquiries.
Arete_King asks: Was reading a Power ranking of SEC coaches on Saturday Down South and Drinkwitz was at the bottom just above Vandy’s Lea. That same source had Beamer in the middle tier (9th). In a hypothetical, let's say you could trade stock in Drinkwitz. Would you buy, sell or hold? If you're buying stock, would it be a hard or soft buy?
GD: For now, I'd hold. The recruiting indicates there might be a pretty bright future. But I need to see a winning record. In my opinion, that should come this year. I just wouldn't do anything with the stock until I see what his third team looks like.
As far as the list, I think I saw the same one and let's say first that anybody can make a list. Once you get past Saban, Kirby, Brian Kelly and Jimbo Fisher, it's kind of a crapshoot, although Mark Stoops would certainly be up right after that tier considering what he's done at Kentucky. I don't really know what Shane Beamer has done to rank higher than Drinkwitz, but I'm not going to throw a fit about it.
tigerfever00 asks: You mentioned the most important football player for Mizzou in the modern era a few days back….how would you rank Corby Jones in that category? Considering what came before Corby, and what happened immediately after he left.After Corby Jones and Devin West left it seemed like Larry Smith and the staff weren’t really ready for the next chapter. Now, I think L. Smith did a great job at Mizzou, but how would you sum up his last couple of years at MU (7-15 in his final two seasons). You said Smith left the next staff some good pieces, but I believe multiple people said Mizzou’s roster talent was D2 level at the time. Thoughts?
GD: I've always said that I don't think Larry Smith, Corby Jones and Devin West get enough credit. They showed you could win at Missouri. But like you said, it wasn't sustained. Missouri had an almost identical record in Corby's four years (23-23) as it did in Brad Smith's four (25-23). They both had two winning records and went to two bowl games, winning one. Had someone like Chase Daniel come in immediately after Corby, we probably look at things a whole lot differently. But that didn't happen. Instead, Mizzou went back in the gutter for two years.
The situation wasn't good when Gary Pinkel took it over. But I still think it was better than when Larry Smith did. Two bowl games in 16 years sucks...but it sucks less than none in 11 years. And the overall talent wasn't good by any means, but Zack Abron, Rob Droege, AJ Ricker and others were important pieces to that first bowl team Pinkel had. One of the few things I didn't like about what Pinkel did is he frequently talked about how bad it was before he got here. I get it, it wasn't good. But I thought it downplayed the importance of some of those guys in him getting it going again. Of course Brad was the key to it. But there were some good players that were here and played big roles.
Larry did what nobody had done for more than a decade at Missouri. He showed it could happen. And Corby was the centerpiece to that. I'd say those guys got a generation of Missouri fans at least interested in football again. Brad and Pinkel took it up a notch. And then it went to a whole different level.
