Mizzou Football: Six potential successors to Barry Odom

Group 2: The Sitting Head Coaches

Willie Fritz, Head Coach, Tulane Green Wave

At age 59, Fritz is the oldest coach to make this list. But so what? He’s won everywhere’s he’s coached, from Blinn College to University of Central Missouri to Sam Houston State to Georgia Southern, and, to where, he currently coaches, Tulane.

With the Green Wave, he’s turned around a moribund program in a timely fashion. Before Fritz’s arrival prior to 2014, the team had gone 15-34 under his predecessor, Curtis Johnson, and hadn’t enjoyed consecutive seasons of at least five wins since 2002-2004. And should Fritz’s current squad finish with a winning record (at 5-3, odds look good on that), it will be the first time since 1997 and 1998 that the school has finished above .500 in back-to-back seasons.

Fritz has shown that he knows what it takes to win on every level. The SEC would be yet another step up. The Shawnee Mission, Kansas native could get the Tigers back to competing for the SEC East title on a seasonal basis.

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Dan Quinn, Head Coach, Atlanta Falcons

Before coaching the Atlanta Falcons to within a quarter of a Super Bowl victory, and before coordinating one of the best defenses in modern pro football to a Super Bowl title with the Seattle Seahawks, Dan Quinn was an excellent defensive coordinator for the Florida Gators.

Now, it looks like Quinn’s head is on the professional chopping block down in Georgia. His Falcons still haven’t recovered from blowing a 28-3 lead over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI. His team missed the playoffs last year, going 7-9, and the bottom’s fall out this season, as the team is 1-7 heading into its bye week. Time is short for Quinn in Atlanta, where he’s coached since 2015.

But a jump back to the college ranks is conceivable. A head coaching offer to a team in the SEC East, a division Quinn knows well from his time in Gainesville, would be perfect. And, like with Eberflus, getting a head coach in Columbia who has NFL experience would be beneficial in the recruiting battle.

Jason Candle, Head Coach, Toledo Rockets

Hey, calling on the head ball coach from Toledo worked out pretty well back in 2000. Pinkel landed in Missouri and stayed for the rest of his professional career, reaching new heights for a Tiger program that had wallowed in the mud for quite some time before his arrival. Maybe Jason Candle can re-ignite the flame that went out when Pinkel retired.

Candle’s in his fourth full-time season leading the Rockets. Since 2016, Toledo’s gone 33-16 under him, and that includes zero losing seasons and winning at least nine games twice. The soon-to-be-40-year-old has been a rumored name to make the job to a Power Five program for at least a couple of seasons now, including landing a list of names to watch at The Athletic by Bruce Feldman (subscription required, and recommended). To land him, Mizzou would have to act proactively.

What do you think about Barry Odom and his future with the Missouri Tigers? Are you wanting the program to look for a replacement or does Odom deserve another season or more?