Missouri has now announced the decision:
Selected portions of the full release are below:
"Coach Odom has represented our program with integrity and dedicated himself to developing our student-athletes on and off the football field for which we are grateful. We wish the very best for him and his family in their future endeavors."
"As a program, we had tremendous momentum coming into the 2019 season with the opening of the new south end zone facility as well as other strategic investments in our football program," Sterk said. "However, we lost a great deal of that energy during the last half of the season. This decision was difficult to make but was necessary."
"A national search is underway and confidentiality during the process is critical. Thus, I will have no further public comments regarding the search process until the announcement of our next head football coach is made."
Original article>
Missouri managed to keep Arkansas winless in SEC play the last two seasons with their 24-17 win over the Razorbacks yesterday, and if the NCAA hadn't upheld their decision for a bowl ban Missouri and Barry Odom could have been heading to a bowl with the win.
But now not only will Mizzou not be going to a bowl, but according to reports, they'll also be looking for a new head coach. Gabe DeArmond of PowerMizzou had it first (see below) and we can confirm the news.
With their win against Arkansas yesterday, improving their record this season to 6-6, Odom was 25-25 overall and 13-19 in SEC play. His best finish in the SEC came in 2017 when they finished 3rd.
They become the second SEC program, and first team in the East division, to have their head coaching job open, behind Arkansas of the SEC West following their decision a few weeks back to move on from the Chad Morris era.
In 2016, after Gary Pinkel retired due to health issues, Odom was named head coach. He went 4-8 and then 7-6 and 8-5 before signing a contract extension in December of 2018. Odom currently ranks as the lowest paid head coach in the SEC at $3.05 million, tied with Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead.
Odom played linebacker at Mizzou back in the late-90's and has spent all but a few seasons of his coaching with the Tigers. After a few seasons at the high school level, Odom started is coaching climb at Missouri as a graduate assistant, before serving as the director of recruiting and then director of football operations from 2004-08. In 2009 he was promoted to an on-field coaching position working with the safeties, and left to run the defense at Memphis for a few seasons before a return to Missouri as their defensive coordinator in 2015.
It's no secret that the Missouri athletic department has been operating in the red for the past two seasons and thus likely won't have top dollar to pay their next head coach. Combine that with some likely recruiting challenges as part of the fallout from the NCAA sanctions, while the job will still be appealing to many, it will certainly come with some interesting challenges.
Steve Berkowitz adds that if offensive coordinator Derek Dooley isn't retained with the new staff, he will be owed a nearly $2.1 million buyout (subject to duty to mitigate), and if defensive coordinator Ryan Walters isn't kept, he will be owed $1.8 million (also subject to duty to mitigate). Both Dooley's and Walters deals run thru Feb. 28, 2022. Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.