Mizzou Links: Craig Kuligowski and the domino effect of coaching hires

Monday links posts are always pretty big, and this one was no exception ... before the Craig Kuligowski rumors began.

By Bill Connelly@SBN_BillC Jan 26, 2015, 5:14am CST

Kul

The Trib (Behind theStripes): Report: Kuligowski offered co-DC job at Illinois
ABC 17: Report: Craig Kuligowski offered Illini job
Post-Dispatch: MU's Kuligowski headed to Illinois?
PowerMizzou: Got some messages out on the Kuligowski report

Refresher: Kuligowski has been with Pinkel for 23 years. Did not get Mizzou def coordinator job that went to Barry Odom in December
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) January 26, 2015

Add another layer to the story: Remember, Mizzou hired away AJ Ricker from Illinois back in July.
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) January 26, 2015

Fluid situation with Kuligowski & Illinois. I don't believe he's accepted a job yet. Stay tuned.
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) January 26, 2015

Pinkel's assistants always cited stability as a big reason for staying w/ GP. Would be pretty big shift if Kul leaves for unstable Illinois
— Pete Scantlebury (@PeteScantlebury) January 26, 2015

Being co-DC would be step up for Kul, obviously, after getting passed over for Odom at Mizzou this year. Trying to gather info.
— Pete Scantlebury (@PeteScantlebury) January 26, 2015

Looking online, Illinois' DC Tim Banks made $400,000 (reported in May 2013). Kuligowski's salary is just under $300K at Mizzou.
— Pete Scantlebury (@PeteScantlebury) January 26, 2015

Mother of former #Mizzou DT Lucas Vincent RT @murphfan03: @PeteScantlebury I wouldn't be shocked....I have no inside scoop...just saying.
— Pete Scantlebury (@PeteScantlebury) January 26, 2015

Illinois' former DL coach, Greg Colby, made $180K. He was fired on Jan. 8 of this year.
— Pete Scantlebury (@PeteScantlebury) January 26, 2015

Got some messages out on the Craig Kuligowski report from @FootballScoop . Nothing concrete, but one source believes he will leave #Mizzou.
— Gabe DeArmond (@GabeDeArmond) January 26, 2015

For those asking about Kool and recruits, he hasn't been the lead recruiter on Beckner.
— Pete Scantlebury (@PeteScantlebury) January 26, 2015

Also, new commit Tyrell Jacobs told me that the d-line success wasn't a big part of his commitment. Said it was family atmosphere.
— Pete Scantlebury (@PeteScantlebury) January 26, 2015

"@YuskeFrazier: This recruiting ish is crazy...." #Mizzou DL commit, visited over the weekend
— Gabe DeArmond (@GabeDeArmond) January 26, 2015

Total coincidence that big story on Kuligowski & Mizzou's sales pitch to Beckner was planned for Monday's P-D. Had to furiously rework story
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) January 26, 2015

Well ... we knew this was a possibility when Gary Pinkel hired Barry Odom as his new defensive coordinator. Illinois has offered Craig Kuligowski a co-coordinator position, and now we'll see how much flexibility Gary Pinkel has in terms of giving raises (or new titles) to position coaches. We'll also see how much that matters, I guess.

Odom's hire signified that if Coach Kul wanted to become a coordinator, he'd either have to go elsewhere or wait until Odom gets hired as a head coach, either at Mizzou or elsewhere. Our preference obviously was for these crossroads not to approach for a couple more seasons, but we're here, and now we'll see what means the most to Kuligowski.

Simply judging from what Illinois was paying its assistants last year, the Illini wouldn't be prepared to give Kul a raise Mizzou couldn't match -- again, if Pinkel has the ability to give raises at this point (and I figure he does). But to keep him, Mizzou might need to throw out a co-coordinator position or something similar, and we'll see if that's in the cards.

I don't know if Pinkel has the ability to keep Kul at this point, or if the Odom hire set something unstoppable into motion. I really hope he stays because he's ridiculously good at his job, but we knew the risks no matter how exciting the Odom hire was. Now we'll see what the consequences are. One would assume that, with Tim Beckman facing a pretty warm seat heading into 2015, Kul could find a more stable coordinator position to inherit in the future, but as Gabe Dearmond said in the PowerMizzou link above, this move would basically be Kul "betting on himself." And if you're doing that, you might as well get started down the road.

I loved the Odom hire and still do. But it opened this door as we knew it might.

Kuligowski isn't the lead recruiter on Terry Beckner -- St. Louis is Cornell Ford's territory -- so we don't immediately know if his departure would have any major effect on his (or Nate Howard's, or Tyrell Jacobs', or Marcell Frazier's) recruitment. But it certainly wouldn't help, and it would certainly throw a kink into the #DLineZou momentum we've been seeing. Pinkel has made great hires before, but he might have to make another one soon.