As the dust settles in Columbia and University of Missouri Athletic Director Mack Rhoades begins his search for Gary Pinkel’s replacement in earnest, a few things will become painstakingly clear for Mizzou football fans.Gary Pinkel was a perfect fit for the Tigers, and finding a suitable replacement will be more challenging than they think.Pinkel compiled an impressive 73-37-3 record at Toledo throughout the ’90s and the match between himself and Mizzou made too much sense.He was a proven head coach looking for an opportunity at a major conference school, and Mizzou was a major conference school looking for the road out of mediocrity.Pinkel delivered, posting five 10-win seasons in 15 years after Mizzou had done so just once in the previous 111 seasons.He is responsible for 10 of the 31 bowl appearances by Mizzou, and his 2007 team was one win away from playing for a national championship.But he wasn’t too good.His career record against ranked opponents is 18-42, so he was never really considered a must-get for major programs looking for a head coach.Other than a few rumors regarding the University of Washington — where he served as an assistant coach from 1979 to 1990 — Pinkel’s name never really floated out there when big-time jobs became available.But he knew how to beat teams he was supposed to beat, and in an age where 6-6 earns you a trip to a bowl game, that is a valuable trait.He posted winning records in each of his final seven seasons in the Big 12 by consistently beating conference bottom-feeders Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State.In 2013 and 2014, he took advantage of fortunate scheduling (Mizzou avoided Alabama, Auburn and LSU in the regular season) and fortunate timing (perennial SEC power Florida limped to the end of the Will Muschamp era) to guide Mizzou to consecutive SEC East championships.Similar to his days in the Big 12 against Oklahoma and Texas, Pinkel struggled against Alabama and Auburn in both SEC championship games.But Mizzou was relevant, which was rarely the case in the three decades prior to his arrival in Columbia.And as Missouri officials look for Gary Pinkel 2.0, fans should realize that finding a coach good enough to win 63 percent of his games, yet content enough to turn down overtures from better programs, is rare.Then there is the harsh reality that if Mizzou wants to look outside of the current staff for Pinkel’s replacement — and not look to first-year defensive coordinator Barry Odom — it will have to wait its turn this offseason.With major programs like USC, Miami, South Carolina and Virginia Tech looking for head coaches as well, candidates will wait for those jobs to be filled before accepting another offer.Houston Head Coach Tom Herman is the hottest candidate right now, and while Mack Rhoades hired him in January when he was the A.D. at Houston, it is hard to see Herman turning down almost certain offers from one or more of the aforementioned schools.In other years, Mizzou might have been one of the best job openings in the country.But 15 years after hitting the lottery on a coach from Toledo, Mizzou fans might soon realize football coaching hires aren’t always that easy.Believe me, I went to Kansas.Kory Carpenter