Pinkel has the most wins of any head coach in the history of the Toledo Rockets football program and led the 1995 team to a Mid-American Conference championship.

Before becoming a head coach, Pinkel served as an assistant at the University of Washington, under Don James, from 1979 through 1990, the last six of those years as an offensive coordinator.

Born in Akron, Ohio, Pinkel graduated from Kenmore High School and attended Kent State University, where he played tight end for the Golden Flashes under head coach Don James.

Pinkel received his bachelor's degree in education in 1973 and began his coaching career as a graduate at Kent State under James, who left after the 1974 season for Washington.

Pinkel took over the head coaching job at Toledo in 1991 when Saban left to become defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.

His roommate at Kent State was Jack Lambert, who would have a Hall of Fame career as middle linebacker for the legendary Pittsburgh Steelers teams of the 1970s.

Arriving at Missouri after the 2000 season,[4] Pinkel led the Tigers to ten bowl games in fifteen years, winning six.

Pinkel's other accomplishments while at Mizzou include ending the Tigers 24-year losing streak to Nebraska in 2003 with a 41–24 win in Columbia.

The season's most memorable moment came when Missouri defeated rival Kansas 36–28 on a nationally televised game at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Southeastern Conference asked Missouri to join in 2011 in part so the league would not have an uneven number of teams after Texas A&M became the SEC's 13th member.

The 2011 season was a letdown, marked by Missouri's record falling to 8-5 and Pinkel's arrest on DUI charges in mid-November.

The 2013 and 2014 teams were very successful, however, winning the division in both years; "We had no idea Pinkel was gonna turn around and beat us and be that good that quick", Machen added.

Pinkel released his autobiography "The 100-Yard Journey: A Life in Coaching and Battling for the Win" (Triumph Books) in September 2017.