COLUMBIA, Mo. — A question from the media rarely catches Missouri football coach Barry Odom by surprise, but one knocked him off guard at last month’s Southeastern Conference media days. A reporter from Tennessee asked Odom about Missouri’s staff having the most African-American assistant coaches in the league.
• Veteran assistants Brick Haley (defensive line), Vernon Hargreaves (linebackers) and Cornell Ford (running backs) have been coaching in college programs for a collective 90 seasons, including a couple years in the NFL for Haley. Ford is one of the longest-tenured MU assistants in team history, coming up on his 19th consecutive year on staff.