Mike Jinks: Coaching Candidate

Mike Jinks is being discussed heavily after Bret Vito reported he submitted his resume for consideration as the North Texas Head Coach. This is pretty much exactly what he wanted and I cannot blame him. Now that his name is on a list, we have to check him out to see if he is worthy of leading our program here in Denton.

For him, this was a savvy move. I don’t know if it was his agent, or just Mike Jinks aggressively pursuing his career path. I don’t want to assign blame — but praise. It tells us a little something about the man. He wants a head gig. He’s willing to do what it takes to get it.

Getting a job is not unlike winning a football game. You have to be agressive and play to win, y’all.

So let’s vet our candidate — however likely his candidacy is, we’ll at least know a bit about him.

Previous Stops ¹

He is most famous for leading 2010 Steele HS to the Texas 5A Div II championship, riding Malcolm Brown (of Longhorn fame) to the title. His Knights followed that up with another trip to the title game, but lost to Spring DeKaney. So it goes.

He’s a former high school and college quarterback (San Angelo State), and has coached offenses his whole career. Obviously, given North Texas is seeking an offensive minded head man, this is good for Mike.

Texas Tech is ranked 53rd (as of this writing) in S&P+, which is right behind Marshall.

In the three seasons as a RBs coach TTU has averaged 35.8, 30.5, and 46.5 (this season, as of this writing) points per game.

Whereas in 2013, TTU struggled running the ball (about 3.5 yards per carry), the last two seasons have seen them run for a little over 5-yards a pop. The passing game has been steady at over 7-yards an attempt.

A lot of the Texas Tech offense should be attributed to kliff Kingsbury, but its a good thing that Jinks has spent three seasons under his regime. That is plenty of time to learn more than just the broad strokes of the system he’ll likely run.

Recruiting Skills

247 Sports ranks him 32nd in the Big 12. For comparison’s sake Kendal Briles (who also submitted a resume, but predictably denied publicly wanted the job) is ranked first. His targets are mainly SA-area guys, expected given his history and knowledge of the area. A big question would be his ability to expand beyond that. That is to ask “Can he build a staff?”

Leave your thoughts in the Discussion thread.