It has clearly been an abnormal week in the life of Missouri football, and that continued Friday afternoon when the school made the surprise announcement that longtime coach Gary Pinkel would step down at the end of the season because of health concerns.

The school said Pinkel, 63, has been receiving lymphoma treatments since spring. The Tigers are 4-5 this season, but Pinkel has won 117 games since arriving at Missouri in 2001. He guided the program into the SEC, where it has won consecutive East Division titles.

Mizzou becomes the second open job in the SEC East, joining South Carolina. It becomes the ninth Power 5 opening in this cycle, though Minnesota did remove Tracy Claeys' interim tag this week.

With resources improving after the conference change -- and the hire in January of AD Mack Rhoades, a rising star in administrative circles -- the Missouri job belongs on the same tier as Miami, South Carolina and Virginia Tech.

Who will Rhoades and the school target to replace Pinkel?