COLUMBIA, Mo. – David Yost has resigned his position as University of Missouri assistant head football coach, after spending the past 12 seasons on Head Coach Gary Pinkel’s staff at Mizzou. Yost cited personal reasons for his decision, which is effective immediately.

The departure will end a 17-season association between Pinkel and Yost. He initially joined Pinkel’s staff at Toledo in 1996 as a graduate assistant, and from 1997-2000, was Pinkel’s quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator, until moving to MU in the same position.

“First off, I want to thank Coach Pinkel for an amazing 17 years,” said Yost. “He has done so much for me and I’m just so grateful for the faith that he showed in me and all of the opportunities that he sent my way. I also want to thank Mike Alden for the support he has given me personally, and to our program. Mizzou is a special place, and I know that we’re positioned to do great things going forward,” Yost said.

“There are a lot of factors that played into the process of coming to my decision,” Yost said. “I feel like I’ve had a great run here and that it’s just the right time to turn it over to someone else. On one hand, it’s a really hard decision to make, but on the other hand, I feel good that it’s the right decision at the right time for me,” he said.

“I’m going to miss our staff, they’re like brothers to me, and not being around our players, that’s hard to think about how tough that will be,” he said.

Part of the original staff when Pinkel was hired at Mizzou prior to the 2001 season, Yost was the first staff member to join Pinkel in Columbia, and he initially served as quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator, staying in that role through 2008. Prior to 2009, Yost was promoted to offensive coordinator, and in the fall of 2011, he had assistant head coach added to his title.

Three of Yost’s protégés at quarterback are playing in the National Football League, in Brad Smith (Buffalo Bills), Chase Daniel (New Orleans Saints) and Blaine Gabbert (Jacksonville Jaguars). The trio also earned 12 different all-conference honors between them, and Daniel emerged on the national stage in 2007 when he was a Heisman Trophy finalist, eventually finishing fourth in the voting. Smith became the first quarterback in NCAA FBS history to throw for 8,000 yards and rush for 4,000 yards in a career. Gabbert followed Daniel and became an eventual first-round NFL Draft pick.

Yost also coached placekickers, and he worked with four kickers who won all-conference honors. Two of his kickers – Grant Ressel and Jeff Wolfert – earned national honors, with Ressel being named a 1st-Team All-American in 2009, while Wolfert preceded him as an honorable-mention All-American in 2007.

“It is very difficult to imagine not having David as part of our staff,” said Pinkel. “I asked him to reconsider, but I respect his decision. He has been such an instrumental part of our program and everything we‘ve built since we came here. There’s hardly an aspect of our program that he hasn’t had a hand in, and we’re going to miss his leadership and energy. He was responsible for a lot of things, and he did them all very well. He was an outstanding representative of Mizzou who busted his tail for our program. He’s going to be tough to replace,” he said.

Pinkel said that he will conduct a national search for Yost’s replacement, but that he will also consider internal candidates. There is no timetable for the timing of the hire.