The college football coaching carousel is beginning to spin rapidly. James Franklin was hired at Virginia Tech, and Lane Kiffin has been involved in rumors at LSU, Florida and Ole Miss. Now, a big domino has dropped with Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz. While his name was also discussed in other rumors, he is staying at Missouri with a shiny new contract.
Reports swirled on Wednesday that Drinkwitz was nearing a raise with Missouri, and everything came to a finality on Thanksgiving morning.
On Thursday, it became official with Drinkwitz and Missouri finalizing a new contract to keep him, per Pete Thamel of ESPN.
“Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz has agreed to a new contract with the school, he announced. Per ESPN sources, there’s an increase in salary for Drinkwitz to an average of more than $10.7 million over the deal and an increased commitment to staff and salary pool.”
Drinkwitz had a message for the fans after the news surfaced.
“My family and I are thankful to be @Mizzou. The support from our President, the Board of Curators, AD, boosters and fans is special! Why Stop Now!!! ”
The Missouri coach also had a statement on the official release from the school:
“My family and I believe deeply in the vision and leadership from our administration and are incredibly happy to continue calling Columbia our home,” Drinkwitz said. “I'm grateful for the unwavering support of President Mun Choi, the Board of Curators, led by Chair Todd Graves and incoming Vice Chair Bob Blitz, along with our athletics director Laird Veatch. We're also incredibly thankful for the support of our generous donors and NIL partners. I'm committed to continuing our work to build Mizzou into a championship program.”
Drinkwitz began his head coaching career at Appalachian State in 2019 and went 12-1.
That immediately made him a candidate for other jobs, and he came to Missouri in 2020. Now, he has a combined record of 45-28 at Missouri with bowl game wins in the Cotton Bowl and Music City Bowl the past two seasons.
Missouri is 7-4 entering the final regular season game, and the losses came to Alabama, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma, all four of which have been ranked for the majority of the season.
So, despite his name being in rumors, those talks can be put to bed as he stays in Missouri.
