Missouri head football coach Eli Drinkwitz calls for a review during second-half action in a game against Kansas on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo.
COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Suffice to say: Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz is not a fan of the college football coaching carousel or the rumor mill that makes it go 鈥檙ound.
His name has come up and will continue to come up as a potential target for major programs looking for new head coaches.
What does Drinkwitz, in the middle of his sixth season leading the Tigers, make of it? He thinks his employer should take the links as a compliment.
鈥淎s far as my name associated with everything: That鈥檚 awesome for the University of Missouri,鈥 Drinkwitz said Tuesday. 鈥淢eans we鈥檙e doing something really good. Means that our administration is committed to excellence. It means all the investment that the people here have made has resulted in our success. That鈥檚 what I鈥檇 say: It鈥檚 a tip of the hat to the University of Missouri. Has nothing to do with me, has everything to do with the players and the support staff.鈥
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He then used the calendar as both a fire blanket and a way to reassure Mizzou of his present commitment to the university.
鈥淚 would encourage all the fans and everybody else: It鈥檚 Oct. 14 鈥 is that what today is? The only thing that matters for us is (going) 1-0 this week,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淎nything outside of that is a distraction that you shouldn鈥檛 even worry about. Don鈥檛 even let it cross your mind. Because, man, I have no idea. You lose three games in a row, you may get fired. So I wouldn鈥檛 worry about it.鈥
That comment about three consecutive losses is an allusion to James Franklin鈥檚 weekend firing from Penn State, which came after the Nittany Lions tumbled in spectacular fashion from their national title contender pedestal due to progressively more stunning defeats against Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern.
Penn State is one of the jobs for which Drinkwitz has already made media lists of potential candidates. That could be taken as flattery for the job he鈥檚 done turning MU into a program with consecutive 10-win seasons. To him, it seems more like a point of noisy frustration.
鈥淚 think the No. 1 issue amongst college football is the noise that鈥檚 associated with people鈥檚 programs at all points of the season,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淲hether good, bad or indifferent, there鈥檚 no such thing as journalistic integrity on social media. There鈥檚 just wild, outlandish reporting and anybody鈥檚 name 鈥 I鈥檒l bet every sitting head coach has been listed as a candidate for some job so far.鈥
One particular coach鈥檚 name being listed as a candidate for a Southeastern Conference job has particularly drawn Drinkwitz鈥檚 ire. That coach is Mizzou offensive coordinator Kirby Moore, whom an Arkansas-focused X account reported last week had interviewed for the Razorbacks鈥 head coach opening.
鈥淚t was really unfortunate that Kirby鈥檚 name got associated with something that was a complete lie,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淗e never interviewed, didn鈥檛 talk to anybody at Arkansas. It鈥檚 a bunch of bullcrap put out there to try to create distractions and a narrative that then comes over after the fact, after the game. It鈥檚 really disappointing, all right? All this stuff happens because Twitter ain鈥檛 real and it鈥檚 just a bunch of bullcrap thrown on message boards. So how do I block it out? I ignore it.鈥
The upcoming cycle of coaching is likely to be significantly more active than the last one, particularly given the willingness of programs like Penn State and Arkansas to already dismiss their coaches to get a jump on searches. Schools like Florida and Auburn are on watch to potentially do the same soon.
Mizzou鈥檚 rise in stature under Drinkwitz will make him an attractive candidate, but the university鈥檚 repeated investments in him, his coaching staff and its football facilities are all reasons for him to stay.
Moore, in his third season at Missouri, will also be a popular name in coaching candidate pools. If he wants to make the jump from offensive coordinator to head coach, there will likely be opportunities for that to happen.
There鈥檚 time yet for all of those conversations and links to heat up. This week probably won鈥檛 be the last with Drinkwitz鈥檚 name in the mix. Same goes for Moore.
With Mizzou鈥檚 first road game of the season looming on Saturday and the Tigers needing to bounce back from their loss to the Crimson Tide, the carousel is relegated to being a distracting source of noise.
鈥淎s a team, as a coach, we鈥檝e got to ignore the noise and focus on the things that we can control,鈥 Drinkwitz said, 鈥渨hich is winning and losing football games.鈥
In today鈥檚 10 AM 鈥淭en Hochman鈥 video, Ben Hochman discusses exciting Mizzou wide receiver Donovan Olugbode! Plus, a happy birthday shoutout to Sammy Hagar! And as always, Hochman picks a random Cards card out of the hat!
