He wears hoodies on the sideline, cracks dad jokes that sometimes land (and sometimes don’t), and he just signed a contract extension that makes him one of the highest-paid human beings in the state of Missouri. If you follow the SEC, you know the name.
Eli Drinkwitz, the current Missouri Tigers football coach, is a bit of a lightning rod.
People either love his "quirky" energy or find it exhausting. But here is the reality: the guy has completely flipped the script in Columbia. Before he arrived in late 2019, Mizzou was drifting. They were stuck in that "middling SEC program" purgatory where you go 6-6, lose a bowl game in a baseball stadium, and hope a four-star recruit looks your way.
Then came 2023. An 11-2 season. A Cotton Bowl victory over Ohio State.
Suddenly, the "Coach Drink" brand wasn't just about witty press conferences; it was about wins. Fast forward to January 2026, and the conversation has shifted again. After an 8-5 campaign in 2025 and a loss to Virginia in the Gator Bowl, fans are asking: is he an elite program builder or just a guy who caught lightning in a bottle with Luther Burden III?
The $64.5 Million Question
Money speaks.
In November 2025, Missouri didn't just give Eli Drinkwitz a pat on the back. They gave him a six-year, $64.5 million contract extension. That’s an average of $10.75 million a year through 2031.
Why? Because the coaching carousel was spinning out of control.
Penn State had a vacancy after firing James Franklin. Florida was lurking. Mizzou’s administration, led by AD Laird Veatch, saw the sharks circling and decided to lock the door. They didn't want to go back to the drawing board.
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When you look at the numbers, you sort of see why they’re so protective. Drinkwitz is only the second coach in Mizzou history to post back-to-back double-digit win seasons (2023 and 2024). Before him, it was only Gary Pinkel—the undisputed king of Tiger football—who reached those heights.
But there’s a catch. There's always a catch in the SEC.
Critics point to a 7-18 record against AP Top 25 opponents during his tenure. They’ll tell you he beats the teams he’s supposed to beat but struggles when the lights get bright and the opponent has "Alabama" or "Georgia" on their jersey. In 2025, the Tigers went 0-5 against ranked teams. That hurts. It makes the $10 million salary feel a little heavy to some fans.
Roster Building and the "Portal King" Reputation
How did he do it? How did a guy from Arkansas Tech turn Mizzou into a top-10 team for a stretch?
Basically, he embraced the chaos of modern college football.
Drinkwitz isn't just a coach; he’s a general manager. He was one of the first to truly weaponize NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) in the SEC. He didn't just complain about the rules changing; he used them to land Luther Burden III, the best recruit in the country, and kept him in Columbia when every powerhouse in the nation was trying to poach him.
As of early 2026, the roster is in a massive state of flux.
The transfer portal has been busy. The Missouri Tigers football coach has been working overtime to replace Beau Pribula, who hit the portal after a 7-3 run as a starter in 2025. Drinkwitz didn't panic. He went out and signed Austin Simmons, a high-upside quarterback from the portal, and landed Oregon cornerback Sione Laulea to shore up the secondary.
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The 2026 Recruiting Outlook
The Tigers currently have a top-25 class for 2026. Drinkwitz has already secured 22 commitments. He’s leaning heavily into the "trenches" philosophy—signing guys like offensive tackle Will Kemna and defensive lineman Donta Simpson.
It's a "blue-collar" approach masked by a "new-age" social media presence.
He knows Missouri can't out-recruit Georgia for every five-star. So, he finds the guys with chips on their shoulders. He finds the Ahmad Hardys of the world—the freshman back who became a Doak Walker finalist in 2025 despite not being a household name out of high school.
What Most People Get Wrong About Drinkwitz
A lot of folks think he's just a "rah-rah" guy.
That’s a mistake. Honestly, if you talk to people inside the North End Zone facility, they’ll tell you he’s a massive nerd for data and efficiency. He’s obsessed with time of possession and turnover margin. In 2023, Mizzou was top-10 in several "efficiency" categories.
His background as an offensive coordinator at NC State and Boise State shows up in the way he manages a game. He’s conservative when he needs to be and aggressive when the math says to go for it.
The "annoying" persona? It’s partly calculated.
Every time he makes a viral comment or wears a goofy shirt, people talk about Missouri. For a program that spent decades being "the other team" in the SEC East, any talk is good talk. He’s built a brand. He’s made Mizzou "cool" to a generation of kids who grew up only seeing them as a middling program.
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The Road to 2026 and Beyond
The honeymoon period is officially over.
The 11-win season of 2023 feels like a lifetime ago in the "what have you done for me lately" world of the SEC. The $250 million renovation of Memorial Stadium is set to finish for the 2026 season. The school is investing like a blue blood.
That means the expectations are no longer "just make a bowl."
For Eli Drinkwitz to justify that $10.75 million salary in 2026, he has to solve the "Ranked Opponent" problem. You can't go 0-5 against the Top 25 and expect the fan base to stay quiet, especially with a 20-game home sellout streak on the line.
He’s got the resources. He’s got the new stadium. He’s got the NIL backing.
Now, he needs the wins that actually matter in November.
Actionable Insights for Mizzou Fans
If you're watching this program move into the 2026 season, keep an eye on these three specific areas:
- The Quarterback Competition: Watch how Austin Simmons handles the transition. Drinkwitz’s system requires a high-IQ playmaker who doesn't turn the ball over. If the QB play is shaky, the whole house of cards falls.
- The Defensive Front: Mizzou lost some key pieces to the portal and the NFL. Their success in 2026 depends on whether the new transfers can hold the line in the SEC’s physical trenches.
- The Schedule: The SEC is only getting tougher. Look at the October stretch. If they can't snag a win against a top-15 program there, the "ceiling" conversation will get very loud, very fast.
The Missouri Tigers football coach has proven he can build a winner. Now, he has to prove he can keep it there. It's one thing to climb the mountain; it's another thing entirely to live on the peak while everyone else is trying to knock you off.
Missouri has decided Eli Drinkwitz is their guy. Now we see if he can deliver the championship he's been promising since he first stepped on campus.