3 Missouri defensive assistants to reportedly stay on staff under Eli Drinkwitz
By Jake Rill
Published:
There won’t be a complete overhaul for Missouri’s staff in 2020.
According to FootballScoop, new Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz is expected to retain several defensive assistants from former head coach Barry Odom’s staff. Defensive coordinator/safeties coach Ryan Walters, defensive line coach Brick Haley and defensive backs coach David Gibbs are all expected to stay at Missouri.
Walters has held various roles over his five seasons with the Tigers. In addition to coaching either the safeties or secondary every year, he was co-defensive coordinator from 2016-17 and has been the defensive coordinator since 2018.
Haley has been with the Tigers the past three seasons, also serving as senior associate head coach the past two years. He’s a longtime assistant coach who has had success coaching Missouri’s defensive line.
Gibbs just completed his first season at Missouri after previous stints with Houston (2013-14) and Texas Tech (2015-18).
Missouri introduced Drinkwitz as its new head coach on Tuesday, as he was hired after spending only one season as the head coach at Appalachian State. He had a successful year with the Mountaineers, leading them to a 12-1 record and the Sun Belt championship.
With these three defensive assistants expected to return, Drinkwitz will have less work to do in filling out his staff, although he’ll still have some other decisions to make.
Jake Rill contributes to news coverage for Saturday Down South. He has covered the SEC since 2016.
