Eli Drinkwitz just had the best season of his Missouri tenure, and it keeps getting better after winning the AFCA Coach of the Year for the SEC.

Drinkwitz led Missouri to a New Year’s bowl after winning just 6 games the previous year. The Tigers will be playing Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium.

The other winners were Florida State’s Mike Norvell, Northwestern’s David Braun, New Mexico’s Jerry Kill, and Washington’s Kalen DeBoer. The winners were grouped by region, and Drinkwitz won Region 2.

Appalachian State was Drinkwitz’ first head coaching job. He led the Mountaineers to a 12-1 record before accepting the Missouri job in at the end of 2019.

It took a few seasons for Drinkwitz to really get going in Columbia, but he has still yet to not finish the regular season at .500 or better.

The winners of the award will be honored on Jan. 9 in Nashville, Tennessee at the 2024 AFCA Convention. It has been a special season for the Tigers under Drinkwitz.