When Eli Drinkwitz took over in Columbia just over a year ago, he decided to retain three coaches from Barry Odom’s staff. Now all three of those assistant coaches are set to leave Missouri’s program after working with Drinkwitz for one season.
That’s because the lone remaining holdover on staff, secondary coach David Gibbs, is leaving Mizzou to join Gus Malzahn’s UCF staff.
News of Gibbs’ departure from Missouri is being reported by Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. Feldman is reporting that Gibbs is expected to be named co-defensive coordinator for Malzahn’s UCF program. Malzahn later confirmed the news.
Gibbs joins former Mizzou defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, who left for the same job at Illinois, and former Mizzou defensive line coach Brick Haley as defensive coaches to leave Drinkwitz’s program this offseason.
Following Walters’ departure, Drinkwitz hired former NFL coach Steve Wilks to serve as Missouri’s new defensive coordinator. The Tigers then replaced Haley with Jethro Franklin. Gibbs’ departure now clears the way for Drinkwitz to remake the Missouri defensive staff with a coach picked by Wilks before heading into spring practice.
Gibbs joined Missouri’s staff from Texas Tech, where he served as defensive coordinator for four seasons. He’s served a total of 11 seasons as a defensive coordinator in the college ranks.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
