Eli Drinkwitz explains decision to sign contract extension with Mizzou amid outside interest
By David Wasson
Published:
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz was briefly enveloped in the unprecedented 2025 college football coaching carousel before signing a new 6-year deal worth an average of $10.75 million per season to stay with the Tigers.
Saturday, following Mizzou’s 31-17 road win against Arkansas that finished up an 8-4 campaign, Drinkwitz elaborated on his decision to re-sign with the Tigers.
“This place has been nothing but great to me. So I just felt like we weren’t done yet,” Drinkwitz said. “That North end zone (expansion) isn’t completed, and so my job here isn’t completed yet. I appreciate the way our administration handled it. There wasn’t any pressure or badgering or anything like that.
“Saturday night after the game against (Oklahoma), I sent (Mizzou AD) Laird (Veatch) a text saying let’s get this thing done. Let’s finish this thing the way we want to finish it.”
Drinkwitz, 42, is 46-28 in 6 seasons at Missouri. He also coached 1 season at Appalachian State in 2019, going 12-1 with a Sun Belt Championship. He turned in 11-2 and 10-3 seasons prior to 2025 and had the Tigers ranked as high as No. 14 in the country midway through the current season.
The Tigers spent 10 weeks in 2025 as a ranked team.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
