Eli Drinkwitz identified as potential candidate for vacant Florida State job
By Mark Kern
Published:
Eli Drinkwitz has had a ton of success as the coach, and once again has Missouri in a spot where the Tigers could contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Because of his success, other teams may have interest in bringing him in to be their new coach.
On Sunday, Florida State made news when it announced that coach Mike Norvell was being fired after the Seminoles fell to 3-5 with a loss to Clemson on Sunday.
It didn’t take long for Drinkwitz to hear his name associated with the Seminoles, as he was listed as a potential candidate by ESPN for the vacancy:
His name surfaced during an active coaching cycle in 2025, including for other jobs in the SEC, but he stayed put for a seventh season at Missouri. Drinkwitz likely would leave the SEC only for one of the better jobs in another league, and Florida State would have to sell him on its roster budget and overall investment in the program. The 43-year-old has shown he can recruit and succeed with portal players. He also has a clear vision for how he runs a program. Drinkwitz has ACC experience at NC State but has never coached in Florida or the Southeast. He’s 64-32 overall as an FBS coach with a No. 8 finish in 2023. Mizzou recently romped past then-No. 8 Florida but has struggled against other ranked opponents.
During his time as the coach at Missouri, Drinkwitz has a record of 51-31, and has won at least eight games in each of the last three seasons.
At 6-2, Missouri still has a ton to play for. How the Tigers do in the next three games could play a huge role in how interested Florida State or any school is in Drinkwitz. The Tigers host Texas last week, then have games at Georgia, and then host Kentucky the following week. That is three straight games against teams currently ranked in the Top 10.
Before Missouri, he was the coach at App State for one year, and finished with a 12-1 record.
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