Eliah Drinkwitz
American football coach (born 1983) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eliah "Eli" Drinkwitz (born April 12, 1983) is an American college football coach who is the head football coach for Missouri, a position he has held since the 2020 season. He previously served as the head coach at Appalachian State in 2019; prior to this, he served as an assistant coach for NC State, Boise State, Arkansas State, and Auburn.
Drinkwitz at 2019 Sun Belt Media Day | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Missouri |
| Conference | SEC |
| Record | 38–24 |
| Annual salary | $9 million[1] |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | April 12, 1983 Norman, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Arkansas Tech (2004) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2005 | Alma HS (AR) (assistant) |
| 2006–2009 | Springdale HS (AR) (OC) |
| 2010–2011 | Auburn (QC) |
| 2012 | Arkansas State (RB) |
| 2013 | Arkansas State (co-OC/RB) |
| 2014 | Boise State (TE) |
| 2015 | Boise State (OC/QB) |
| 2016–2018 | NC State (OC/QB) |
| 2019 | Appalachian State |
| 2020–present | Missouri |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 50–25 (.667) |
| Bowls | 2–2 (.500) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 Sun Belt (2019) 1 Sun Belt East Division (2019) | |
| Awards | |
| 1 SEC Coach of the Year (2023) | |
Coaching career
Summarize
Perspective
Auburn
After coaching at Springdale High School (Arkansas), where he coached with Gus Malzahn in 2004, Drinkwitz moved to Auburn in 2009 to work on football operations as the quality control coach, and was on the coaching staff when Auburn won the 2010 National Championship under Gene Chizik.[2]
Arkansas State
In 2012, after two successful seasons with Auburn, he followed Gus Malzahn to Arkansas State, where he spent the 2011 and 2013 seasons as running backs coach, and in 2013 also served as co-offensive coordinator.
Boise State
In 2014, when Arkansas State head coach Bryan Harsin became head coach at Boise State, Drinkwitz joined his staff as the tight ends coach. In 2015, he was promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
NC State
In 2016, Drinkwitz was named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at NC State. He served in this position for three seasons, during which he won two bowl games and won 25 games. The Wolfpack also finished at #23 in the AP Poll in 2017.
Appalachian State
On December 13, 2018, Drinkwitz was hired as the head coach at Appalachian State University.[3] In his one season as head coach of the Mountaineers, he finished 12–1, with a victory over Louisiana in the 2019 Sun Belt championship.[4][5] He did not coach their bowl game.[6]
Missouri
On December 9, 2019, Drinkwitz was hired as the head coach of the Missouri Tigers,[7] replacing Barry Odom. In his first season with Mizzou, the Tigers compiled a record of 5–5, including a win over defending national champion LSU, who also finished 5-5.[8][9] In the 2021 season, Drinkwitz led Missouri to a 6–6 regular season record and an appearance in the Armed Forces Bowl, a 24–22 loss to Army.[10][11] In the 2022 season, Drinkwitz again led Missouri to a 6–6 regular season record.[12] Missouri qualified for the Gasparilla Bowl, where they lost to Wake Forest 27–17.[13] Drinkwitz led the Tigers to a breakout season in 2023, finishing the regular season 10–2 overall and 6–2 in the SEC. Missouri as a result would be selected to play the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl, which Missouri won 14–3.[14] On December 31, 2023, the University of Missouri announced a contract extension for Drinkwitz through the 2028 season which included a pay raise to $9 million for the 2024 season.[15]
On Friday, February 28, 2025, Coach Drinkwitz was the subject of a formal ethics complaint made to the Missouri Ethics Commission. The reasoning for the complaint was Drinkwitz's public on-air endorsement of 2025 mayoral election candidate Blair "Murph" Murphy during the February 25 airing of the university-affiliated "Tiger Talk" radio show. The complaint alleges Drinkwitz is in violation of the University of Missouri's employee political activity policy.[16]
Personal life
Drinkwitz was born in Norman, Oklahoma to Jerry and Susie Drinkwitz, but his parents and older siblings moved to the Alma, Arkansas area in 1984 when he was a year old. Being raised in Alma and playing football for the Alma Airedales is what led him to want to become a football coach, especially hearing the stories of his father playing for Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, during the 1960s. During his time at Alma, he was an All-Conference and All-State selection and was named FCA Huddle Leader of the Year.[17] He then chose to go to Russellville and received a bachelor's degree in education from Arkansas Tech University in 2004. Drinkwitz and his wife Lindsey have four daughters.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State Mountaineers (Sun Belt Conference) (2019) | |||||||||
| 2019 | Appalachian State | 12–1 | 8–1 | 1st (East) | New Orleans* | 18 | 19 | ||
| Appalachian State: | 12–1 | 8–1 | * Departed Appalachian State for Missouri before bowl game | ||||||
| Missouri Tigers (Southeastern Conference) (2020–present) | |||||||||
| 2020 | Missouri | 5–5 | 5–5 | 3rd (East) | Music City[n 1] | ||||
| 2021 | Missouri | 6–7 | 3–5 | T-4th (East) | L Armed Forces | ||||
| 2022 | Missouri | 6–7 | 3–5 | T-4th (East) | L Gasparilla | ||||
| 2023 | Missouri | 11–2 | 6–2 | 2nd (East) | W Cotton† | 8 | 8 | ||
| 2024 | Missouri | 10–3 | 5–3 | T–4th | W Music City | 20 | 22 | ||
| Missouri: | 38–24 | 22–20 | |||||||
| Total: | 50–25 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Notes
- The 2020 Music City Bowl was canceled due to COVID-19 issues.
References
External links
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