Drinkwitz embarks on "opportunity of a lifetime"
After he had finished speaking from behind a podium, then fielding questions from reporters, then shaking hands with curators and donors, Eliah Drinkwitz made sure to find Gary Pinkel. Missouri’s newest football coach, whose hire was unanimously approved by the Board of Curators Tuesday morning, finished his first appearance in front of the Tiger faithful by shaking hands with the school’s all-time winningest coach. Never a bad idea to get Pinkel, and the fans whose admiration he won over during 15 seasons in Columbia, in your corner.
Drinkwitz did just that at his introductory press conference. After walking through fake smoke, past cheerleaders and the pep band, and pulling on a Mizzou visor, Drinkwitz earned applause with his witty one-liners and earnest talk of winning with “class, integrity and academic excellence.” He said it was a difficult decision to leave Appalachian State, but he called coaching at Missouri “the opportunity of a lifetime.”
“This wasn't just another job,” said Drinkwitz, who left Appalachian State after just one season. “It was an opportunity of a lifetime. And I preach all the time that if an opportunity presents itself, you have to be bold enough to take it.”
One of the primary responsibilities of a new football coach, and one especially important for Drinkwitz in light of athletics director Jim Sterk’s explanation that former coach Barry Odom “lost momentum” in the second half of last season, is generating energy. Reinvigorating the fanbase became a theme Tuesday espoused by both Sterk and Drinkwitz. At least judging by the crowd packed into the Show-Me club in the south end zone complex at Faurot Field, Drinkwitz is off to a good start in that regard.
“We're going to do this by reigniting the passion that we have for Mizzou football,” Drinkwitz said. “The fan base, our state, from Kansas City to St. Louis, from the cod to the northern tip. We're all going to unite behind our love for Missouri.”
After all the necessary hands had been shaken, on his way out the door, Drinkwitz filled up a cup of coffee. For a coach who’s yet to lose a game at his current school, press conferences are the easy part. Now, Drinkwitz has to try to keep Missouri’s recruiting class intact before the early signing period begins on Dec. 18, assemble a coaching staff, evaluate the current roster and implement his own schemes and ideas. He talked Tuesday about what Tiger fans can expect from his regime.
Drinkwitz’s first priority will be assembling a signing class. He expects to spend the next 24 hours recruiting, likely beginning with those players who committed to Odom.
“It's going to be a little bit like speed dating right now,” Drinkwitz said. “We're going to try to show them who we are as quickly as we can. But people fall in love with Mizzou. So I know that the guys that are currently committed to us, who are still committed, love Mizzou football. And all they need to do is see that I love Mizzou football as much as they do.”
Drinkwitz called recruiting as a whole the “lifeblood of our program.” As a former high school coach, he said he knows how to establish relationships with coaches and players. He vowed to place extra emphasis on keeping in-state prospects home, but he also noted Missouri’s past success recruiting Texas and expressed a desire to continue that pipeline.
“We're going to spend every single minute trying to recruit this state, because it starts with the state of Missouri,” Drinkwitz said. “... If you can play football for Mizzou, we're going to get you and we're going to get you here.”
Next on the priority list will be hiring a staff of assistant coaches. Drinkwitz’s lucrative contract allows him $5.2 million to hire 10 full-time assistants. Drinkwitz didn’t announce any assistants Tuesday, but said he expects news of hires to “trickle out” over the coming days. Footballscoop.com has reported that former defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, defensive line coach Brick Haley and cornerbacks coach David Gibbs are likely candidates to remain on Drinkwitz’s staff. Walters and Haley both attended Drinkwitz’s press conference.
One assistant position Drinkwitz won’t be filling is offensive coordinator. Drinkwitz, who served as the offensive coordinator for Boise State in 2015 and North Carolina State from 2016 to 2018, will call his own plays this season. He also served as his own offensive coordinator and play-caller while coaching Appalachian State last season. The Mountaineers ranked ninth nationally in scoring offense with 39.4 points per game.
“I firmly believe when you when you take over a program, you have to establish the expectation and foundation for what your experiences are,” Drinkwitz said. “For me, my background is a quarterbacks coach, developer and offensive coordinator. It’s what has allowed me the opportunity to be here. And so we're going to lay the foundation of what the expectation of offensive football looks like.
“Will I call plays forever? I don't know. But I’m going to call plays the first day of spring practice and as long as I need to.”
Drinkwitz described his offensive philosophy as up-tempo and pro-style. He vowed that the Tigers will have a dominant downhill running game and present a vertical passing threat. He said Missouri will be “fun to watch.” Defensively, he placed the greatest importance on tackling and turnovers. He expects Missouri to stop the run and “confuse, harass and hit the quarterback.”
Drinkwitz also dedicated some time to explaining his special teams philosophy, calling it “the heartbeat of our football program.” He said one of his assistant coaches will be a special teams coordinator who has no other duties, and he expects the best players to play on special teams, no matter how valuable they may be elsewhere. He noted that, at Appalachian State, he awarded scholarships to a punter and a placekicker and signed a long-snapper to a scholarship.
“I love that Eli really stresses the special teams because he's right, the momentum of a game is changed on special teams,” Sterk said. “I'm excited about that combination.”
For the most part, Drinkwitz appeared calm and composed throughout Tuesday’s ordeal. He joked about his humble coaching roots, coaching a seventh-grade team in Alma, Arkansas, and when emcee Mike Kelly made an announcement about donating to the Tiger Scholarship Fund, Drinkwitz raised his hand and asked how he could sign up to become a donor. Only once did he show a sign that the whirlwind of the past three days had caught up to him. Laying out his goals for Missouri, Drinkwitz said the team will win the Sun Belt conference.
“You already did that,” Sterk piped in.
Drinkwitz quickly corrected himself and said the SEC East. He wasn’t shy about setting lofty goals for Missouri under his leadership, undoubtedly to the delight of the fans in attendance and the administration that is paying him $24 million for six years. Now, Drinkwitz sets about attempting to bring those goals to fruition.
“Our purpose is to win, make no mistake about it, but it's to win the right way,” Drinkwitz said. “And our goal, our stated goal, is going to be to win the ... SEC East, a bowl game, with class, integrity and academic excellence. I'm going to do it here.”