The first defection of the Mizzou coaching staff came on Thursday afternoon. Tight ends coach Casey Woods is headed to SMU to be the Mustangs' offensive coordinator, PowerMizzou.com has confirmed with a source. Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports first reported the move.
Woods will be reuinted with new SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee, who took over for Sonny Dykes this week. Lashlee and Woods got their starts together at Auburn in 2009 when Lashlee was a graduate assistant and Woods was an offensive quality control assistant.
Woods had coached at Arkansas State, Auburn and UAB since and came to Missouri to coach tight ends under Eli Drinkwitz prior to the 2020 season. Drinkwitz was also on the Auburn staff with Woods and Lashlee in 2010 as a quality control assistant.
Earlier this week, tight ends Daniel Parker Jr. and Messiah Swinson both entered the transfer portal, though the moves are not thought to be related. Perhaps more importantly, Woods is Missouri's recruiting coordinator. The next two weekends are the final official visit weekends prior to the early signing period on December 15th. Thursday will be Woods' final day at Missouri before he leaves for his new job.
Earlier in the day it was also reported that Drinkwitz would remove the interim tag from defensive line coach Al Davis, elevating him to the permanent position.
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