Missouri fends off circling programs with massive Eli Drinkwitz extension

When the coaching carousel starts spinning, a program can quickly find out where they stand on the totem pole in college football. The Missouri Tigers became an interesting program to follow when the offseason began as Eli Drinkwitz's success had quickly made him one of the hottest names on the coaching market.

While Lane Kiffin has become the center of the coaching carousel, you could argue that Eli Drinkwitz is right there with him. Florida and LSU are both in the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes, but both schools along with Penn State could've tried to pull Drinkwitz away from Missouri.

Missouri extends Eli Drinkwitz on massive contract extension

On Thanksgiving as Lane Kiffin prepares for the Egg Bowl with Florida and LSU waiting on his decision, Missouri moved quickly to ensure they wouldn't have to replace their head coach signing Eli Drinkwitz to a massive extension that pays him roughly $10.7 million per year.

The decision by Missouri is significant as it prevents LSU or Florida from stealing their head coach away. Eli Drinkwitz has built a winner at Missouri where it's not the easiest place to win, and he's deserving of coaching there for as long as he'd like. It would be impossible for Missouri to fully replace Drinkwitz, and making sure you aren't rolling the dice is worth the financial investment.

While Eli Drinkwitz gets the big bump in salary, this deal likely means more for the way the program is funded. Missouri will likely now go all-in with Drinkwitz, making sure he has what it takes to build a roster like his SEC foes.

Eli Drinkwitz remaining at Missouri now changes the coaching carousel for LSU and Florida, especially if Lane Kiffin stays at Ole Miss. Most of the top coaches have already signed extensions with their programs, which could lead to both SEC schools getting desperate which never ends well in a coaching search.