Throughout the 2020's, there hasn't been a coach on a quicker path to stardom than Missouri Head Coach Eli Drinkwitz. After going 12-1 in his first season as a Head Coach at Appalachian State, Missouri quickly called Eli Drinkwitz bringing him to the SEC. The first few seasons weren't as successful with a 5-5 showing in his first season followed by back-to-back 6-7 seasons.
After getting the program built to the way he envisioned it, the Missouri Tigers have started to take off. In 2023, the Tigers went 11-2 with a 6-2 record in the SEC finishing 8th in the Country before taking a slight step back in 2024 with a 10-3 record going 5-3 in the SEC.
While Missouri had plenty of time to consider Eli Drinkwitz's next contract after extending him through 2028 in 2023, they didn't need to think twice extending Drinkwitz through 2029.
NEWS: Missouri has extended head coach Eli Drinkwitz through the 2029 season🐯https://t.co/4WFlk50oip pic.twitter.com/uLzRTJs7bG
— On3 (@On3sports) July 24, 2025
While Eli Drinkwitz is only extended one season, this new extension has a much bigger impact on the program as a whole. The new extension gives Drinkwitz a pool of $12 million from which he can pay his assistants nearly doubling the previous figure which was $6.4 million.
The new pool of assets will be massive for Drinkwitz moving forward as he looks to build continuity in his staff. The LSU Tigers recently lured away defensive coordinator Blake Baker making him the highest paid defensive coordinator in the Country which Eli Drinkwitz simply couldn't match. The Missouri Head Coach likely new this bump in funding was on the horizon, hinting at SEC Media Days that an extension for defensive coordinator Corey Batoon is on the horizon.
Under Eli Drinkwitz, the next step is now making the College Football Playoff and with the way Drinkwitz builds his rosters, the Tigers are certainly on the horizon.