After whirlwind weekend, Eliah Drinkwitz seizes ‘opportunity of a lifetime’ at Mizzou
Hours after Eliah Drinkwitz coached Appalachian State to the Sun Belt Conference title last Saturday, Missouri officials wanted to chat. They had a head coaching vacancy, and after an initial list of candidates leaked out, Drinkwitz’s name shot up athletic director Jim Sterk’s list.
But first, Drinkwitz had to watch his daughter perform in the “The Nutcracker.”
It left a delegation of Sterk, University of Missouri System president Mun Choi and other MU officials waiting for Drinkwitz. The contingent flew Saturday evening to North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, spoke to Drinkwitz and returned in a few hours.
By Sunday afternoon, Mizzou and Sterk got their guy. Tuesday morning, they introduced Drinkwitz as Mizzou football’s 33rd head coach during a news conference in front of fans, donors, school officials and seemingly everyone involved with the program.
“What an incredible honor to be your head football coach,” Drinkwitz said as his first public comments as Mizzou coach. “For me this is an opportunity of a lifetime and opportunities of a lifetime must be seized within a lifetime of an opportunity.”
Drinkwitz, 36, led the Mountaineers to a 12-1 record in his first season as a head coach. By Monday evening, he was addressing his new Mizzou players in a team meeting, pitching his vision of the Tigers’ future.
Wide receiver Barrett Banister described Drinkwitz’s speech as “energetic,” breathing some life into the players. Banister said they were a bit dejected after Barry Odom was fired, but Drinkwitz lifted some spirits.
“The thing I told them was, ‘You didn’t choose me, I chose you,’” Drinkwitz said. “I’m going to work 365 days a year to get your trust and respect, and earn your trust and respect. That’s what we’re going to try to do.”
While Drinkwitz spoke to his players, his first priority turns to recruiting. From the onset of the eight-day coaching search, Sterk said they wanted to hire a coach swiftly because the early signing period runs from Dec. 18-20.
With a coach now in place, Drinkwitz said his first few days will be similar to “speed dating” to convince recruits to play for him.
“We’re going to spend every single minute trying to recruit this state,” Drinkwitz said. “It starts with the state of Missouri. We’re going to St. Louis, we’re going to Kansas City ... we’re going to the northern tip. If you play football in MIssouri, we’re going to get you and we’re going to get you here.”
But that’s where Drinkwitz said he will rely on his past head coaching experience, no matter how little. Though Drinkwitz coached just one year at Appalachian State, he was in a similar scenario with recruiting last season. He added there were lessons he learned in the rush last year to ensure he doesn’t repeat those same mistakes.
“Experience is the best teacher,” Drinkwitz said. “I’ve got a handle on all that. By no means do I have the book written. We’re learning every single day and I look forward to learning what’s going to work best for Mizzou.”
Drinkwitz, set to earn $4 million annually over six years, was a highly sought-after commodity. Arkansas was reportedly in talks with Drinkwitz before hiring Sam Pittman.
It’s why Sterk said they offered Drinkwitz nearly $1 million more per year compared to Odom, who was fired Nov. 30 after four years and a 25-25 record.
“It’s crazy what the salaries are, but we’re not out of line,” Sterk said. “It’s a fluid marketplace. We needed to pay the right amount to get the right person.”
Drinkwitz brings modern-day, up-tempo offensive principles to Columbia after years of experience as an assistant. Like with the Mountaineers, he will assume offensive coordinator and play-calling duties.
On defense, Drinkwitz said that’s still up in the air. He added he will give some of Odom’s assistants a shot to interview for their old positions, though no promises were made. Defensive coordinator Ryan Walters is a candidate to remain after the Mizzou defense had a stellar year.
In the short term, Mizzou celebrated Drinkwitz’s hire. But Sterk stressed before the coaching search he wants a perennial Top 25 program. Aside from a minor blip from Drinkwitz when he said he wants to win the Sun Belt, the new coach echoed his new athletic director’s sentiments.
“I don’t live in realistic expectations, I shoot for the moon,” Drinkwitz said. “We’re going to try to do what we started to do. Whether we get there, I don’t know. We’re going to work on trying to be the very best team we can be today.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 4:55 PM.