Mizzou football announces new offensive coordinator. He’s been a head coach before
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mizzou hires Chip Lindsey as offensive coordinator, bringing OC and head‑coach experience.
- Lindsey arrives after stints at Michigan, UNC, Auburn and a Troy head‑coaching tenure.
- Staff moves pair with Drinkwitz extension and new personnel hire to bolster recruiting.
The Missouri Tigers have their new offensive coordinator. And they’ve hired a name with plenty of big-time experience leading offenses and programs and developing quarterbacks.
Chip Lindsey will take over the MU offense following the departure of Kirby Moore to be the head coach at Washington State. Lindsey, most recently the offensive coordinator at Michigan, has also served as O.C. at North Carolina, Auburn, Arizona State, UCF and Southern Miss. He was the head coach at Troy from 2019-21.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported this deal is for three years and that Lindsey will be Missouri’s play-caller.
One part of Lindsey’s coaching history omitted — perhaps intentionally — from the Mizzou Athletics release announcing his hire is that he also served as offensive coordinator at Border War rival Kansas for around one month under Les Miles, before departing to take the head coaching job at Troy.
Notably, Lindsey has coached NFL quarterbacks at multiple stops in Drake Maye (UNC), Jarrett Stidham (Auburn) and Nick Mullens (Southern Miss).
“We are excited to welcome Chip Lindsey to Mizzou to lead our offense,” coach Eli Drinkwitz said in a news release. “He does a tremendous job of not only coaching and developing players but organizing and implementing the offense. He is an excellent offensive mind with a wide range of experience from high school to offensive coordinator to college head coach. Chip is a tremendous addition to our coaching staff and someone who can seamlessly transition into the job.”
Lindsey’s Michigan offense last season averaged 213.2 rushing yards per game, ranking 15th nationally, while he also worked with a true freshman quarterback in Bryce Underwood (2,229 passing yards, 14 total touchdowns).
The job may be somewhat similar at Mizzou, with Matt Zollers in position to compete for the starting job in 2026. Zollers took snaps as a true freshman following injuries to both starter Beau Pribula (expected to enter the transfer portal) and backup Sam Horn, who competed for the job in 2025.
Pribula threw for 1,941 yards with 17 touchdowns (six rushing) and nine interceptions. Zollers logged 15-plus pass attempts three times, totalling 327 passing yards in those games with three passing touchdowns and one interception. He threw another touchdown pass in late-game action of a 61-6 blowout over Central Arkansas.
“I could not be happier to have the opportunity to work with Eli Drinkwitz in Columbia,” Lindsey said. “What Coach Drinkwitz has done at Mizzou over that past six years is remarkable. You couple that with the commitment the University of Missouri has made to the football program, this is one of the most attractive coordinator jobs in the country. The commitment and infrastructure in place from an organizational standpoint and the talent on the field is truly exciting.”
Lindsey, who at one point was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Auburn, was an offensive analyst when the Tigers appeared in the national championship game in 2013. He went 15-19 as head coach at Troy; in his second season, the offense ranked 25th nationally with 33.8 points per game.
Much of his acclaim comes from his two seasons at North Carolina, where in one season the Tar Heels led the ACC in rushing offense.
In 2023, North Carolina ranked seventh nationally with 491.2 total yards per contest. The Tar Heels scored 34.5 points per game (No. 20 nationally) while Maye became the No. 3 pick in the following NFL Draft. Lindsey also coached an All-America running back there in Omarion Hampton.
Lindsey, 51, is from Madison, Alabama, and attended North Alabama as a football player before transferring to Alabama to finish out his schooling. He also has experience as a high school coach in Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia.
The Tigers have had a busy offseason, extending Drinkwitz’s contract through 2031 and recently announcing the hire of Jake Breske as president of player personnel and recruiting.
This story was originally published December 21, 2025 at 12:16 PM.
