COLUMBIA, Mo. _ Missouri has its next football coach, pending approval by the UM System Board of Curators. Missouri and Appalachian State's Eliah Drinkwitz have agreed to terms on a deal for the 36-year-old to become the Tigers next head coach, a university source confirmed Sunday night. The Board is expected to announce a public meeting Monday morning to formally approve the contract. ESPN's Chris Lowe reported the news first.
Missouri and Arkansas were both in the running for Drinkwitz when the day began, but several reports have the Razorbacks hiring Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman as their new head coach.
A private plane landed at Columbia Regional Airport shortly before midnight Saturday coming directly from Wilkes County Airport, which is less than 50 miles from Boone, N.C., home of Drinkwitz and site of Saturday's Sun Belt Conference championship game.
Earlier in the day Saturday, Drinkwitz led Appalachian State to a 45-38 victory over Louisiana in the Sun Belt title game, pushing App State's record to 12-1 under the first-year coach.
Drinkwitz, 36, originally from Norman, Okla., will replace Barry Odom, who was fired last Saturday following the Tigers' 6-6 season. He was 25-25 in four seasons at MU.
Drinkwitz attended Arkansas Tech and got his start coaching at the high school level in Arkansas, where he built a relationship with another offensive-minded coach whose career was just taking off, Gus Malzahn. Drinkwitz later coached with Malzahn at Auburn and Arkansas State then spent two years as an offensive assistant at Boise State. He was North Carolina State's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2016-18.
Hired to replace departing Scott Satterfield after the 2018 season, Drinkwitz inherited a loaded Appalachian State roster but elevated the program to new heights: The Mountaineers beat two Power Five teams this season, North Carolina and South Carolina, on the way to a fourth straight Sun Belt championship.
After Saturday's game, Drinkwitz was asked about his name surfacing in job rumors.
"I hate to make this comparison, but the President of the United States always says 'fake news' and you don't believe about it until you start seeing it about yourself," Drinkwitz said. "There's a lot fake news and rumors and stuff going on out there. Our focus this week was being 1-0. My family and I love it here. We're very excited about what we're doing here at App State. But at the same time every opportunity I owe it to my family to see if that's something we're interested in. I'm not in any hurry to leave. We feel strongly we're building something special here that can be sustained for a long period of time. ... When all that stuff plays out we'll answer that stuff. Right now there's nothing to it."
Asked if he'd been contacted by Arkansas, Drinkwitz said, "I haven't checked my phone yet. But we'll see. I don't know."
"I understand you all got jobs to do and it's going to be crazy time, but the most important thing for me is to enjoy the moment," he added. "We'll figure it all out. The best answer I have for you is I don't know. That's just being honest."
Drinkwitz is in the first year of a five-year contract that pays him $750,000 per year.
"I'm currently under contract and feel strongly about my contract," Drinkwitz said. "I know Doug and our chancellor are doing everything to make this a premier Group of Five program."
Doug is App State athletics director Doug Gillin, who was Mizzou's deputy AD from 2012-15.
Drinkwitz is far less experienced as a head coach than the three options Sterk presented informally to members of the UM System Board of Curators as top candidates: Arkansas State's Blake Anderson, Army's Jeff Monken and Louisiana Tech's Skip Holtz. Those three, each in their 50s, have a combined 36 seasons as head coaches at current FBS programs. But Drinkwitz's youth and explosive offense at a nationally ranked program perhaps made him a more appealing candidate. This year's App State team ranks No. 9 nationally in scoring (39.4 points per game) and among the top 25 in rushing and passing efficiency. Drinkwitz's specialty is offense, but his staff includes veteran defensive coordinator Ted Roof, a former head coach at Duke and coordinator at eight FBS schools, including Auburn and Penn State.
