At Eli Drinkwitz’s formal introduction in December of 2019 — before Covid and a coordinator carousel, Cody and Cook — Mizzou’s new football coach maximized his axioms.
As I wrote that winter day, “Over and over, Drinkwitz dropped clever turns-of-phrases and plays-on-words that would make for a motivational poster. When he said them, he pronounced them with conviction, with the speed and fluidness of a megachurch pastor.â€
Now, that can play two ways. It can come off as authentic and motivating … or over-the-top and cheesy.
Well, mottos have become his M.O. and it’s sure working at Missouri for Drinkwitz, whose success has been defined by his teams living up his adages and acronyms.
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By playing for each other and playing through injury — as seen by three key Tigers in their Cotton Bowl win — the Tigers epitomize Drinkwitz’s “brotherhood forged in the wilderness.â€
And they sure play with an edge — that being Drinkwitz’s abbreviation for “energy, details, grit and emotional consistency.â€
And now, the buy-in is paying off — not only in a bowl victory to give Mizzou 11 wins, but also, as announced Sunday, in a Drinkwitz raise and contract extension through 2028.
Drinkwitz deserves every penny he squeezed out of Truman The Tiger’s bank account. Yes, it was just one season, but this was one statement of a season. Missouri matters again following an 11-2 campaign. And the Tigers have their quarterback, top receiver and both coordinators returning for 2024 — and a top-25 recruiting class coming to Columbia.
But the whole thing works because Drinkwitz’s culture is enticing to the players. He pulls it off (many coaches use clever phrasing and messaging, but many coaches don’t go 11-2). The Mizzou players want to be part of this — everyone from Luther Burden III, the five-star recruit who signed with a Tiger team out of the top-25, to Williams Nwaneri, the five-star prospect who highlights the incoming class. And guys generally stay — Drinkwitz has come out with a net-positive in the transfer portal.
And Drinkwitz, 40, presses the right buttons with his players. Occasionally that means being silly, but in a positive way (be it with his quick quips or his cowboy hats, plural, during the Cotton Bowl week in Texas). Other times, it’s saying the exact right thing at the exact right time.
“Johnny Walker, didn’t play a whole lot (in 2022),†Drinkwitz said. “Last year before the bowl game, he came in and talked to me about, ‘Coach, should I transfer? Do you believe in me?’ … I told him, ‘I believe in you, man. Come back. Earn it.’ And all he’s done is developed into the (defensive) Most Valuable Player of the 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.â€
Drinkwitz’s “S.T.P.†was mentioned innumerable times this fall as his players, personally and collectively, who believed they had “something to prove.â€
The coach recently shared that a sign in the Mizzou locker room reads: “When the weakest choose to run, we stand shoulder to shoulder and move forward together.â€
And with his offense, Drinkwitz talks about “chopping wood.â€
And after Mizzou, down 3-0, scored 14 points in the Cotton Bowl fourth quarter, quarterback Brady Cook said: “The offense showed grit — we just kept chopping. We still believed in the game plan.â€
Clearly, Drinkwitz is a smart football mind. His Xs and Os got him to Columbia — and now barring unforeseen circumstances will keep him until, at least, 2028. But he also is a savvy and likable communicator. Over the years, many on Twitter/X have aptly compared Drinkwitz to the character Ted Lasso.
Regarding Missouri’s 2023 success, it’s fair to point out that football is a game of inches and momentum and moments. What happens to the 2023 Tigers if Harrison Mevis misses his game-winning, 61-yard field goal against Kansas State? What if Mizzou doesn’t convert its fourth-and-17 play late in the game against the Florida Gators? But the success of those plays validate the coaching and the preaching and the believing.
And here we are.
It’s now 2024 and one can make a case that Mizzou will be in the next College Football Playoff, which will have 12 teams. And those Tigers will be led by their passionate, unwavering coach, the man who shouted the following on ESPN after the Cotton Bowl: “I’m just so proud of our team. Tonight was a testament to a wilderness brotherhood, a bunch of guys that have fought through adversity their entire lives and career. We’re not blue bloods. We’re a dirty, hard-working brotherhood that loves each other and fights for each other.
“We scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. We put our fist up. We said, ‘We’re not giving in — we’re faster, stronger, tougher than you in the fourth quarter.’ We’ve got an elite edge. And we’re not going to be denied. And now, we’re the Cotton Bowl champs.â€