Missouri Tigers football coach Eli Drinkwitz is getting his due as one of the top candidates of the current hiring cycle. The way he turned Mizzou around after Barry Odom's uneven run makes him deserving of the "program-builder" label, even if he's a slow-builder who only saw success during his fourth year in CoMo.
The Columbia Daily Tribune's Calum McAndrew believes Drinkwitz is a program-builder that the Penn State Nittany Lions, LSU Tigers, Florida Gators, and Auburn Tigers would be "silly" not to interview.
"From a purely program-building standpoint, there is currently no level-headed or reasonable argument yet that Mizzou would be in a better place without him. That’s just not the case," McAndrew wrote.
"The Tigers entered this season within touching distance of a third straight double-digit campaign, which would be a program first. Mizzou was 26-5 over its previous 31 games heading into the Alabama matchup on Oct. 11 this season.
"Penn State, LSU, Florida and Auburn would be silly not to inquire about Drinkwitz. We’re not going to guess what happens, but he will be a hot name in the coaching carousel — and rightfully so. Remember where Missouri was after 2019?"
McAndrew made the case that Mizzou would be hard-pressed to replace him with anyone better, meaning any amount on a blank check would be worth continuing to build something sustainable in Columbia.
If there's any bidding war for Drinkwitz's services, it's one that LSU, Florida, and Auburn should steer clear of. While there's a case to be made that Drinkwitz's demeanor is a good fit for Penn State, his comments about teams that don't make the College Football Playoff still having successful seasons are a non-starter in Baton Rouge, Gainesville, or the Plains. Or at least should be.
If anything, the real silly thing would be for those schools to enter any prospective bidding war for the 42-year-old. Especially AU, who fired a coach with a nearly identical disposition five years ago in Gus Malzahn.