As the Florida Gators await a message from Lane Kiffin on whether or not he will be the next head coach in Gainesville, Scott Stricklin and crew are emphasizing possible backup options if Kiffin loses. Some have seen this as a sign that the Gators don’t think they will land Kiffin, though most would argue that this is just Florida doing their due diligence.
Either way, one of the Plan B options that seemed to be in the mix for the Gators is now off the table.
Eli Drinkwitz signs extension
Missouri announced yesterday that Eli Drinkwitz has signed an extension that will bring his annual salary to $10.7 million.
Drinkwitz moved to Missouri in 2020 after one season as the head coach at App State. Before that, he was the OC at NC State.
Missouri has been a complicated program to try to evaluate under Drinkwitz. He did not have a winning season in any of his first three years in Columbia, MO, before back-to-back campaigns of 11-2 and 10-3 in 2023 and 2024.
But the problem for Drinkwitz, and the reason we here at Hail Florida Hell were so against the idea of hiring Kiffin at Florida if he failed, is that Missouri is built on smoke and mirrors.
And it has shown in this season.
The Tigers are 7-4 overall and 3-4 in SEC play. Even though Missouri was ranked for most of the season, they themselves did not beat a ranked team all year and went 0–4 against ranked opponents. Last year, they were 1-3 against ranked opponents, and that one win was against a ranked Boston College team that only got a promotion because it defeated a 2-10 FSU team in the Sooners.
Missouri’s “rise” has been boosted by the fact that it benefited from a super-soft schedule by SEC standards, but it’s clear that they fell short when it actually had to play someone good.
Even in their 11–2 season, they had to convert a fourth-and-17 to defeat a 5–7 Florida team led by Billy Napier.
So if Kiffin goes down, Florida will need to look elsewhere than Drinkwitz.
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