By MATT PIKE
Missouri has agreed to a new six-year contract with coach Eliah Drinkwitz, keeping the head coach that helped turn around the football program at the university for the foreseeable future.
Drinkwitz signed for an average annual compensation of $10.75 million, the school announced Thursday. The move is an aggressive one by Missouri to keep Drinkwitz near the top of the country’s highest-paid coaches, as his base salary will increase to $10.25 million in 2026, which is up from $9 million in 2025.
Drinkwitz received interest from several of the top jobs on the carousel, and the move by the school to agree to a new deal with him is reflective of the trend seen at places like Indiana, SMU and Nebraska in an effort to keep their coaches.
Drinkwitz led Missouri to back-to-back double-digit win seasons in 2023 and 2024, and the program has qualified for its sixth straight bowl game. The Tigers rose to as high as #8 in the Associated Press poll in 2023 and #6 in 2024. This year, Missouri climbed to #14.
During his tenure, Missouri has wins over Ohio State, Iowa, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida and LSU. He is 45-28 in six seasons. This season, Missouri is 7-4, with all four losses coming to teams ranked in the Top 10 at the time.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.
