Missouri Tigers’ Eli Drinkwitz named SEC Football Coach of the Year
Following a successful 10-2 campaign that saw the Missouri Tigers claim a spot in a New Years Six bowl for the first time since the 2014 Cotton Bowl, head coach Eliah Drinkwitz has been named the 2023 SEC Head Coach of the Year.
The SEC Football Awards were announced on Wednesday, with Mizzou fans seeing two familiar names on the list. Joining Drinkwitz was QB Brady Cook as Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Drinkwitz is the first Mizzou coach to claim his title since Gary Pinkel won it in 2014.
“Humbled to be recognized, but understand that it’s really not my award,” Drinkwitz wrote on the social media site X (formerly Twitter), “it’s our TEAM, our STAFF, our UNIVERSITY, & our STATE all coming together- believing in one another and playing for each other!”
The SEC’s announcement comes after Drinkwitz was named the AP’s SEC Coach of the Year on Monday.
In four seasons as the Tigers’ head coach, Drinkwitz has earned a 27-21 record while reaching bowl eligibility in all four seasons (including a canceled 2020 Music City Bowl due to the pandemic).
The 2023 season marked a turning point in Drinkwitz’s Mizzou tenure, however, as his team reached 10 wins for just the sixth time in program history. The Tigers earned statement wins over three ranked opponents, including what was at the time an upset win, 30-27, over then-No. 15 Kansas State.
The season also saw Mizzou climb up into the top 10 of both the AP Top 25 and College Football Playoff rankings, peaking at No. 9 in both. It was the first top 10 AP ranking for the program since 2013, and its highest CFP ranking since the playoff’s inception in 2014.
The 2023 Tigers averaged 34.1 points and 442.9 yards per game. They held opponents to 347 yards per game (fourth-best in the SEC) and an average of 22.3 points.
Drinkwitz, however, has yet to claim a bowl victory at Missouri, losing in the 2021 Armed Forces Bowl and 2022 Gasparilla Bowl.
Drinkwitz and the Tigers are now gearing up for a chance at Drinkwitz’s first bowl win, preparing to take on Ryan Day’s No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Dec. 29.
