Missouri Football: Tigers losing and shuffling more coaching personnel
On Friday, the Missouri football team lost another coach, who was hired to former offensive coordinator Josh Heupel’s staff at UCF.
It remains to be seen if the Tigers will lose anymore coaches since Heupel’s departure to become the head coach at Central Florida, but his recent hire of offensive line coach Glen Elarbee, leaves head coach Barry Odom looking to fill another void.
At this point, Missouri is in need of an offensive coordinator, an offensive line coach and a coach for the defensive secondary. On Friday, Odom named former secondary coach Ryan Walters as the team’s new defensive coordinator.
Hopefully Walters’ appointment at the position will yield better results than former defensive coordinator DeMontie Cross, but then I have to wonder, how much of a hand did Odom really allow Cross?
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In an interview with Dave Matter of the St. Louis Post, Odom spoke very highly of Walters’ knowledge and experience. Both coaches have worked together, on and off, over the years.
"He’s going to do an outstanding job. This year, really toward the last half of the season he had that role anyway and did an outstanding job. …I’m excited for him. We think a lot alike in our thoughts defensively. He’ll do a heck of a job."
While the Tigers will likely notice the void left by Heupel, I have to wonder if the void left by Elarbee will also be noticeable. Missouri’s underrated offensive line unit has been among the best in college football, keeping quarterback Drew Lock on his feet and opening lanes for the Tigers on the ground.
In the meantime, Odom is also in the midst of a recruiting rush, due to the NCAA’s rule change, allowing programs an early signing period in December. In addition to which, Odom has a few staff positions to fill and a bowl game to prepare his team for.
Next: Barry Odom has earned a contract extension
Speaking of bowl games, there’s a little bright spot for the Tigers: It is anticipated that running back Damarea Crockett will be a healthy return for Missouri in time for the Tigers’ bowl game against Texas.