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Reports say Mizzou football will hire Eliah Drinkwitz as new head coach

By Thomas Huitt-Johnson

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Eliah Drinkwitz of the Appalachian State Mountaineers directs his team during the second half of their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Kenan Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Mountaineers won 34-31. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Eliah Drinkwitz of the Appalachian State Mountaineers directs his team during the second half of their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Kenan Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Mountaineers won 34-31. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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Eliah Drinkwitz comes to Mizzou football after one year at Appalachian State.

The Mizzou football team has a new head coach. Multiple media outlets are reporting the Tigers have reached an agreement Sunday evening with Appalachian State head coach Eliah Drinkwitz to become the next man in charge in CoMo.

Drinkwitz comes to Mizzou after a 12-1 season at Appalachian State, his only season coaching the Sun Belt conference champions. Drinkwitz, 36, will be the second-youngest coach of a Power 5 school.

The new head coach has only year experience, so Mizzou decided to stick with a young coach with little-to-none head-coaching experience to take over the program. The Tigers fired four-year coach Barry Odom last week. Odom had no head-coaching experience prior to Mizzou.

But the Tigers wanted somebody new to bring energy to a program that fell into a slump during the last half of the season. Mizzou wants to get back to competing for an SEC championship, just as it did under coach Gary Pinkel. Early reports were that Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk and Co. were finding it hard to replace Odom. Drinkwitz appears to be a better option than some of the earlier candidates.

The thought is that if Drinkwitz can spike the Mountaineers program just as he did in 2019, he can do so in Columbia next season.

Drinkwitz appeared to have his choice of SEC schools in either Mizzou or Arkansas. Earlier Sunday it was reported that Drinkwitz and Mizzou were close to a deal. Hours later, Chris Low of ESPN broke the news that the two sides came to an agreement.

Appalachian State picked up wins against North Carolina and South Carolina this season and finished ranked No. 20 in the College Football Playoff rankings and the Associated Press Top 25. The Mountaineers are set to play UAB in the R+L Carriers Bowl on Dec. 21.

They defeated Louisiana 45-38 in the Sun Belt championship game Saturday night.

Next. Missouri basketball bounces back for big win over Temple. dark

Prior to Appalachian State, Drinkwitz was an offensive coordinator for North Carolina State and Boise State. He also was an assistant for Arkansas State and Auburn.

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