Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz is taking a deliberate, experience-driven approach to filling the Tigers’ offensive coordinator vacancy following Kirby Moore’s departure to Washington State, emphasizing stability in the short term and a proven résumé in the long term.
Drinkwitz confirmed Tuesday that Moore, who was named head coach at Washington State earlier this week, will not coach in Missouri’s upcoming TaxSlayer Gator Bowl matchup against Virginia. Instead, the Tigers will rely on a collaborative offensive approach for the bowl game before turning their full attention to the search for a new coordinator.
“You can’t serve two masters, so he will not coach in the bowl game,” Drinkwitz said. “We’ll move forward as an offensive staff and put the game plan together, and we’ll figure out how that goes.”
Play-calling duties for the bowl game have not been finalized. Drinkwitz said the offensive staff will collectively build the plan before determining who ultimately calls the game. While bowl preparation remains Missouri’s immediate focus, Drinkwitz acknowledged the offensive coordinator search is already underway — even if he couldn’t resist poking fun at the process.
“Probably just flip a coin,” Drinkwitz joked. “Each play, flip a coin, see who wants it.”
“I’m gonna shock the fans and say I’m gonna do it,” Drinkwitz said with a laugh. “No, I’m just kidding. Twitter — I get yelled at for Twitter. Well, we're going to interview John Anderson a little bit later today, depending on how that goes, then we'll see if Dave Matter wants to throw in his two cents."
Drinkwitz has made it clear he wants someone with experience at OC
When outlining his priorities for the hire, Drinkwitz emphasized experience — particularly in the SEC. Drinkwitz also pointed directly to Missouri’s struggles in the passing game as a deciding factor in several recent losses.
“This league doesn’t allow for training wheels,” Drinkwitz said. “There’s not a lot of first-time play callers having a lot of success. You’ve got to have some battle scars.
“You look at our four losses this year, our three losses last year, our two losses the year before that — our inability to consistently convert third downs or throw the ball in critical games has been a major factor,” Drinkwitz said. “We’ve got to get that corrected and cleaned up.”
Moore departs after helping guide Missouri to 29 wins during his tenure, a stretch Drinkwitz said was instrumental in the program’s growth. The Tigers will next face Virginia in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Dec. 27 in Jacksonville, Florida, before fully turning the page to the next phase of its offensive leadership.
“A lot of our success we owe to Coach Moore,” Drinkwitz said. “He left it better than he found it.”