Drinkwitz shuts down Florida State rumors: 'I'm not a candidate'

Florida State fired former head coach Mike Norvell on Sunday. He’d served in the role since 2020 and compiled a 41-39 record in his six-plus seasons, most notably going 13-1 in 2023.

The Seminoles now have a vacancy to fill in his absence. Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz is at the top of many hot boards, including boards from ESPN and CBSSports. Drinkwitz shut down the rumors Tuesday.

“I'm not a candidate at Florida State. I want to clear that up,” Drinkwitz said. “Let's focus on the main thing, which is Texas, and let's eliminate all the distractions and clear the clutter from that standpoint for my team and for everybody out there.”

This isn’t the first time Drinkwitz’s name circulated for other head coaching jobs while at Missouri. In 2025, his name was thrown around in regards to openings at Penn State, Auburn, Florida and more.

In response to the rumors, he and Missouri agreed on a six-year contract extension that keeps him as the Tigers’ head coach through 2031 with an average salary of $10.75 million per year. He expressed his annoyance with the nature of the coaching carousel rumor mill.

“I was the leading bet-getter for a job I never interviewed for,” Drinkwitz said after Mizzou’s win over Arkansas to close the 2025 season. “That’s annoying, it’s bullcrap.”

Drinkwitz also addressed the Florida State rumors on The Brandon Walker Show on Monday.

“What they're trying to do is take a shot at Mizzou, and that's the thing that bothers me the most,” Drinkwitz said. “It's like, you're really just saying that you think that job's better than the job that I currently have at Mizzou, and part of the reason I chose Mizzou is because I wanted the opportunity to build something that was kind of like the last frontier. You could accomplish things here that haven't been accomplished anywhere else before.”

Drinkwitz as his Tigers at 6-2 heading into the final third of the regular season, set to take on No. 10 Texas, No. 2 Georgia and No. 8 Kentucky in its next three games before hosting unranked Oklahoma in their regular-season finale. He has his Tigers fighting when it matters most — with College Football Playoff dreams still alive and achievable.

Missouri will host No. 10 Texas at 11 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

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