Eli Drinkwitz Named a Finalist for Bear Bryant Coach of the Year
Missouri football head coach Eli Drinkwitz was named a finalist for the prestigious Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year award on Thursday.
There haven't been many other teams this season that have shocked the college football world more than the Missouri Tigers. Drinkwitz pulled the strings to the Tigers' best season since 2014, and their 10-2 record helped them gain the No. 9 spot in the AP, Coaches Polls and College Football Playoff rankings.
Missouri will be facing No. 7 Ohio State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic later in the month, but before the season kicked off, the Tigers weren't even expected to finish in the top half of the SEC.
Drinkwitz has helped boost several of his players' NFL Draft stock, as many of them landed spots on SEC and All-American first and second teams.
Nevertheless, the honors may keep pouring in for Drinkwitz, as he's already been named the SEC Coach of the Year by the AP and the conference itself. He is also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award.
The winner of the 38th Bear Bryant Coach of the Year award will be announced on Jan. 10, 2024.
The 2023 Coach of the Year Finalists are (in alphabetical order by finalist last name):
- David Braun – Northwestern University (Bear Bryant Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year)
- Jamey Chadwell – Liberty University (Bear Bryant Group of Five Conference Coach of the Year)
- Kalen DeBoer – University of Washington (Bear Bryant Pac-12 Conference Coach of the Year)
- Eliah Drinkwitz – University of Missouri (Bear Bryant SEC Coach of the Year)
- Rhett Lashlee – Southern Methodist University
- Mike Norvell – Florida State University (Bear Bryant ACC Coach of the Year)
- Nick Saban – University of Alabama
- Steve Sarkisian – University of Texas at Austin (Bear Bryant Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year)
