Everything Eli Drinkwitz Said on Transfer Portal, Offensive Coordinator Search

Anytime Eli Drinkwitz gives his thoughts on the current era of college athletics, it's never a dull experience.

Drinkwitz did exactly that, while also talking about Missouri's search for a new offensive coordinator in a press conference Tuesday. Here's a full look at what Drinkwitz had to say.

Opening statement:

“First off, congrats to Kirby and Kayla Moore (Kirby’s wife) being named as the head coach of Washington State. Just an awesome opportunity for them. As assistant coaches, you always dream about getting the opportunity to be a head coach, and for him to be able to get so close to home in a place that he values and cares a lot about, I think is really, really cool. We wish him the absolute best. We absolutely enjoyed our time with coach Moore, and he certainly left it better than he found it, contributing to 29 wins in his time here and seeing this place continue to grow and develop. And so a lot of our success, we owe to coach Moore and wishing him all the best moving forward. You know, can't serve two masters, so he will not coach in the bowl game. He's got plenty of challenges at Washington State, and so we will move forward as an offensive staff to put the game plan together and figure out how that goes moving forward. Could lose a couple more people off our staff, from analyst roles, as coach Moore finalizes and puts his staff together, and I'll keep you abreast if that changes anything. Shouldn't change the dynamic of anything we do it all.

Secondly, disappointed with the actions of Zion Young and the decision making that he had as a team captain and player. We love Zion. We will handle all discipline internally. And young men make mistakes, it’s something that we can all learn and grow from and understand the seriousness and significance of that decision. And we've got to do a better job educating our guys not to make that decision and put people in harm's way, so we will do that.

Virginia, really, really good football team. Obviously, ACC regular-season champs, got a six-year quarterback who understands what they're trying to do and accomplish. There's not a lot of things that you're going to do to him that he hasn't seen in his career. Very good run game, very good job throwing the football. So it’ll be a challenge on us defensively, especially being down some players. And then offensively, their defense is a really, really good defense. Very good at stopping the run, limiting scoring opportunities, very aggressive in the past game, multiple coverages, really a real challenge for the quarterback.

We do have players that will be out of the game. (Linebacker) Josiah Trotter suffered a minor knee injury in the game versus Arkansas. He was able to finish the game, but we went ahead and had that fixed, and so he will be out for the bowl game. (Tight end) Brett Norfleet had his (shoulder) injury repair, so he will also be out for the bowl game. And those are obviously two significant injuries for us, elite players, really good people and leaders on our team.

I think y'all saw Josh Manning, Javion Hillson, Marquise Davis and Brandon Haygood have all entered the transfer portal, and we wish them the absolute best.”

On who will be the offensive play caller for the bowl game:

“Probably just flip a coin. Just each play, flip a coin, see who wants it (joking). No, we're putting it together. Honestly, staff collaboration is probably one of the best things we do here, and how we design and operate the game plan, and so we put it together, and then somebody's got to call it and call it the way that they do. We'll work through that the rest of this week as we're going through who's calling, talking to the quarterback and all that stuff, and get a sense of the direction we’re going to go there.”

On the value of playing in bowl games even in this era of college football:

“The game of football is not guaranteed. I think that's the biggest thing with bowl games. It’s a guaranteed opportunity for your team to continue to play, and it's a reward for a job well done during the season. And, I think there's always an assumption when you're a younger player that there's going to be more games, and as you get older, you realize that that's not the case. And playing football out in the backyard is not like playing it at Faurot Field. It's not like playing it with your brothers. It's not like putting that helmet on. You got a 44 year old who decided to give it one more try this past weekend because that's how much he missed it in Phillip Rivers.

And I think if you asked any of our college players who maybe thought they were going to get a good chance to play the pros, if you could give one more game, they'd always take it. Always. So there's value in the bowl games. For us as a program, there's a lot of value. We're (in an) opportunity to finish with a ranked opponent, a really good opponent. There's an opportunity to do something that's never been done here before — finish with three-straight seasons of nine-plus wins. There's valuable reps going on right now for our younger players, and the cohesion of our team and the camaraderie. I mean, get to go spend time with people that you really love and care about. So I think it's awesome.

I know it's devalued for other people, but it hasn't been devalued to the TV because they need content. And it sure hasn't been devalued to online gambling, because they need opportunities. So the only people it’s been devalued to is the disappointing — like if you watch it for what it is, I think it's an awesome opportunity. Now, there's some things we got to clean up from a calendar standpoint, but that would be like me yelling at the clouds.”

On clarification of whether or not Hilson will be entering the portal:

“I don’t know how the portal operates. … He’s not practicing with us so.”

On the timeline of hiring a new offensive coordinator:

“Honestly, I've been adamant with this, with our team, with our players — everybody who's in this building's focus has to be what do we got to do to win the bowl game? And with Kirby getting his opportunity, my entire focus for the last 72 hours has been preparing and getting this offense in the best position possible for us to win. And as soon as I feel like I get that situated, which should be, we’re in a ‘Toughness Tuesday’ here, we've already done third downs, tonight we get done with practice, we'll do red zone, backed up, tomorrow, we'll do two minute, four minute, and once that's finalized, and I feel confident in that, then I'll move on to the hiring of offensive coordinator. I've got a group of names. I've been looking at lists.”

“... The biggest thing for me in this league is this league doesn't allow for training wheels. Like there's not a lot of first-time play callers having a lot of success in this league. Like, you gotta have some battle scars. Gotta have a level of toughness. You gotta have an understanding of who you are, what your identity is. So for me, that's gonna be a priority in this thing. I've had a lot of people reach out, recommend a lot of people that are great candidates and great people, but it's going to be somebody who I feel like has been in the fire before and understands it, and knows what they’re getting into.

We got to improve the pass game. You look at our four losses this year, you look at our three losses last year, you look at our two losses the year before that, our inability to consistently third downs or throw the ball has been a major factor in our losses and we got to get that corrected and cleaned up. So emphasis on the pass game. We have a pretty strong run game here. Had the Doak Walker Award finalists three of last five years. SEC leader leading rusher three out of the last five years. Two consensus All-Americans, two out of the last three years. I think we've got a pretty strong foundation of how we run the football, but we got to improve. So that’s what I’ll be looking for.”

On if he’s had conversations with underclassmen who might declare for the NFL draft:

“I've had conversations with everybody that has NFL opportunities. We're all waiting for the CSC report,we turned that in the Sunday after the (Arkansas game). And we still haven't got it back from the NFL. I don't know what they're waiting on. To be honest, it's really frustrating, because players have to make decisions, there's a lot of stuff going on in college football and we need that information back from ‘em. I know they're in the middle of their season, but they got to get the information turned over quicker to us, because it's affecting a lot of guys’ decisions. You see people saying they're going into the portal, or they're exploring the NFL, and they haven't got their NFL stuff back. 17 days seems like an awful long time to get that information.

With all that being said, I haven't received any indication that there's players who would opt out here, regardless of what their status was with the NFL. I feel pretty confident the team that we have here today is going to play. Now, with that being said, I did not anticipate that these players were going to transfer either. So, things change and we’ll see. We’ll be adjustable.

On how he’ll look to mesh his run concepts with the new offensive coordinator’s scheme:

“We threw the ball really well in ‘23, and not sure whatever the reason was the regression for us the last two years in throwing the football. So all I'm saying is that we'll still have an identity of running the outside zone. But if somebody comes in and they want to emphasize the counter, or the inside zone or power, then so be it, we’ll be fine. I’m not going to put any restrictions on the new offensive coordinator. As long as it fits into the offensive identity of who we are, which is rhythm, attack execute, being able to play with an offensive rhythm and control the tempo, have a dominant downhill run game, vertical pass game, being able to execute situations, which are third down, two minute offense, then we’ll be fine.”

On what the process of roster retention will be like leading up to the bowl game:

“Some of the players that have entered the portal we're under two year contracts, and their anticipation is that another school will pay their buyout or they'll pay it back themselves. So, contracts are contracts. I think there's been an assumption that — I’m not going to go there. So, we’ll see.

Right now, there are perceived rules, and then we'll figure out what are the real rules moving forward. We've met with every player. And again, the main goal is to finish this season. I think we’ll still have guys enter the portal after the bowl game, but they felt like it was important for them to finish the season, which I respect and believe that's the best for them. We have a lot of guys who’ve signed contracts who plan on returning and are under two year contracts. All of our two-year contracts have a buyout. And so if guys leave with a two-year contract, you enter into the portal with the tag on it says, buy out, and the next school is responsible for figuring that out. So we'll see how that all plays out in the future.

One of the things that I’ve said quite a bit is what we're being asked to do has never been done before in the history of college football ever. So there’s gonna be a lot of mistakes made, and be a lot of new ways mapped out moving forward. We have a ton of stability here. We have a ton of really good players who want to play here, so this is a great place to be in a lot of known quantities in a time when there's a lot of instability.”

On how the moving back of the transfer portal to early January has changed the negotiating conversations with players on the roster:

“I think it's been a really good addition that the month of December is dead, because all of these meetings can occur while our focus is on our current team. Obviously, the bowl games being delayed, as long as they are create a little bit of angst for players if they already have their mind’s made up that they want to transfer. And so, that's a little bit challenging. I think the biggest challenge with the January only portal is that you're going to have one crack at the egg, and once you get your roster set, it's set. There's no way to fix it. So it’ll be interesting to see how everybody approaches spring football now moving forward. You got 105 guys, and somebody gets injured, there’s no going into the portal to find somebody. So we’ll see how that all plays out. Again, what we’re being asked to do, everything is a brand new day. We supposedly have rules. I don't think every school signed the Collegiate Sports Commission. Not everybody signed that yet, so I don't know if that means that there's even a Collegiate Sports Commission, or any of those rules are even enforceable.”

On the matchup against Virginia, relationship with some members of Virginia’s coaching staff:

“I’ve got a couple experiences with their coaching staff. Obviously, (head) coach (Tony) Elliot is a guy that I have a tremendous amount of respect for. Coached against him when he was at Clemson. Recruited against him. Does a tremendous job. Coaches the right way, believes in the development of the person first, and so really respect who he is and what he's done and the job that he's done there.

Their offensive coordinator (Des) Kitchings was on staff with us at NC State, and then went to the Falcons with Dwayne Ledford, and has always been a really good football coach and a great person, and does an excellent job. Their defensive coordinator (John Rudzinski) used to be at Air Force, I coached against him in 2014 and 2015. So there's some familiarity with those guys.

As far as the matchup goes, I think their defense is really good, that will be a challenge for us offensively. And then I think our defense matches up good with their offense. And so then you're looking at special teams being a hinge point. So we really need to play well on special teams. We're going to have to do a good job offensively of finding a rhythm, and what can we do against what they do defensively. And then their offense, they do a really good job of staying on schedule. Very few third-and-long or extra long, they can keep it at third-and-5 or less. And so we're going to have to really play disciplined football, use our depth to our advantage, try to create disruptive plays.”

On if the SEC increasing roster limits to 105 changes portal strategy:

“It does affect your strategy and what you could potentially take out of the portal, it’s just a matter of how much money you have and where you're shopping at. You shop at Louis Vuitton, you can't get 105 bags. So, with the salary cap and all that stuff, it'll be interesting to see how everybody's approach is, and what they try to do. So again, we’re figuring it out one step, one day at a time.”

On the discussions he has with other coaches regarding the College Sports Commission agreement:

“There's a lot of coaches discussing it and frustrated, in my opinion. And I understand the national sentiment, because of the salary ranges of head coaches, that it feels like we're complaining, but we're really not. We're trying to sound warning bells. And that's what I believe we're all trying to do, is that there's a warning that the system that we're in is really sick right now, and college football is sick and there's showing signs of this thing really cracking moving forward. We need to get something under control. And, the SCORE Act was something that it looked like it was going to be a step in a direction. There is no perfect solution, but we have to get some sort of steps moving in that direction. I think we're all weighted with bated breath trying to wait on what's going to happen with this fifth-year lawsuit in Nashville, where you could have a flurry of fifth-year guys now being eligible, and that would just throw a completely new wrinkle in the system.

Tampering is at, I mean, the highest level. There is no such thing as tampering, because there's nobody that's been punished for tampering. And so everybody on my roster is being called. I had a dad call me and say that, and I’ve called the head coaches at their schools, that this school and this school and this school called, and they're offering this much money, and you're

putting a lot of pressure on young men. We're paying them as 1099 employees a lot of money. We're not offering any type of retirement, we’re not offering any type of health benefits. We've worked around the system and then tried to create that as the system, instead of creating a functioning way of moving forward and making sure that it works for everybody. And whether that's collective bargaining, whether that's making them employees, whether that's antitrust legislation that protects the commissioner or the SEC or the NCAA from lawsuits, something needs to be done. Because, again, TV viewership may be at an all-time high, and that's awesome, and gambling on sports may be at an all-time high, and that's great. I got no problem with that. But what about the well-being of student athletes? What about graduation rates? What about tax implications? What about handling and understanding financial literacy? What is their life going to look like after five years of college athletics? Is it gonna be better because they participate in college athletics? Or could they be in a tougher situation? And a lot of us got into college athletics because we wanted to help the young men grow and develop, and I think we're still doing that mission, but it's getting really hard. Coach (Nick) Saban used to talk about all the time creating value for yourself, and when he talked about it, he wasn't just talking about value for the NFL, he was talking about creating value for yourself with a college degree. We’ve lost that aspect of it. And these guys are gonna create tremendous value for himself playing the game of football, and that's awesome. I love that these guys are getting paid. I love that last week, these guys with their own money, went out and bought gifts for for Coyote Hill (a foster care service in Columbia). I love that. That's awesome. But my job also is to look at them three or four years down the road, and how many of them are in a better position because they played football if they've transferred four times, and that's just the system that we've created. Not all freedom is good freedom.”

On how the actual playing and coaching of games offers an escape from the stress of the current era of college athletics:

“I think that's the most enjoyable time of all of our day, players included. I don't think the players enjoy the pressure of all the decision making and enjoy all the rumors and all that stuff. I think they enjoy the Twitter likes, the dopamine hits. But there's a real value to or real cost whenever change occurs. But man, when you go play football, that's pure. That's what you love about the game, is playing and getting better and trying to improve. And I love coaching. I love being on the headset yesterday and calling the plays in and talking to the quarterback. It’s the same reason Phillip Rivers came back, there's something about it you'll never get again. And so I think that's what all of our guys really enjoyed.

As far as managing the time off, we’ve tried to have a schedule that allows these guys to have three-day weekends, so we've given them every Friday, Saturday, Sunday off, and then practice. This week's a normal week of practice. Yesterday was Mindset Monday, today is ‘Toughness Tuesday’. Tomorrow will be ‘Work Day Wednesday,’ Thursday will be ‘Thorough Thursday,’ and we have a ‘Fast Friday’ morning practice. They'll be off for Christmas, and then we'll all meet down at the bowl site on December 23. I think our guys are in a good spot. You always worry a little bit about conditioning, but from a strength standpoint and execution standpoint, I think we’ll be in good shape.”

On how he’s learning to navigate the changing landscape of college athletics:

“I don't know that I am. The result will be figured out next year in the wins and losses as you put together your roster. We've had to pivot a couple of times on plans. I do think that we have a core set of philosophies or beliefs that we have that retaining your own players is the start of building your team, and you got to do that first with the positions that you need and feel like are important to you, and then the second step is signing your freshman class. And the third step is obviously what you’re gonna do in the portal. So we're in the middle of that roster retention right now, and do the best we can to retain. We got a tough situation because you got Ahmad Hardy, who is consensus All-American, but I think Jamal Roberts is as good a back as there is in the country. And how do you beg Jamal to take less to stay here? I mean, that's the real reality of it. And we're asking him to commit to a new way and do something different. But that's a really tough decision that is not easy, and that's not the only person. So it's a really, really hard deal, because when you have a hard cap, it's like I told the team, when an NFL owner doesn't pay, he gets to keep the money. Nobody in here is keeping any money. Like we just have a pot of money and got to divide it amongst everybody in here to try to create the strongest team possible. So that's what we're trying to do, and we'll do the best we can. But if anybody in St. Louis has third-party NIL that they'd like to donate or work through to keep Jamal Roberts around, we’d love to talk to you about it, because he’s a heck of a player and we’d love nothing more than for him to be a Tiger for his career.”

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