The Missouri Tigers have given Eli Drinkwitz a massive new contract, taking an option off the board for the LSU Tigers.
The LSU Tigers were rumored to have Missouri Tigers head coach Eliah Drinkwitz circled as a potential backup plan if they were to miss out on Lane Kiffin, but they will no longer have that option.
ESPN's Pete Thamel broke the news on Thursday morning that Drinkwitz has agreed to a new contract at his current school that will pay him upwards of $10.7 million with "an increased commitment to staff and salary pool" through the 2031 season. Drinkwitz and the school have confirmed this news.
Missouri saw that some bigger schools could have been interested the coach that has brought them out of the depths of the SEC and decided that they were ready to commit to him long term. It's hard to imagine a school, like LSU, being willing to pay him much more than the near $11 million that he's now getting.
Drinkwitz has done a great job with the Tigers, but still has some hurdles to get through. He is just 6-16 against ranked opponents with Missouri and doesn't have many statement wins. They are 28-9 since the start of 2023 campaign, so things are moving in the right direction.
It's unknown just how interested LSU was in bringing Drinkwitz to Baton Rouge, but he was a name that popped up very often. Many Tigers fans did not want to see that hire happen, so now they can relax a little bit.
Remaining options for the next head coach include Kiffin, Jon Sumrall, Kenny Dillingham and of course the mystery options that have not been reported on very much.