COLUMBIA, Mo. — Former Missouri offensive coordinator Kirby Moore officially left the program Friday afternoon, stepping into a new role as Washington State's head coach. Moore spent the previous three seasons as Missouri's OC under Eli Drinkwitz, and helped guide the Tigers to top-15 offenses in each of his three seasons with the headset, per PFF. 

Moore contributed to one of the best three-season offensive stretches in program history, helping Missouri reach three consecutive bowl games and take down Ohio State in the 2023 Cotton Bowl.  He also helped produce NFL-level and soon-to-be NFL-level talent like Luther Burden III, Armand Membou, Cody Schrader, Brady Cook, Ahmad Hardy and Cayden Green. 

Moore's contributions to the program won't be forgotten, but it's time to move on — Missouri will now begin its search for a new OC for the 2026 season.

Here's a shortlist of potential candidates. 

Petrino stepped in as Arkansas' interim head coach for the final seven games of the 2025 season following Sam Pittman's firing. He also spent the entirety of the 2024 season as Arkansas' OC. He helped guide the Razorbacks to 5,973 yards of offense, the fourth-most in program history. 

Despite Arkansas' winless conference season in 2025, Petrino still helped maintain that electric offense, as the Razorbacks averaged 32.92 points and 454.83 yards per game, each ranking in the top five of the SEC. 

Missouri's final game of the season was a 31-17 defeat of the Razorbacks in Fayetteville, ending Petrino's tenure as interim head coach with the program. Drinkwitz had praise for Petrino's season ahead of the dual. 

"Coach Petrino has performed admirably in a very difficult situation," Drinkwitz said Nov. 25. "I think he has done a really good job holding that team together. That team fights, that team plays really hard, and they are very explosive on offense."

In fact, Petrino may have coached himself into a full-time head coaching job (elsewhere from Arkansas, who hired Ryan Silverfield as the new head coach). He's appeared on hot boards for Group of Six job openings around the country, including in-state foe Missouri State, where he coached from 2020-2022. He'll have a plethora of options awaiting him, but Missouri should be looking into Petrino as a top candidate.

Missouri beating Petrino in its final game of the regular season, only to turn around and have him on the sidelines for the Taxslayer Gator Bowl would be a poetic intertwining of the two sides. 

Beck was fired from his role of head coach at Coastal Carolina Nov. 30 after a 6-6 season concluded with a three-game losing streak. CCU's offense struggled in 2025, but had an impressive 2024 season under Beck, ranking sixth in the conference with 28.7 points per game. He finished each of his three seasons at the program's helm with a .500 regular-season record or better, helping the program to reach three consecutive bowl games. 

Before his time at CCU, Beck was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for NC State. He helped Wolfpack quarterback Devin Leary throw for 5,588 yards and 54 touchdowns to only 11 interceptions across 26 games. The Wolfpack finished 25-10 in that time frame, earning three bowl game selections. 

The stint before that was with Texas, where he spent three seasons between an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach position. Both Texas quarterbacks under Beck — Sam Ehlinger and Shane Buechele — were future NFL products. The Longhorns earned bowl game nods in each of his three seasons, beating Missouri in the 2017 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bowl, beating Georgia in the 2018 Sugar Bowl and beating Utah in the 2019 Alamo Bowl. 

Beck's other major stop was as a co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ohio State during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. 2015 wasn't perfect, as the team made the switch from the under-performing Cardale Jones to J.T. Barrett mid-season, but 2016 allowed Beck to catch full stride. Barrett threw for 2,555 yards and 24 touchdowns, while Joe Burrow — yes that Joe Burrow — threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Ohio State lost just three games during Beck's tenure, two of which were to top-10 opponents. 

Beck also served as Nebraska's running backs coach from 2008-2010. The Cornhuskers' 2010 season was one of the most impressive ground games of the century, as three running backs eclipsed 900 yards. Roy Helu Jr. led the way with 1,245 and 11 touchdowns, as Taylor Martinez rushed for 965 yards and 12 touchdowns while future NFL back Rex Burkehead rushed for 951 yards and hauled in an additional 148 through the air.  

While Beck may not have performed to the high expectations his head coaching role at CCU brought, he's brought success to multiple elite programs as a coordinator. Missouri should give him a call. 

Side note: Beck would be my pick for the job, in the outlandish hypothetical scenario in which I had any say in the hire. 

Peeler has been Missouri's wide receivers coach for the previous four seasons — a position group that has been elite for the majority of Peeler's time with the program. Between Burden,Theo Wease Jr. and Kevin Coleman Jr., a Missouri wideout has ranked in the top five in the SEC for receptions, which had not even been done once since J'Mon Moore in 2017 — five seasons before Peeler's arrival. 

Peeler also has experience as an OC in prior stints, spending the 2019 season as Ole Miss' co-offensive coordinator, where the he helped Rebels' wideout Elijah Moore haul in 67 catches for 850 yards and six touchdowns. Ole Miss had the SEC's ninth-best scoring offense under Peeler that season despite finishing with the third-worst overall record. 

Peeler was also the offensive coordinator at Texas State from 2020-2021, his last stop before taking a smaller role at Missouri. The Bobcats had eight All-Sun Belt Conference offensive honorees under Peeler's leadership. 

Should Missouri look to choose somebody already in the program, Peeler's resume stacks higher than any other option when taking previous experience and current output into the fold. 

Luper has been Missouri's running backs coach for the last six seasons — the entire stint of Drinkwitz' reign at the head of the program. Given Luper's experience and time spent with the program and familiarity with the scheme, he could be a top option to promote from within.  

Luper also has experience in higher roles in power conferences. He served as TCU's co-offensive coordinator in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, along with serving as Mike Gundy's associate head coach at Oklahoma State in the mid-2000s. 

However, Luper's specialization in the run game might make him more valuable in his current role, where he can put all his focus into making Missouri's running backs among the nations best. 

“Loop’s always had an eye for picking talented running backs,” Eliah Drinkwitz said. “You look at the guys we’ve had here, the guys that he’s been able to attract to our program. He does a good job of believing in them.”

Promoting Luper to an OC role would be a feel-good story, and he's taken on similar workloads before, but it's likely a longshot — Luper is elite in his current role. 

McDonald spent time with Drinkwitz at NC State while Drinkwitz was the Wolfpack's offensive coordinator, but his most recent role was with Ole Miss. He's about to wrap up year two on the Rebels' staff, where he's the assistant coach, passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach.

Hiring a pass game coordinator could be more optimal than a run game specialist, as Luper and Drinkwitz can keep the run game efficient themselves. Moore was a pass game guy, and McDonald could be a perfect replacement, providing more experience than Moore ever had. 

He is presumed to follow Kiffin to LSU following Ole Miss' CFP run, but an elevated role at Missouri could pry him out of Kiffin's hands. 

Woods was Missouri's tight ends coach for Drinkwitz' first two seasons with the program from 2020-2021. The group had minimal contributions, as no tight end eclipsed 200 yards in either season. However, Woods managed to fall up, landing a gig as Southern Methodists' OC, where he spent the last four seasons helping to lead a consistent Bronco offense. 

Woods also spent time with Drinkwitz at Auburn, where Woods was the quality control coach from 2009-2011. Woods has the positional experience and Missouri tie, but getting him away from SMU could be a challenge. 

Harsin, the current offensive coordinator at Cal, has a different relationship with Drinkwitz than the previous two members of the list. While Woods and McDonald coached under Drinkwitz, Harsin coached above him — Drinkwitz coached under Harsin at both Arkansas State and Boise State from 2012-2015. 

Harsin's most recent season as Cal's OC was successful, as he helped freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele breakout for 3,117 yards and 17 touchdowns, but the freshman will be leaving Cal. This leaves Harsin a choice on whether to stick around, or potentially make his return to the SEC, as his last stint in the conference was as Auburn's head coach from 2021-2022. 

Should Harsin come to Missouri, the role of pupil and mentor would flip, as he'd be under Drinkwitz. 

Speaking of Drinwkitz... why not name him a candidate as well? 

Yes, this is serious (to an extent). 

Drinkwitz actually spent his first three seasons at Missouri as the play-caller and essentially the OC. Obviously, he gave up those duties for a reason when Moore stepped into the role in the 2023 season, but could a part of Drinkwitz be thinking about putting on the headset again? 

It's unlikely, and even a longer shot than a Luper promotion, but Drinkwitz naming himself as the OC and play-caller would be a power move, showcasing the utmost confidence in his guru mind. 

While the Drinkwitz hire is unlikely, there's one more candidate who's even less likely. But hey, never say never. 

If social media got to make the calls, this would be it. To further its delusions, Daniel did entertain the speculation on X Friday evening. 

Daniel has no official coaching experience, but did hold a 13-season career in the NFL, primarily as a backup. The Tiger alum has also remained active in the Missouri space, discussing the games and former players frequently. 

It's hard to imagine Daniel with a headset or clipboard on Missouri's sidelines, but crazier things have happened. After all, this is college football we're talking about.