Eli Drinkwitz chides Paul Finebaum after question linking him to vacant coaching jobs

Don’t ever say Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz doesn’t prepare for an interview. Even if it’s not necessarily a job interview, he’s always got something ready to fly to hammer home his point.

So, needless to say, Drinkwitz knew what he was in for when he agreed to appear on The Paul Finebaum Show on Wednesday afternoon. His name has been linked to a number of vacant coaching jobs, and Finebaum was going to ask.

Sure enough. And Drinkwitz delivered when Finebaum did.

“It’s probably no more distracting than trying to decide if you’re going to run for United States Senate,” Drinkwitz said, poking fun at recent reports that Finebaum might entertain a Senate run. “There’s a lot of different things out there that you’ve just got to factor in.”

Missouri players are undoubtedly having to factor some of those distractions in as the name Eli Drinkwitz is bandied about for various jobs, including Florida and Penn State. He’s been successful and now he’s sought after.

“The reality is for me we addressed it as a team, we addressed it as a staff,” Drinkwitz said. “All that stuff is all fake right now. It’s October 20-whatever. Like, the only thing that matters is us playing Vanderbilt.”

No. 15 Missouri is indeed readying for a contest against No. 10 Vanderbilt. A contest, by the way, that will be featured with ESPN’s College GameDay on campus in Nashville.

Eli Drinkwitz has his hands full. If not with job offers, with finding a way to win.

“We have an opportunity in front of us right now that doesn’t come very often at the University of Missouri, and I’ll be damned if I let distractions or outside noise or people try to influence that through social media, which, by the way, isn’t real,” he said. “There is no candidacy list, I don’t care what’s on 247, there is no people calling. What really matters for us right now is having the best winning Wednesday practice that we can have to take advantage of the moment in time.”

He’s no stranger to the big stage. Eli Drinkwitz also knows you only stay on it as long as you’re winning. So as he signed off with a parting shot and a huge grin, it was clear he was doing his best not to let the noise get to him.

“This football team, these boosters, these fans, they put a whole lot for us to be focused on the right here, right now,” he said. “And whether or not you run for Senate, that’s up to you.”