Steve Spurrier states Eli Drinkwitz would be an 'excellent coach' for Florida

If Florida loses out on the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes, who should the Gators turn to as their next head football coach? Steve Spurrier may have the answer.

The Ole Ball Coach said on Another Dooley Noted Podcast that Missouri‘s Eli Drinkwitz would make an “excellent” head coach for the Gators. Though, both him and host Pat Dooley agreed that Tulane‘s Jon Sumrall is the backup selection should Kiffin choose LSU or to remain at Ole Miss.

Drinkwitz’s name has been brought up in rumors regarding several coaching searches, including Florida, LSU and Penn State. Dooley told Spurrier that he expects Drinkwitz to end up in Happy Valley himself.

The rumors come at a time when Drinkwitz’s stock has never been higher. Now in his sixth season coaching the Tigers, the former Appalachian State head coach has guided Missouri to a 45–27 overall record and a steady rise in SEC play.

Over the last three years, the Tigers are 28–8 and 14–8 in conference — one of the most impressive stretches the recent program’s history. He’s led Missouri to 10-win seasons in each of the last two seasons.

Missouri won’t reach that mark in 2025 with four losses, but Drinkwitz appears to be a popular name in several marquee coaching searches. Names like Kirk Herbstreit and Paul Finebaum considered him a name to keep an eye on as a backup plan for whichever teams don’t end up with Lane Kiffin, whether that be LSU, Florida, or even Ole Miss.

Despite the success he’s enjoyed, Drinkwitz has yet to coach his team to a College Football Playoff. If he finds himself at one of the aforementioned schools, that could come to an end soon upon his arrival.

Still, Drinkwitz has been non-committal when discussion open coaching searches this season. Earlier this month, he called all of it “just a distraction.”

“I would like to remind everybody, including our fans, we absolutely love Mizzou,” Drinkwitz said ahead of the Oklahoma game. “We love what we’re building. … My focus is going to remain on our team and our current situation and I am not going to get into all of that.”

For now, Drinkwitz will move forward and lead his team into the regular season finale against Arkansas. Missouri will play in a bowl game regardless of the outcome, but whether that’ll be Drinkwitz’ final game coaching the Tigers remains to be seen.