This Week in Coaching: Why the Eli Drinkwitz extension is dumb, on Carnell 'Cadillac' Williams uniting Auburn and Lane Kiffin talks Nick Saban
I like Eli Drinkwitz.
In a day and age, when access is limited and coach-speak is at an all-time high, I very much respect and value the candor from a guy like Drinkwitz.
Back at the SEC Spring Meetings when Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban were slinging mud at one another over NIL, it was Missouri’s head coach who stepped up to the podium with his awe-shucks attitude and said, “We’re pretty blessed to have these jobs, man.”
“I coached high school football. I painted lines. In the summer, I opened weight rooms,” Drinkwitz said.
“I got to fly down here on a private jet. I’m sitting at the beach. Is it hard? Absolutely. Do we have the greatest jobs in the world? Absolutely. There’s no way that I’m going to turn this into a ‘Poor me’ deal.”
It was a fun soundbite, and I imagine Eli Drinkwitz feels pretty similar today after receiving a two-year contract and a multi-million dollar bump in annual pay this past weekend.
There’s always money in the banana stand, folks. Don’t ever let a college football program cry poor.
Again, I like Eli Drinkwitz, and considering his circumstances, he’s recruited well at Missouri. But the Tigers little incentives to give him a $2 million bump in compensation ($4 million to $6 million) or extend his contract by two years with what he’s produced on the field thus far in Columbia. Who is coming to poach your coach, Missouri?
The price of mediocrity sure is expensive these days.
That the deal was announced on the same day Missouri’s offense — Drinkwitz’s bread-and-butter — failed to score more than 17 points for the fifth time against a Power 5 team this season made it look all the sillier. Too often in college football, irony is dead.
The Tigers lost to Kentucky 21-17 on Saturday, making them 4-5 and needing to win 2-of-3 against Tennessee, New Mexico State and Arkansas just to make a bowl game.
“I know today’s loss is disappointing,” Drinkwitz said afterward.
“But it’s the belief in how we’re doing it and the direction that we’re going, and really appreciate that belief. Belief’s a powerful thing, and I talked about it a couple of weeks (ago), I really feel like we’ve improved in a lot of ways, and the results will come.”
With that contract they better, but when? And from where?
Former 5-star freshman Luther Burden is a fun talent, but will he still be in Columbia next season? Blake Baker has been awesome as the Tigers’ first-year defensive coordinator, and even though he recently signed an extension, too, he seems ripe to be poached by a bigger program either this off-season or next. Furthermore, Drinkwitz’s job is only going to become more difficult when he can’t count on yearly wins against Vanderbilt and South Carolina once Texas and Oklahoma join the conference.
Drinkwitz is 15-17 at Missouri. He’s 10-14 in the SEC — with six of those victories coming against the Commodores and Gamecocks.
Per PowerMizzou.com, Drinkwitz is now set to make $7 million by 2027. At least his new buyout is slightly reduced. Whereas if he was fired under the previous contract he would be owed 70% of the salary on the remaining deal with no mitigation. Now, per terms of the new contract, Drinkwitz would be owed 75% of the remaining value — with a max $6 million due within the first 30 days of any termination — but a “dollar for dollar” mitigation if Drinkwitz gets another job (and he’s required to seek employment).
Drinkwitz received an increased financial pool for his assistant coaches and football staff as part of the deal, too. That’s great.
That’s all Missouri should’ve done this week, though. Give Drinkwitz more resources.
Handing a head coach, who arguably could’ve been on a simmering seat by season’s end, a two-year extension and legitimate pay-bump simply as a symbol of the school’s confidence is exactly why all these coaches complaining about NIL should fall on deaf ears.
At least Drinkwtiz is not one of those guys.
WHY AUBURN MUST RETAIN CARNELL “CADILLAC” WILLIAMS
Despite tears swelling his eyes all Saturday night, Carnell “Cadillac” Williams couldn’t stop smiling.
In pregame, after sprinting out of the tunnel to lead his Auburn Tigers.
“Wow!,” the former Auburn running back told ESPN’s Cole Cubelic, a fellow Tigers alum, just before making his head coaching debut at any level.
“I’m the head coach here. In a million years, I would’ve never thought it. Get the opportunity to serve these young men and pour into their lives. That’s what it’s about. The Auburn family, these players. I’m freaking excited. We’re about to play some good football. Some good, hard-nosed Auburn football.”
Williams’ smile remained during the game, even as Auburn trailed big at halftime, only for the first-time head coach to inspire the Tigers to rally from a three-score deficit to take a late second-half lead against Mississippi State.
“Go crazy!” Williams kept repeating, his favorite catchphrase, while racing up and down the sidelines as if he was still playing.
And even in the locker room postgame, Williams’ smile was still there, even as he delivered a rousing and earnest speech to a somber team that was stunned moments earlier in a 39-33 overtime loss.
“I’m proud of y’all. Proud of y’all, man. Fight. Didn’t quit,” Williams said, almost preaching while surrounded by a group of players on the verge of tears.
“That was Auburn football. … Everything’s about your perspective, man. Everything’s about your perspective, man. Bro, we can learn from this. This is not a loss for us. Yeah, we did lose the mission, but there’s so many lessons out of this.”
Hopefully, new Tigers AD John Cohen is paying attention.
Barring an improbable fairytale Ed Orgeron-esque ending, Carnell Williams will not be Auburn’s next head coach, but whoever ultimately lands the job better make sure he has a spot for Cadillac to remain parked on The Plains.
Although popular interim coaches are oftentimes considered ill-fitted to be part of a transitional staff, I don’t care how much shine Cadillac Williams might steal from Lane Kiffin, Hugh Freeze or whoever, because in less than a week the former Auburn all-time great accomplished what Bryan Harsin couldn’t do for two years.
Bring Auburn together.
The Tigers did lose the battle Saturday at Mississippi State, partly because Williams looked in-over-his-head with some first-half coaching decisions. He owned up to as much in his speech to his players, admitting he gave away, ‘What, 13, 14, 15, 16 points?”
“I’m going to take this one,” he said.
“But y’all fought. That’s that Auburn spirit, man. The Auburn family, they’re proud of you. I ain’t seen that type of fight in a long time. We got better. We got better, man.”
For the first time all season, the Tigers had a bite.
They played with pride. Unity. Fight.
Characteristics completely absent Auburn’s program the last few years — during the final days of the Gus Malzahn era and then throughout the disastrous Harsin tenure.
Yet after a single chaotic week on the Plains, Williams — who was promoted to interim head coach on Halloween and had three days to come up with a game plan with a skeleton coaching staff — united the Tigers’ program.
You can’t totally change a culture in seven days, but it’s amazing what happens when a football team suddenly has a prevalent purpose.
Few love Auburn like Carnell Williams, and clearly, his respect and pride for his alma mater resonates with Tigers players, fellow coaches and fans. He’d been on Harsin’s staff the last two years, but he definitely wasn’t empowered to make a difference.
He is now, and the early changes are evident.
Williams has three more games as Auburn’s interim head coach — home against Texas A&M and Western Kentucky and then the Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa — but this isn’t about wins and losses in 2022. It’s about the best interest of the future of the Tigers’ program.
In his introductory press conference Tuesday, Cohen said he has a checklist of “58 things that we’ll go through as we go through this process looking for a new head football coach.”
One of the items better be: “Retain Carnell “Cadillac” Williams on staff, and let him “Go crazy.”
COORDINATOR OF THE WEEK TO WATCH
It seems like a perfect time to spotlight Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr., who received a contract extension through 2025 earlier this week.
“Coach Lunney has had a huge impact in his time here directing our offense,” head coach Bret Bielema said in a statement.
“He has provided an excitement for our offensive players and coaches in the building every day since he came in. The opportunities he has provided our players through his efficient scheme has been vital for the success of our program as we set new expectations going forward. I’m grateful to Josh and our administration for being proactive in locking in Coach Lunney for the future.”
The Fighting Illini have had a strong 2022 season thus far, and while the first-year OC hasn’t exactly overseen an explosive offense in Champaign, Lunney has improved the team’s yards per play (up to 5.37 from 5.0) and scoring output (up to 24.8 points per game).
Illinois has one of the nation’s best tailbacks in Chase Brown (150 yards per game), and Lunney, who was the offensive coordinator at UTSA in 2021, has leaned on the ground game as the focal point of the Illini’s offense.
Illinois has struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone all season, which was a factor in its loss against Michigan State last weekend, too.
Now, Lunney is charged with coming up with a game plan to score points against a respectable Purdue defense, which ranks in the middle of the Big Ten in yards allowed, yards per play and scoring.
Win, and the Fighting Illini likely clinch a Big Ten West title, so no pressure Lunney.
QUOTABLE, TWEETABLE?
Lane Kiffin never misses an opportunity to poke the bear — even one he clearly admires and respects.
A year ago, Ole Miss’ head coach delivered his infamous self-owing “Get your popcorn ready” pregame comments before his Rebels got completely splattered by the Crimson Tide 28-0 in the first half.
Twelve months later, the former Alabama OC has taken a more measured approach to this weekend’s home game against Nick Saban and the Tide.
Ole Miss is 8-1, coming off a bye week, yet the Rebels are still double-digit underdogs against a reeling Alabama team.
Kiffin is well-aware why, too, crediting Saban, who he routinely refers to as the GOAT, for being an all-time motivator coming off of a loss.
“I don’t know the stat, but off the top of my head, I don’t think – maybe since the first year he was there, I bet he’s never lost after a loss,” Kiffin said this week.
“So that should tell you how well he does motivating the guys after a loss. One of you guys can look that up, but I’m gonna bet he’s undefeated since his first year at Alabama in the regular season, outside of that Iron Bowl followed by the Sugar Bowl. He does a phenomenal job at it. Even though his intensity is up all the time, I think it’s even more up after a loss.”
He’s right, which is why Saturday is also another opportunity for Kiffin, who is one of the hottest candidates on the coaching market this year, to either make his latest case for the Auburn opening or squeeze more leverage into his current job at Ole Miss.