From a frantic coaching search to late-night meetings in North Carolina, Missouri’s pursuit of Eli Drinkwitz was anything but simple.
The story of how Missouri hired Eli Drinkwitz doesn’t start in Columbia. It winds through Utah, Idaho, North Carolina, and Arkansas before landing in a Hampton Inn conference room deep in the North Carolina mountains. On paper, Missouri’s 2019 coaching search looked straightforward, fire Barry Odom, line up candidates, and make a hire. But in reality, the Tigers’ path to Drinkwitz was messy, and complicated.
For Missouri fans, the twist-filled process that brought Drinkwitz to Columbia has become a defining “what if” moment in the program’s history. What if Curtis Wilson never made that call? What if Arkansas got to Boone first? What if Missouri settled on its initial list of candidates?
The story that unfolded behind closed doors shows just how close Missouri came to a very different future.
The Search Begins With Doubt
When Barry Odom was dismissed on Nov. 30, 2019, athletic director Jim Sterk moved quickly. He started with a pool of eight candidates. By midweek, that group narrowed to three: Louisiana Tech’s Skip Holtz, Army’s Jeff Monken, and Arkansas State’s Blake Anderson.
The problem? The Board of Curators wasn’t impressed. Jon Sundvold, then-chairman of the board, didn’t hold back. “You need to have better names than a guy that went 7-6 in the Sun Belt,” Sundvold later explained.
What seemed like a search nearing its conclusion had instead hit a dead end. Missouri needed a bigger name.
A Push From Inside the Mizzou Family
While Sterk wrestled with his shortlist, Curtis Wilson, former Missouri offensive lineman and father of wide receiver Micah Wilson, was working behind the scenes. Wilson had built a close relationship with Drinkwitz years earlier. When Odom was fired, Wilson reached out directly.
Would Drinkwitz be interested? His response was immediate: “Absolutely.”
Wilson didn’t stop there. He contacted senior associate AD Nick Joos and eventually Sterk himself. On speakerphone, Wilson pitched Drinkwitz as a sharp offensive mind with experience at Auburn, Boise State, and NC State, plus an 11-1 season at Appalachian State.
That call cracked the door wide open.
The Meeting in Boone
By the time Appalachian State won the Sun Belt Championship in early December, Missouri’s interest was no longer a secret. Arkansas was also circling, and Drinkwitz, an Alma, Arkansas native, was listening.
Missouri knew they had to act. University President Mun Choi, Sterk, Joos, and members of the board flew into North Carolina on a carefully disguised flight path. Their destination: a late-night meeting at a Hampton Inn, hours after Drinkwitz celebrated a title and attended his daughter’s Nutcracker performance.
The meeting didn’t follow a script. Drinkwitz came prepared with a full presentation branded in black and gold. He never used it. Instead, his energy and vision carried the room. When Choi asked what it would take to make him Missouri’s head coach, Drinkwitz didn’t hesitate: “About $4 million.”
The answer landed. The deal was in Missouri’s range. The coach they needed was theirs.
What Came After
Drinkwitz was introduced in Columbia on Dec. 10, 2019, less than two weeks after Odom’s firing. His message to players and fans was clear: “Opportunities of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime of the opportunity.”
Since then, Drinkwitz has delivered. He’s won 43 games, taken Missouri to consecutive top-25 finishes, and positioned the Tigers as a real contender in the SEC. A new indoor facility and a $250 million renovation of Memorial Stadium have followed, signaling that Missouri football is once again a program with vision.
The decision that once seemed on the brink of chaos now looks like a masterstroke.
The hire of Eli Drinkwitz wasn’t neat. It wasn’t simple. Missouri’s path twisted through failed lists, boardroom disagreements, and a high-stakes midnight meeting in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
But out of that chaos came the right choice.
Today, Missouri fans can point to December 2019 as the night their program found the right voice, the right plan, and the right leader.
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