Welcome to the Morning Commute. Today we’re talking about the college football coaching carousel. Yep. We’re already there.
There are still four games to be played, yet Florida State has kicked off our least favorite annual circus by firing Mike Norvell after seven seasons. They’ll pay him $50 million to go away, putting them deeper into financial crisis after firing Jimbo Fisher before him. And if you’ve been here before, you know where this is going.
In the immediate aftermath of Norvell’s firing,
early candidate lists started popping up for his replacement in Tallahassee. And wouldn’t you know it, Jimmy Sexton has Eli Drinkwitz’s name on the circuit once again:
His name surfaced during an active coaching cycle in 2025, including for other jobs in the SEC, but he stayed put for a seventh season at Missouri. Drinkwitz likely would leave the SEC only for one of the better jobs in another league, and Florida State would have to sell him on its roster budget and overall investment in the program. The 43-year-old has shown he can recruit and succeed with portal players. He also has a clear vision for how he runs a program. Drinkwitz has ACC experience at NC State but has never coached in Florida or the Southeast. He’s 64-32 overall as an FBS coach with a No. 8 finish in 2023. Mizzou recently romped past then-No. 8 Florida but has struggled against other ranked opponents.
The Athletic, in a subscribers-only post, also named Drinkwitz as a name to watch in the Florida State search.
Here’s the deal: I don’t think Eli Drinkwitz is leaving Mizzou, especially not for Florida State. The Seminoles are in major financial straits, enough so that buying Drink out from Mizzou one year into his brand new contract extension that was already twice as much as Norvell was making seems untenable. I’m also not sure Drinkwitz would be a great fit in the ACC. And for all the talk about it being easier to make the College Football Playoff there, Drinkwitz will soon only need to keep the Tigers in and around the top 25 to be an annual CFP contender. No need to jump ship for “greener pastures.”
All that aside, there will come a point when seeing Drink’s name in the annual rigamarole gets awfully tiring. In fact, I think we may already be getting there. It’s one thing to acknowledge that Jimmy Sexton is paid to get his clients good deals and keep them in mind whenever a high profile job is listed. And Drink would be foolish to get in his way.
But at what point does the yearly flirtation with exodus become tiresome? No one can question the job Drinkwitz has done in Columbia, especially when it comes to recruiting, program building and, more recently, sustained success on the field. But Mizzou still hasn’t broken into that upper echelon of contending programs. And until they reach that high water mark, there is something Drinkwitz still has left to prove. And you can only get so many contract extensions, while failing to get to that level, before fans start to grumble about your regular dalliance with other jobs.
Fair warning.
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
- In which Sam Counts the Ifs for the 2026-2027 hoops campaign:
This roster is the most like a Florida State roster Gates has had. He’s got size at every position, not a ton of ball handling, but maybe enough, and they’re deep. Maybe too deep. But the frontline is formidable. This could be a team that defends at a high level.
If you’re at all interested in how Dennis Gates has built this team around a few key players, you need to read this article.
- In which Jamal Roberts approaches rarified air for Mizzou running backs:
For Roberts, Saturday’s performance represented more than another productive night out of the backfield. Reaching 1,000 rushing yards places him among an exclusive group of Mizzou running backs while further establishing him as a centerpiece of the Tigers’ offense regardless of what Ahmad Hardy’s role is going forward.
Roberts continues to prove that the investment it took to get him back to Columbia was worth every penny.
- In which Mizzou opens as a slight ‘dog to Texas:
Those infamous words from Deloss Dodds have aged like milk in the Texas sun in the decade plus since they were spoken. The Longhorns have had so many “we’re back!” moments, the phrase has become the program’s calling card moreso than their actual results.
Last time Texas came to Columbia? That’s the last time they lost to the Tigers.
- In which Karen’s selected photos of the week are here:
This week, we saw the return of several sports teams at Mizzou, including women’s hoops and gymnastics. Not only that, but the SEC Cross Country Championships returned to Gans Creek. Dan was on hand as part of his internship with Mizzou Athletics at SECs, and then also snapped some shots at Mizzou Gymnastics’ Halloween Hog Roast (they served pulled pork sandwiches to celebrate Mizzou Football’s matchup with the Arkansas Razorbacks), while Margo attended Mizzou Women’s Hoops exhibition game against fellow mid-Missouri team, Lincoln University.
Excellent work as always, team! Support your Rock M photogs, people.
- In which Colin gives us a sneak peek on the 2026-2027 #TigerStyle team:
Last season set the groundwork for Tiger Style in a campaign where Brian Smith had to figure out what he had at several spots on the roster. The Tigers finished 12-8 in duals, a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championships and a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
After a few fallow years (at least compared to Mizzou’s historic expectations), it’s time for Brian Smith and #TigerStyle to break through to the top level once more.
- In which Mizzou Soccer bows out of their season:
Missouri finishes the 2026 season 5-9-3 overall and 2-6-2 in SEC play, a step up from last year’s 4-10-3 and 1-7-2. The Tigers lose a double-digit senior class, the first group Golan’s staff recruited and developed through the program, but she said a young core, including freshmen Rylie Morse and Lana Adams, will keep growing.
Steady improvement is what builds success long-term!
- In which Mizzou Volleyball gets a big, big win over No. 6 Tennessee:
“I think for us it’s more just, I feel really proud of this group and the time and the energy, and just the development and growth they’ve had throughout the season,” Sullivan said. “I’ve felt this for a while, this group, they’re starting to catch fire and it’s really fun to watch them. It’s fun to watch them in timeouts. It’s fun to watch them when they’re on the court.”
Once again, Dawn Sullivan has her team rounding into top form at the best time. Seems to be a trend with her coaching!
- Over at Rock M+, Watkins is setting some early season expectations for Dennis Gates and co., Mizzou Hoops is teasing an announcement of some sort, and we’ve opened up a space for you to complain about Drinkwitz always being bandied about for other jobs. Hop in!
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