Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz shuts down Florida State rumors ahead of Texas showdown

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz is "not a candidate at Florida State," he told reporters in his Tuesday press conference. The seventh-year leader of the No. 19 Tigers made the statement unprompted as his team prepares for a showdown at No. 10 Texas on Saturday.

"I want to clear that up," Drinkwitz said during his opening statement. "Let's focus on the main thing, which is Texas, and let's eliminate all the distractions and clear the clutter from that standpoint for my team and for everybody out there."

Drinkwitz appeared on CBS Sports' initial list of candidates to replace fired coach Mike Norvell alongside Duke's Manny Diaz, Wake Forest's Jake Dickert and others. But after signing an exentsion last November through the 2031 season, Drinkwitz made it clear he won't be jumping ship for FSU, which parted with Norvell on Sunday after he posted a 41-39 record in seasons.

The 43-year old Drinkwitz is 52-31 (29-26) overall at Missouri and 35-12 over the past four seasons. If Mizzou (6-2, 3-2 SEC) can upset the Longhorns as a 2.5-point road underdog on Saturday, it will have a 15.9% of reaching the College Football Playoff, according to the CBS Sports CFP Forecaster.

By addressing the Florida State vacancy head-on, Drinkwitz is eliminating a potential distraction as his team heads into a brutal month of November. After the Texas game, Missouri plays at No. 2 Georgia before hosting No. 8 Kentucky and closing the regular season against Oklahoma.

Drinkwitz's name has come up in connection with other openings over the years as he's built Missouri into a steady SEC outfit. However, his extension last November, which came amid a coaching vacancy at Penn State, raised his average annual salary past $10.7 million. Drinkwitz is the 11th-highest paid coach in college football, according to the USA Today coaches salary databse. That means the list of programs which could realistically boost his pay is short.

Eli Drinkwitz shuts down Florida State coaching buzz ahead of Texas David Cobb 1 min read

CFP Rankings prediction: Miami at 1, surprise team in top 4 John Talty 5 min read

How 2026's upset-filled season is reviving memories of wild 2007 Robby Kalland 4 min read

FSU out to save the standard in search to replace Mike Norvell Chip Patterson 8 min read

SEC Power Rankings: Oklahoma plunges deeper into despair Austin Nivison 8 min read

Bill Belichick addresses reports of split with Jordon Hudson Brad Crawford 3 min read

Oklahoma fires OC Ben Arbuckle amid offensive struggles Shehan Jeyarajah 3 min read

What to expect in Tuesday's first College Football Playoff top 25 rankings Brad Crawford 4 min read

Florida State fires coach Mike Norvell after seven seasons Austin Nivison 5 min read

Mike Norvell buyout, contract details after Florida State firing Robby Kalland 2 min read