An SEC head coach announced a new contract extension with his current school on Thanksgiving.
But it wasn’t Lane Kiffin.
Missouri announced Eliah Drinkwitz has signed a six-year contract with an annual salary just shy of $11 million.
“My family and I believe deeply in the vision and leadership from our administration and are incredibly happy to continue calling Columbia our home,” Drinkwitz said in a statement. “I’m grateful for the unwavering support of President Mun Choi, the Board of Curators, led by Chair Todd Graves and incoming Vice Chair Bob Blitz, along with our athletics director Laird Veatch. We’re also incredibly thankful for the support of our generous donors and NIL partners. I’m committed to continuing our work to build Mizzou into a championship program.”
It’s the not starting domino many were expecting, but could it be a sign of what Ole Miss or Lane Kiffin will announce on Saturday?
What does this mean for Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin?
Drinkwitz was widely believed to be LSU’s second choice for its head coach vacancy. Did he get an indication that LSU already knows who its next head coach will be?
On the surface, it would look like it.
But Drinkwitz was also reportedly Florida’s second choice after Kiffin and he was mentioned in connection with the vacancy at Penn State.
Neither of those schools have given any signs they’re nearing a decision or agreement for the open positions.
Maybe Drinkwitz wasn’t a contender for either of those jobs. Maybe it was always LSU or back to Missouri for him.
Reading the tea leaves
As we continue to wait for Saturday and the expected announcement of Kiffin’s coaching future, we continue to look for signs and clues as that the announcement will be.
If Drinkwitz was LSU’s second choice, and he wasn’t a candidate at Penn State and Florida, then him signing an extension to stay at Missouri isn’t a good sign for Ole Miss.
No SEC coach is going to decide without knowing for sure if there’s another opportunity. It feels like LSU told Drinkwitz, “we know who are guy is and it’s not you.”
Of course, reading tea leaves is a very inexact science.
