UM System Board of Curators meeting for potential Drinkwitz contract extension Wednesday

As the 2025 regular season nears its conclusion, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz’s future with the program could be decided this week.

The University of Missouri System Board of Curators announced a special meeting set for Wednesday afternoon that will begin with a call to order at 3. An executive session will begin at 3:05 p.m. According to the notice, the consideration of certain confidential or privileged communications with university counsel, personnel matters and contracts will be discussed.

Ahead of Saturday’s matchup against Arkansas, a contract extension could be on the table for Drinkwitz and Missouri. KOMU has learned the meeting relates to the future of Drinkwitz and a contract extension to keep him at Mizzou.

KSDK’s Frank Cusumano had a similar report on X.

“I am told by people close to the situation that the Board of Curators and Coach Drinkwitz are getting very close to finalizing a deal,” Cusumano said. “It could come by the end of the week.”

Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger later put out that the curators were meeting to authorize moving forward with “a proposed — not finalized — new contract” for Drinkwitz.

If it is indeed an extension, it will likely be long term. 

Contracts that last beyond five years are approved by the curators, according to UM System regulations.

This comes after several weeks of Drinkwitz’s name being floated in job rumors across the country, including at Penn State, Florida, LSU and Auburn. If an agreement is made between Drinkwitz and Missouri, that would end the talk of the sixth-year coach leaving elsewhere.

Both sides have reached multiple agreements throughout Drinkwitz’s tenure. The most recent came in February, when he was extended through the 2029 season and secured an increased salary pool for his staff. His extension on Dec. 5, 2023, came at a similar time of year.

It is not confirmed that a new extension will take place at Wednesday’s meeting, but the possibility has been set in motion.

Mizzou looking to improve passing game

Missouri’s four losses in the 2025 season have all shared similar examples of the passing game not working well enough. In its 17-6 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday, it was as apparent as ever in a zero-touchdown performance.

The Tigers rank No. 85 nationally in passing yards per game (210.7). Just factoring in Southeastern Conference play, that number drops to 173 per game, which would position them at No. 116.

With the inability to also run the ball against a stout Sooners run defense, it was a recipe for a poor offensive performance from Missouri. While returning quarterback Beau Pribula put up 231 passing yards, he completed just 20 of 36 attempts and struggled to get the offense down the field.

“I think there’s a lot of room for improvement in our passing game ... . During the moments in the game where we need to be able to rely on that, I don’t think it’s come through for us the way we wanted it to,” Drinkwitz said Tuesday. “I think the inconsistency and injuries at quarterback have played some effect on that, but not consistent enough would be my response.”

The quarterback position has been in flux throughout the entire year. It started with Sam Horn’s torn ACL before developing into Pribula’s dislocated ankle. That forced true freshman Matt Zollers into a starting role against Texas A&M and Mississippi State, which was a tough task given his inexperience.

Regardless of who has been the signal-caller, the same issues arise: players not executing, questionable play-calling and a lack of consistency overall. Drinkwitz acknowledged that the passing game hasn’t been up to par with where it should be but didn’t point to any specifics that have led to mishaps.

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“I’m not into reflection and all that stuff,” Drinkwitz said. “At the end of the season, we’ll look holistically at, ‘Hey, what is it? What is the exact root cause of this, and how do we fix it?’ But that’s not where we’re at right now.”

The trend, however, is clear. The Tigers have one more game to correct it against Arkansas before an eventual bowl matchup, but the damage from the struggles has hindered their ability to push for the College Football Playoff.

If Missouri can’t find a rhythm offensively and create explosive drives, then Saturday could serve as a disappointing conclusion to the regular season.

“I think there’s a style of defense that has been played against us the last four games that’s carried over,” Drinkwitz said. “If somebody’s going to play extra hat in the box and play man to man, and you can’t figure out how to ... get people open or create explosive plays, then that lacks what we need to do in order to be successful.”

The level of defense Missouri faces will drop off this weekend. Arkansas’ defense allows 36.8 points per game, the highest average in the SEC. That presents a good opportunity for the passing game to find some momentum for the first time in a while.

But one specific stat ranks above the rest for Drinkwitz: third-down conversion. Missouri only converted 3 of 15 against the Sooners, which played a big role in its inability to find the offensive rhythm it needed.

Improvement in that area could be what pushes the Tigers ahead in this installment of the Battle Line Rivalry.

“It comes down to — whether we’re talking about Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Alabama, Oklahoma — third downs. That’s it,” Drinkwitz said. “You can’t give Ahmad Hardy the ball enough if on third down you can’t convert. Bottom line.

“So, we have to do a better job of winning situational football in order to be successful, and that’s something we’ve done really well in the games that we win, and it’s a point of issue in the games that we haven’t won.”

Timing issues arise on special teams

Once kicker Blake Craig tore his ACL at the start of the season, MU’s special teams unit was flipped completely on its head.

Mistakes have become commonplace throughout the year. First it was internal pressure on field goals, but the issue now is allowing defenders to come off the edge on field-goal attempts. Often, it results in blocked kicks or puts the kicker at a disadvantage.

Drinkwitz boiled the special teams woes down to operation time, which is the time it takes from the snap to the kick on field-goal attempts.

“Our timing mechanism has just not been fast enough, and that is the responsibility of everyone involved to get that fixed,” Drinkwitz said. “We made an adjustment with a different kicker, and the timing was easily made.”

After he barely knocked in his first attempt from 39 yards against Oklahoma, true freshman Robert Meyer’s second from 35 yards was blocked. The next drive, Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer connected with receiver Isaiah Sategna III for an 87-yard TD, shifting the momentum for the rest of the game.

The Tigers turned to sophomore Oliver Robbins for the next field goal, resulting in a 21-yard make. That time, the kick was able to launch far quicker than Meyer’s attempts.

Missouri couldn’t have prepared for the situation it’s in with two inexperienced kicking options, but it can’t excuse the timing and protection problems that consistently appear on field goals. Preventing those issues will be crucial during its trip to Arkansas.

“When you’re dealing with young players in the moment and they want to make it, other things slow down, and that can’t happen,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s all got to work together at the right speed in order for us to be effective.”