In the wake of Billy Napier's firing last week, there have been so many names flying around as to who the Gators should hire. The first name that popped up was Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, a coach that Florida has struggled at times to beat. However, one former legendary Florida head coach wants everyone to keep their SEC options open, as there are many great coaches in the conference.
If there is one coach who will go down in history as one of the best in Florida football history, it is Steve Spurrier. The fact that Spurrier has the field named for him at Florida says a lot about what the university thinks about him. When asked about who should fill the position at the school he won a National Championship with, Spurrier loves the idea of Kiffin as well, but threw another name out there to consider.
"I firmly think he [Kiffin] is a very good coach," Spurrier told Blake Toppmeyer of USA Today. "There’s no question about that, I like him. I like Eli Drinkwitz. I like a lot of guys out there that are proven winners."
Steve Spurrier believes that Florida should also focus on Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz
Spurrier knows that Florida needs a proven winner, not someone who is going to come in and put the program through yet another rebuild, but someone who can take over now and start winning right away. While Kiffin seems like the perfect candidate to do that with his history of winning, offensive mind, and canter with the media, he isn't the only coach out there that can do that.
Eli Drinkwitz took over a very bad Missouri football program, a program that struggled year in and year out to win in the SEC. Since joining the SEC in 2012, the Tigers have won East Division titles in 2023 and 2014 and even reached the SEC Championship game in both of those seasons. However, it wasn't till Drinkwitz got there that the Tigers showed much competition.
Missouri hired Drinkwitz back in late 2019, and it took him some time to find consistent success in Columbia. However, when looking at the program he took over in 2019, it made sense that he would struggle a bit at the beginning. However, Drinkwitz has led the Tigers to a bowl game in each of his first five seasons, going 2-2. The Music City Bowl in 2020 wasn't played due to COVID-19 reasons.
In the last two seasons, Drinkwitz led Missouri to an 11-win season in 2023 and a 10-win season in 2022. In both of those seasons, the Tigers ended the season ranked in the Top 25. So Drinkwitz proved that he is a winner, especially in the SEC, and that is exactly what Spurrier wants.
"I think we’re going to try to hire a proven coach who’s got a winning record in the SEC or another major conference," Spurrier said. "I think that’s the type of coach we’re looking for."
Drinkwitz has proven himself, so if Kiffin suddenly isn't available to hire anymore, the Missouri head coach just might be the next target for Florida.