When we think back to Florida’s coaching search last year, current Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz has a “viable” candidate for a hot minute. We put viable in quotation marks because the instant his name was even floated in the public space, Gator fans revolted. We here at Hail Florida Hail may or may not have joined in the revolt.
Ultimately, Drinkwitz signed an extension with Missouri, and Florida landed Jon Sumrall.
With the Gators set to take on the Tigers, this afternoon provides a chance to prove Florida right as to why they didn’t want Drinkwitz in the first place.
Florida set to take on the coach the fans definitely didn’t want
One might say, “But Ben, you guys didn’t want Jon Sumrall either when he was first announced.”
And that is a correct statement, and one we aren’t going to act like it isn’t true. As we have made the point from time to time, part of the initial blowback on Sumrall was the fact that Florida had been all in on trying to get Lane Kiffin, and the reports that kept coming out indicated that people inside Florida’s building were confident in getting Kiffin.
When the rug got pulled out at the last second, almost anyone would have been a disappointment, and Sumrall won fans over instantly once fans got to know him.
With Drinkwitz, fans had a pretty good idea of who he was, and the vibes were not good.
First, the “success” he's had in Columbia has largely been built on smoke and mirrors. As was pointed out after his loss to Mississippi State last week, Drinkwitz is 0-16 against teams that finish with a winning record in the SEC. Over the past three seasons, he is 1-9 against ranked opponents, and that one win was against a Boston College squad in 2024 that got a temporary boost after beating an FSU squad that would finish 2-10.
But the bigger reason is the same personality reason that helped Sumrall win over Florida fans instantly. Drinkwitz comes across as a frontrunner who demands praise the instant something goes right. In 2023, Missouri celebrated like it had won the Super Bowl after needing 4th and 17 to beat a 5-7 Florida team. Then in 2024 against a 2-10 Mississippi State squad, he started yelling at the Bulldogs late in the game, “Hey Mississippi State, Hey Mississippi State. Shut the **** up or I’m gonna score.” Last year, he went after a student reporter in a press conference who dared to make a pregame prediction that Missouri would lose. This year he was spazzing out on social media after Missouri beat Kansas.
If Missouri wins today, he’ll probably find this piece and will have something to say, but it would also kind of prove a point. Remember last year when Florida’s staff started running around with “Sun Belt Billy and the boys” tweets after beating Texas?
It’s the same energy.
So as we watch today, good or bad, just be reminded that in an alternate universe, Drinkwitz could have been on Florida’s sideline instead.
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