Greg McElroy calls out Eli Drinkwitz for ‘coach speak’ on motivational tactics

Missouri took a massive leap forward last season, finishing with an 11-2 overall record. Now, the pressure is on the Tigers to have another standout campaign. At the 2024 SEC Media Days, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz insisted he isn’t allowing outside noise to affect his program.

“It really is not about anybody else except our own internal drive and expectations to be the very best that we can be,” Drinkwitz said. “We don’t rely on exterior noise and exterior factors to provide our motivation.

“We’re motivated every day with again, an always compete mindset, developing an elite edge, which is energy, details, grit, emotional consistency, with how we train, how we prepare each day, in order for us to play our best game on Saturday.”

Despite Drinkwitz’s best efforts, ESPN’s Greg McElroy isn’t buying it. On Thursday, the college football analyst claimed Drinkwitz’s comments don’t line up with his previous behaviors.

“[That’s] coach speak, big time,” McElroy said. “Even running over to Josh Heupel at the end of the game and saying we stand on business — like he is very much one that is aware of what’s being said about his program. I think that program last year, in particular, really galvanized them that they weren’t really at the top of everyone’s mind when thinking about the SEC rankings last year.

“I think they were picked fifth in the media polls while we were at media days last year in Nashville… I think he’s 100% a coach that would use any tactic necessary to get his players to play with a little bit more of an edge.”

In the past, Drinkwitz has relied on outside comments or previous losses to motivate his team. He hasn’t been shy to show off his tactics on a national stage.

After Florida beat Missouri in 2020, Gators’ then-head coach Dan Mullen donned a Darth Vader costume to the postgame press conference. Per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the costume was part of a Halloween tradition that started when he was a coach at Mississippi State.

Evidently, Drinkwitz didn’t find the costume as funny as others across the college football landscape. After Missouri defeated Florida the following year, Drinkwitz concluded the press conference by tossing his hood over his head, pulling out a lightsaber and saying, “May the force be with you.”

This incident isn’t the only time Drinkwitz has taken a shot at opposing coaches. As McElroy mentioned, after Missouri took down Tennessee last season, Drinkwitz said, “We stand on business,” to UT head coach Josh Heupel at midfield before jogging away to celebrate with his team.

Drinkwitz later explained he had promised his players to say it to Heupel if they won because it had been the team’s motto during the week leading up to the game.

Eli Drinkwitz and Co. will have a chip on their shoulder again in the upcoming season. In spite of its fantastic 2023 campaign, the media chose Missouri to finish sixth in the SEC in 2024.