Eli Drinkwitz jokes with Mark Stoops on vacation, said 'Kentucky sucked'

Back in early November, Mark Stoops got the best of Eli Drinkwitz in Columbia. Kentucky was able to go on the road and take care of business against Missouri, winning 21-17. The two will meet up again on Oct. 15 but before then, Drinkwitz got one ahead of Stoops.

Even SEC coaches deserve vacations but apparently, they enjoy the same destinations. Drinkwitz and Stoops somehow ran into each other at the beach this summer, having a conversation with each other before realizing they need to enjoy their time off, not talk football.

But Drinkwitz made sure to bring up the subtle but hilarious jab he got in there, one Stoops seemingly took well according to the Missouri head coach.

“This summer — go out, rented out a house at the beach,” Drinkwitz began when making an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show. “We took my family down there. There’s a riptide in front of us so they tell us we got to move 100 yards down the beach. So, we walk down the beach and I look and this guy starts walking toward me. And I’m like ‘that guy looks familiar.’ Mark Stoops.

“In this country, in this league, you can’t avoid SEC coaches, they’re everywhere. Told him Kentucky sucked, he had a good laugh about it. Traded a few lines and both of us said ‘hey man, we’re on vacation, let’s go our separate ways.'”

Going head to head against each other, Stoops currently holds the advantage. Missouri won the two head coach’s first matchup during the 2020 season but Kentucky has taken the past two. Both of those were close contests, with the Wildcats winning by a combined 11 points.

No doubt, both Drinkwitz and Stoops are competitors with one another. Their annual game is quite an important one in the SEC East, fighting to climb up the standings. Neither is going to want to drop the 2023 matchup as both programs are entering important seasons. Getting a win could be vital to success

But we also now know they are able to joke with one another. Maybe it’s just easier when on the beach and not on the field or recruiting trail. However, it’s good to see some SEC coaches share a sense of humor with one another.

And hopefully, both got back to their relaxing vacations before nose-diving back into the grind of a modern college football schedule.