Could Eli Drinkwitz Force A Second School To Fire Its Head Coach In One Year

Missouri head football coach Eli Drinkwitz has quirky jokes and some decent wins. He's also apparently head of a firing squad. After Drinkwitz's Tigers beat Florida in 2021, the Gators moved on from Dan Mullen.

Now, the question is whether another win by Missouri and Drinkwitz could force a different school to move on from their head coach.

That coach would be Auburn's Bryan Harsin, who will be without his starting quarterback TJ Finley due to a shoulder issue, according to a report.

It's crazy in some ways to think that Drinkwitz was the last SEC head coach that Dan Mullen competed against, but that's the world we now live in.

I'm not saying this will happen if Auburn somehow drops Saturday's game against Missouri, but nothing surprises me anymore in college football.

Just this past weekend we saw Arizona State finally fire Herm Edwards. And a week earlier, Nebraska had to pull the trigger on firing Scott Frost. These two situations are not alike, but athletic directors are not worried about optics anymore.

As for Auburn, they're still searching for a new AD, after Allen Greene resigned once he found out the school would not be renewing his contract.

Auburn Hired Harsin In December of 2020

So would the Tigers fire Harsin without a permanent AD in place? It would sure give off the vibe that the boosters are still running the show on the Plains. And that isn't breaking news to anyone that knows the inner-workings of that program.

But does the pressure finally get to Auburn president Christopher Roberts? It's already a tough situation for folks inside the athletic department, so making it worse might not be the best move at the moment. Especially coming off the disastrous loss to Penn State.

Money Problems? Not A Chance

But, we're also dealing with a different era in college football. Money is no longer a problem for these schools. Harsin's owed 70% of the reported $26.5 million that's currently left on his five-year deal.

We also can't forget about the off-season turmoil, where Auburn launched an inquiry into Bryan Harsin. Accusations and scandalous allegations came out about the head coach, some that involved his family.

Drinkwitz and Missouri Are 2-1

How bad do things have to get at Auburn to fire the head coach during the season? Well, losing to Eli Drinkwitz on Saturday could expedite the impending move.

The Tigers fan base is coming off a huge letdown against Penn State, and kickoff is slated for 11 am Saturday. Something tells me the atmosphere won't be a problem for Missouri QB Brady Cook.

Dan Mullen was fired the following morning after losing to Missouri. If Auburn comes out on Saturday looking lethargic and drops this game to Eli Drinkwitz, I'd imagine the big-money players that are quietly running the Auburn football program wouldn't hesitate to pony up the buyout.

The question is whether the president would sign-off on it.

I don't see this type of scenario playing out, but I also didn't expect Florida to be forced to fire Dan Mullen last season. Anything and everything is on the table in a conference that will be expanding soon.

A lot if riding on this game against Eli Drinkwitz, which I also didn't expect to say before the 2022 season.