Both Missouri Coordinators Expected to Return According to Eli Drinkwitz

Missouri Tigers head football coach Eli Drinkwitz said on Friday that he expects both his offensive and defensive coordinator will be retained in Missouri for the 2024 season.

One of the biggest questions for Missouri football for the upcoming offseason was whether or not they would be able to retain offensive coordinator Kirby Moore and defensive coordinator Blake Baker. Both were linked to possibly landing head coaching jobs elsewhere after successful years for both units.

In an interview on Friday morning with 590 The Fan KFNS though, head coach Eli Drinkwitz said that fans should expect news in a couple of days about both Moore and Baker returning to Missouri, according to host Frank Cusumano. 

Moore was hired by Drinkwitz in January of 2023, following a 2022 season where the Tigers' offense averaged 369.8 yards per-game, 11th in the SEC. Moore spent the 2022 season as Fresno State's offensive coordinator and became the first offensive coordinator that Drinkwitz has staffed at Missouri. Drinkwitz also forfeited play-calling duties to Moore which led to the Tigers averaging 442.9 yards per-game, the 5th highest in the SEC. 

Moore's offense included three members of the 2023 All-SEC Coaches First Team in running back Cody Schrader, wider receiver Luther Burden III and offensive tackle Javon Foster.

2023 was Baker's second season as Missouri's defensive coordinator. Baker was previously the linebackers coach in 2021 but was brought on to Missouri's staff in 2022 to be the Tigers' safety coach. Missouri defensive coordinator Steve Wilks accepted a job with the NFL's Carolina Panthers ahead of the 2022 season, allowing Baker to be promoted to the coordinator position.

Baker's unit included two members on the 2023 All-SEC Coaches First Team in defensive end Darius Robinson and corner back Kris Abrams-Draine.

Stay tuned to MizzouCentral for any further updates regarding the two coordinators.

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