Missouri HC Eli Drinkwitz drops Nick Saban quote at SEC Media Days

Missouri football head coach Eli Drinkwitz is not a Nick Saban disciple, but isn’t afraid to pull from the lexicon of his former SEC foe.

During SEC Media Days last week, Drinkwitz quoted Saban’s famous “rat poison” phrase when asked about the Tigers’ recent success.

“If you get caught up, Coach Saban calls it rat poison,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s rat poison either way. Praise and blame are both the same. You can’t care about it either way.”

Over the past two seasons, Drinkwitz has led Missouri to a 21-5 record and wins in the Cotton Bowl and Music City Bowl. It is the first time the Tigers have posted back to back double digit win seasons since 2013-14.

However, Drinkwitz isn’t letting the success get to his players heads as the team is entering 2025 with a chip on its shoulder type of mentality.

“We have a ‘something to prove’ mindset,” Drinkwitz said. “Whether you’re talking about our coaching staff, our players, we all have a little bit of a chip on our shoulder. At the end of the day, two-minute drive, fourth quarter, that’s not what you’re thinking about. You think about your trust and belief in each other, doing your job at a higher level.”

Missouri will still need to go through Alabama as it will welcome the Crimson Tide to Faurot Field on Oct. 11.

Alabama got the best of the  in its Tigers matchup last fall, posting a 34-0 shutout in Bryant-Denny Stadium.