Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz says he won't be replacing Mike Norvell at Florida State

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz says a move to Tallahassee to replace Mike Norvell at Florida State is not in the cards.After Norvell was fired Sunday following FSU's loss to Clemson, the No. 19 Tigers' coach was mentioned as a potential candidate to replace Norvell. At his Tuesday news conference, Drinkwitz didn't even wait for questions to be asked by reporters in attendance before addressing the topic."I'm not a candidate at Florida State," Drinkwitz said. "I want to clear that up. Let's focus on the main thing, which is Texas. And let's eliminate all the distractions and clear the clutter from that standpoint for my team and for everybody out there."Drinkwitz is in the first full season of a contract extension he signed with the school at the end of the 2025 season. As the college football coaching carousel spun wildly a season ago, Drinkwitz was mentioned for many open jobs. That speculation resulted in a second contract extension in five months. Drinkwitz had agreed to a contract extension in July.In 2025, Drinkwitz was the 11th-highest paid coach in the country according to USA Today's coaching salary database with an annual salary of $9 million. His November extension went through the 2031 season and averages $10.75 million per season.Florida State owes Norvell a $50 million buyout for firing him when it did. The school now has openings at athletic director and football coach following the firing of Mike Alford in September. Norvell was retained for the 2026 season after FSU went 5-7 in 2025, partially because of the substantial buyout that was in the contract extension he had signed after Florida State's undefeated regular season in 2023.Missouri hosts No. 10 Texas on Saturday in what's essentially a College Football Playoff elimination game. Both teams are 6-2 and won't have much of a case for inclusion in the 12-team field with a third loss.