It’s been a minute since James Franklin got fired from Penn State after failing to cash in on the Natty dream for the 10th time in a row. But when you rack up 9–11 wins a season, obviously somebody is going to dial your phone, especially in a conference like the SEC, where winning eight games is a dream for many programs that would trade their coaches for just one more win. But is one more win without making the playoffs really worth changing coaches? That’s exactly what might be going on with James Franklin and the SEC’s $9 million man.

On November 11, college football insider Matthew Rocchio joined the “Randy Karraker Show” alongside host Randy Karraker and discussed the growing rumors about a potential swap between James Franklin and Mizzou Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz. Randy brought up the connection between Eli and Penn State, saying, “Eli Drinkwitz to pair up with Penn State, where James Franklin got whacked because he was 1-18 against ranked teams.”

According to Mizzou Power’s Gabe Armond, things are heating up between Drinkwitz and Penn State, which has sparked a lot of conversation on social media about a possible move. To be fair, Missouri fans aren’t surprised that Penn State might want Drinkwitz. He’s done well at Missouri, consistently hitting the 8–11 win range over the last two to three years. But what bothers people is the other side of the rumor – that Missouri might hire James Franklin if Drinkwitz leaves.

Matthew Rocchio kept it blunt: “What would piss me off, the idea that Mizzou then hires James Franklin, just the redundancy, just the trading.” Fans feel like it wouldn’t make much sense. Randy Karrakar compared it to the NHL “hot stove,” where coaches just swap jobs every year. He joked that it would be like firing a guy who can’t win the big game to hire a guy who can’t win the big game. Both coaches are good, but neither has consistently beaten top-tier opponents. Drinkwitz is 1-9 against the top 10. So swapping one for the other might feel like going in circles.

In the end, fans are frustrated because they want Missouri to keep stacking wins and eventually knock on the playoff door. Replacing Drinkwitz with Franklin doesn’t exactly scream “playoff project.” Meanwhile, Eli Drinkwitz seems busy in his own world.

Eli Drinkwitz on Texas A&M predicting their play-calls

Missouri struggled offensively against Texas A&M in Week 11. The Aggies’ defense could predict many of Missouri’s plays even before the snap. Offensive tackle Cayden Green said the Aggies “started to kind of key on what we were doing,” showing that Missouri’s formations and pre-snap communication made them easier to read. Even with an extra week to prepare, thanks to a bye week, Missouri couldn’t gain an advantage.

“Obviously we’ve got to go back and check our tendencies,” Drinkwitz said. “We came back off by week, felt like we had a pretty good handle on our stuff. We run a lot outside zone, I think that’s probably pretty predictable. So we just got to go back and make sure that we’re doing the best job we can to check our stances. Check our wording and verbiage to make sure we’re clean on that.”

Part of the problem was Missouri’s predictable offense and the challenge of starting true freshman Matt Zollers at quarterback. Zollers completed just 7 of 22 passes for 77 yards and looked overwhelmed at times. Drinkwitz admitted, “We let him down as coaches tonight with the protection plan.” In simple terms, the offensive game plan and pass protection didn’t fully support him. Missouri is now focused on adjusting the offense to better fit Zollers’ strengths. While continuing to assess the team’s overall strategy through the rest of the season.