When Missouri’s offense gets talked about, the spotlight usually lands on the players - and for good reason. Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts give the Tigers a running back pairing worth watching.
Nicholas Rodriguez and Robert Woodyard Jr. could become another notable tandem. Even former Ole Miss teammates Cayden Lee and Austin Simmons fit the bill.
But the most interesting duo in Columbia might be on the sideline.
New offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey and quarterbacks coach Garrett Riley arrive with the kind of combined résumé that can change the shape of an offense. Lindsey has been coaching or coordinating in college since 2010, and Missouri is the seventh team where he has served as offensive coordinator.
His stops include Auburn, Michigan and North Carolina. This season is also the first time Lindsey will be the offensive coordinator without handling quarterbacks as well, which makes Riley’s role even more important.
Lindsey’s answer to filling that spot was to bring in a coach with real credentials. When he was tasked with adding help after being hired in December 2025, he turned to Riley, Clemson’s former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
"To be able to not be intimidated to bring in a former Broyles Award winner like Coach Riley, who's got unbelievable skill set and coaching set... it takes a special coach to do that," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said during SEC Media Days.
Riley comes to Missouri with a strong background of his own. He has served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at SMU, TCU and Clemson.
His work at SMU produced two top-15 offenses in two seasons. At TCU, he helped guide the 2022 team to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game with a high-powered attack.
He also won the 2022 Broyles Award, given to the top assistant coach in college football, during his time at Clemson.
His Clemson run ended after a down year offensively, but the track record before that is hard to ignore. Riley helped develop Cade Klubnik into a top-caliber quarterback, with Klubnik throwing 36 touchdowns and six interceptions in his junior season. Riley also coached TCU Heisman runner-up Max Duggan.
Lindsey brings a similar history of quarterback development. His résumé includes work with North Carolina’s Drake Maye, Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham and Southern Miss’s Nick Mullens. Maye and Mullens each posted seasons with more than 4,000 passing yards and 38 touchdowns under Lindsey.
"He's got great relationship skills and relationship building," Drinkwitz said. "He's got an understanding of holding a standard... and he's got a great track record of coaching quarterbacks and he's been in this league before."
That background matters because the two coaches will be working with Austin Simmons, the Ole Miss transfer who has been named Missouri’s starting quarterback.
Drinkwitz pointed to Simmons’ communication ability and "photographic memory" as traits that fit well with Lindsey and Riley. He also praised Simmons’ arm strength and the way he has handled himself since arriving.
"I love the way (Simmons has) gone about his business, embracing his role as a leader of our team and a quarterback," Drinkwitz said. "I think his combination of Garrett Riley and Chip Lindsey are really going to be good."
Drinkwitz added that Simmons’ ability to talk through what he sees on the field should help speed up the learning curve.
"I think the best thing about Austin is his communication skills. He can communicate at a high level about what he's seeing, what he understands, how routes are similar to what he's done in the past that he really liked," Drinkwitz said. "That's accelerated the growth between Coach Lindsey, Coach Riley and what we're doing."
That’s the real appeal here: Missouri isn’t just banking on one coach or one quarterback. It’s betting that Lindsey and Riley, with their shared experience and proven work with quarterbacks, can help Simmons turn that promise into production.
In Other News...
Why Eli Drinkwitz Staying Changed Everything For Mizzou This Offseason
With Missouri 40 days from its 2026 opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the biggest offseason development has already happened before a snap is played. Eli Drinkwitz signed a six-year extension that keeps him in Columbia through 2031, and the move gave the Tigers a clear signal of stability at a time when roster retention matters as much as recruiting. For a program trying to build on what it has, that kind of continuity can shape everything from the locker room to the transfer market.
Drinkwitz did not just provide reassurance in theory, either. His decision to stay helped Missouri bring back as many as 37 players from the 2025 roster for next season, a level of continuity that can change the feel of an entire offseason. At SEC Media Days, player representatives Jamal Roberts, Cayden Green and Nicholas Rodriguez all made the same point in their own way, saying his choice to remain was a significant one for the team. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Alum Euphenie Andre Is Now A National Champion
Euphenie Andre added another major line to an already impressive rsum by winning the womens triple jump at the 2026 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championship, a breakthrough that fits the pattern she has built since her Missouri days. The former Tiger has long been one of the steadier names in the event, with international experience for the United States and a collegiate career in Columbia that left its own mark in records and All-American recognition.
What made this title stand out was not just the medal, but the way Andre kept climbing through the competition, first moving past her previous best before finishing with a personal record of 13.94 meters. For Missouri, it is another reminder that one of its standout alumni is still on the rise, and the bigger question now is how far that momentum can carry her on the international stage. [Read more 🡒]