6 Missouri football coaches get contract extensions, pay bumps. Here are details

Six Missouri football coaches have had their contracts extended, according to documents posted to the official Missouri athletics website Wednesday. According to contract amendments reviewed by the Tribune on Wednesday, running backs coach Curtis Luper, defensive ends coach and pass-rush specialist Brian Early, cornerbacks coach and assistant head coach Al Pogue, wide receivers coach Jacob Peeler, linebackers coach Derek Nicholson and safeties coach Jacob Yoro each have had their deals extended. Between the six extensions from the figures the Tribune has been able to review, Mizzou will spend at least an extra $485,000 per year on the assistants’ combined new salaries.

That uptick in staff spending isn’t unexpected. In a lucrative new contract for Eli Drinkwitz signed this past November that saw the Tigers ’ soon-to-be seventh-year head coach sign a deal worth $64. 5 million through the 2031 season, he also received an additional $4 million to spend on his staff salary pool.

The Tigers now have $16 million to use each year on assistant pay, which MU athletic director Laird Veatch, at the time, estimated puts the Tigers among the top half of the SEC. Some of that is being put to use on returning staff members. Early, who joined MU from Houston in 2024 and has since helped coach NFL edge rushers in Darius Robinson, Johnny Walker Jr.

and Zion Young, has received a $100,000 pay raise and has been extended through January 2027. He will earn $575,000 this upcoming year in total pay, which includes base salary and non-salary compensation. Luper has received a two-year extension through January 2028 that also comes with a $50,000 raise.