Eli Drinkwitz explains why he said 'we stand on business' to Josh Heupel after Missouri's win against Tennessee
Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz went viral last season for his comments to Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel after Mizzou's 36-7 win against UT. During the post-game handshake between the two coaches, Drinkwitz said "we stand on business, Josh" to Heupel. Heupel was asked about the interaction the following week, but he told […]
Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz went viral last season for his comments to Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel after Mizzou's 36-7 win against UT.
During the post-game handshake between the two coaches, Drinkwitz said "we stand on business, Josh" to Heupel.
Heupel was asked about the interaction the following week, but he told reporters that he didn't hear the comment from Drinkwitz.
"Man, I really didn't hear it while we were out there at the handshake," said Heupel. "We've moved well on to the game we got this week."
Drinkwitz recently appeared on the Like a Farmer Podcast and he was asked about the "we stand on business" comment.
The Missouri head coach explained that he promised his defense that he'd say the phrase to Heupel if the Tigers got the win that night.
"Going into that game, we're going to play Tennessee, they had beaten us pretty good the previous two years," said Drinkwitz. "And our players knew that we didn't play our best. And defensively we hadn't played our best. So the motto for that week for the defense was 'stand on business'. We were going to stand on business. It just means everybody's gotta do their job. Don't worry about the scoreboard. Don't worry about the opponent. But we gotta stand on business."
"So I told the defense if they stood on business that I would tell the head coach (Heupel) that after the game," continued Drinkwitz. "And they did it. If you'll watch the clip closely, the defensive captain, No. 6, is walking right behind me, because we were beating them pretty good and they were all gassing me up. And they were walking right behind me to make sure I did it. I had two choices — I could either look like a jackass nationally by saying it or I could look like a jackass to my team for not saying it. And there's no choice there. I'm going to make sure that what I do and what I say with my team is always consistent."
"If other people don't like it, I really don't care," added Drinkwitz. "I really don't care. Because the brotherhood in the locker room is the most important thing to me. My word to those men is way more important than what the outside noise thinks about me. People think I'm dorky, people think I'm arrogant — I don't care. You know who doesn't think all that about me? Those players in that locker room."
Drinkwitz has become quite the villain in East Tennessee over the last couple of years thanks to the "stand on business" comment and other snarky moments involving the Vols (like yelling at Tennessee's basketball team).
But while I'm sure plenty of Vols fans are annoyed by Drinkwitz's personality, it's ultimately a good thing for the sport. Those types of rivalries and back-and-forth interactions are part of what makes SEC football so compelling on a weekly basis.
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