Mizzou is poised to appoint Corey Batoon as its new Defensive Coordinator.
It appears that the Missouri Tigers have potentially secured their new defensive coordinator. As per Pete Thamel of ESPN, Missouri has extended a contract offer to Corey Batoon, who currently serves as the defensive coordinator for Southern Alabama.
Although the contract details are still being finalized, Batoon has been instrumental in Southern Alabama’s defensive efforts over the past three years, with the Jaguars ranking within the top 27 in scoring defense for the past two seasons.
Batoon boasts extensive coaching experience, starting his career in 1991 as an assistant coach at Pierce Community College in California. While Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz and Batoon haven’t previously worked together, they both have ties to Arkansas State, where Batoon served as a defensive backs and special teams coach from 2009 to 2011 under Hugh Freeze, coinciding with Drinkwitz’s tenure as a running backs coach and later as co-offensive coordinator.
Batoon also brings SEC experience to the table, having held various roles at Ole Miss under Hugh Freeze, including assistant athletic director, defensive assistant, safeties coach, and special teams coordinator from 2012 to 2016. Following his time at Ole Miss, Batoon moved to Florida Atlantic as a co-defensive coordinator, focusing on special teams and safeties in 2017, before taking on coaching roles at Hawaii and Liberty prior to joining Southern Alabama.
The vacancy for the defensive coordinator position at Missouri arose in early January when Blake Baker, the former coordinator, accepted the same role at LSU, becoming the highest-paid assistant coach in the nation. Baker had overseen Missouri’s defense for two seasons, during which the Tigers emerged as one of the top defensive units in the SEC.
