New CMU Football Coach: Hard, Physical and Fast is the Name of the Game

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New CMU Football Coach: Hard, Physical and Fast is the Name of the Game

12/10/2024 4:24:00 PM | Football, Our Stories

Watch Event Event Photo Gallery Day One Photo Gallery Matt Drinkall Release

CMU football coach Matt Drinkall introduced to community in Fired Up to be a Chippewa event on Tuesday.

By: Andy Sneddon

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – If a football program does, indeed, take on the personality of its coach, expect this from Central Michigan under Matt Drinkall: Midwest style and straight forward.

"Physical, that's going to the No. 1 thing," Drinkall said Tuesday during his introductory presser in the atrium of the Kulhavi Events Center. "Culturally, like a violent, physical brand of football. I want people to see us on film and be like, 'I don't know if our kids can get ready for this.'

"That's the goal, it's easier said than done. It's one thing to sit up here at a press conference on day one nine months from the first game and say that. I get it. But that's the goal. We want to have a team that plays hard, plays fast, is super disciplined, never beats themselves and if you are victorious over us, you have earned it. We didn't give you anything and we didn't budge one inch."

It was all handshakes and smiles as one might expect when a coach is introduced to a fan base at the well-attended event that included remarks from new CMU President Dr. Neil MacKinnon and Zyzlewski Family Vice President/Director of Athletics Amy Folan and Voice of the Chippewas, Adam Jaksa, who served as the master of ceremonies.

CMU's famed 6^th Man Band was on hand as were Chippewa cheerleaders as well as alumni and former coaches and athletics department officials, including Hall of Fame football coach Herb Deromedi and Dave Keilitz.

"Coach Drinkall's commitment to excellence aligns with CMU's core values of integrity, respect and innovation," President MacKinnon said. "Coach Drinkall is passionate about inspiring our student-athletes to strive for success not only on the field but in the classroom, building not just great players, but great people."

Drinkall, 42, takes over the program from Jim McElwain, who retired after the 2024 season after six years in charge. Drinkall served for the past six years as an assistant at Army, where he helped build the Black Knights into a power. They are 11-1 and play archrival Navy on Saturday. Drinkall was return to West Point shortly after the press conference to help Army prepare for that game.

Drinkall coached at Kansas Wesleyan from 2014-19, leading the Coyotes to a combined 42-17 mark. Prior to that, the Iowa native was an assistant at St. Ambrose in Davenport, Iowa from 2008-14.

"Matt grew up in the Midwest," Folan said, "he went to high school in the Midwest, he went to college in the Midwest, he coached high school football in the Midwest and he was a head coach (collegiately) in the Midwest. He's back home and we are so happy to welcome him.

"He's been a success everywhere he's been. His resumé speaks for itself. He's won everywhere he's coached, whether as a head coach, an assistant coach, Matt has shown a desire to learn and help the program achieve in a very selfless way."

Drinkall's experience at Army helped him develop the prototype for the kind of student-athlete he wants on his roster, he said, adding that character tops his list of priorities.

"There will be talented players that we will not recruit because they are not a fit for who we are and how we're going to do things here," he said. "The character, the integrity, the toughness, the perseverance – guys that are constantly positive and find ways to get things done, those are the kind of guys we want to build a program with.

"And it's our responsibility as a coaching staff to develop those skills. No one's born with those skills, I don't think, so that is our goal to serve the players and develop skills that supplement their already hopefully very good character."

Drinkall served for all six of his seasons at Army under head coach Jeff Monken. Drinkall served as the offensive line coach, tight ends coach, quality control coach, and the co-offensive coordinator as various times with the Black Knights.

Army has developed one of the nation's most powerful running attacks under Monken and Drinkall. In Drinkall's six years at West Point, Army has amassed an 81-56 record.

Drinkall said a strong run game is critical, but he expects to expand the Chippewas' offense to be more diverse.

"At CMU, in the MAC, in Michigan, you're going to have to win important games outdoors in October and November which means you will have to run the ball at some point in time," he said. "That's going to be a foundational piece – offensive line, inside the box – and it's going to supplement really good quarterback and perimeter play."

Drinkall inherits a program with a strong tradition and gave a nod to both Deromedi and legendary coach Roy Kramer, who led the Chippewas to the 1974 NCAA Division II national championship.

"These are incredible men," he said. "To be associated with a program and a tradition and a culture that these men have cultivated is unbelievable. These are people that are on the Mount Rushmore of CMU athletics, the institution – College Football Hall of Fame coaches that I'm going to have access to and get a chance to visit with and share information with."

He said it's critical to have all shareholder on board, from the athletic department to the campus as a whole, the Mount Pleasant community and, particularly, the alumni including former Chippewa players.

"This is a place with such a deep tradition of football and football success," he said. "I'm beyond excited about that.

"I am here making managerial decisions for your football program. For the current players, this is your football program. I am here to serve you. The alumni, I cannot wait to meet all of you and get you back on to campus and integrated with the program. This is going to be an experience unlike anything else. I cannot wait to get started and build those relationships and get your support to our players.

"We need the football alumni as part of our brotherhood here. A football program is run by everybody who supports it. It's not just a coach. It takes everybody doing it. It's very rarely the plays that you call that win games, it's how the community gets involved and this is a place that is so special between the community of Mount Pleasant, the football program, the tradition, the alumni, all the current students – my goal is to get everybody on board, pulling the rope in the same direction and making this place as good as it could ever be. I can't wait to get going."

A native of Bettendorf, Iowa, Drinkall attended and played football at Bettendorf High School and then at Iowa where he played wide receiver before an injury cut short his playing career and began his coaching career.

He earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Western Illinois in 2005 and a master's in recreation administration from the school in 2007.

He and his wife, Kim, arrived in Mount Pleasant early Sunday morning for their first look at the campus and the community.

"I had never been here before accepting the job," he said. "Kim and I were driving into town when the sun was coming up. We both started getting choked up pretty bad because it feels like home. It feels great. Like you know what this is when you start seeing barns and silos and fields – man it feels good. This is what the college football experience in America should be. This is awesome. I'm excited as hell about it."