Missouri football has had an unexpected change to its defensive coaching staff.

Mizzou defensive line coach Al Davis announced Friday, May 16 that he has stepped away from the team for “personal reasons.” He will be replaced by defensive tackles coach David Blackwell, who will assume the additional coaching duties of coaching the full defensive line, according to a team news release.

Mizzou also has defensive ends coach Brian Early on staff. Blackwell and Early will work together, per the release, so it seems unlikely that MU will hire someone new for the 2025 season to replace Davis.

“I’ve made the decision today to resign from my coaching position at the University of Missouri due to personal reasons to focus on family matters,” Davis wrote in a statement posted to his X account Friday. “I was to thank Coach (Eli) Drinkwitz for giving me the opportunity to coach here over the last few years, and (I) wish the program well. They have a bright future under his leadership.”

“Today I accepted Coach Davis' resignation, as he is stepping away from our program," Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said in a release. "I want to thank him for his time with us and wish him the best moving forward.”

No further details about Davis' resignation were immediately available. In his most recent contract, he was expected to earn $430,000 in total compensation this year. Because his resignation was accepted and Davis is not leaving for another job, it is unlikely either party is owed money in damages.

Davis has been on the Mizzou staff since 2021, when he joined the team as a defensive analyst. He was quickly moved into an assistant coaching position, however, after Missouri fired then-defensive line coach Jethro Franklin midway through the 2021 season.

In the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Davis coached the interior defensive linemen. After an NCAA rule change allowed teams to have more official assistant coaches in 2024, Davis oversaw the full defensive line while Blackwell took care of defensive tackles and Early was hired to replace Kevin Peoples coaching defensive ends.

Davis began his career as a graduate assistant at Arkansas, which is his alma mater. He also spent time as the co-defensive coordinator at Hutchinson Community College and had one season coaching defensive tackles at Illinois.

His replacement, Blackwell, has been on the Mizzou staff since 2023, when he came on board as a defensive analyst. He’s been in coaching for more than 30 years, with time as a defensive coordinator at USF, Fordham, Jacksonville State, East Carolina , Old Dominion and Louisiana Tech.

Blackwell reportedly was influential in the recruitment of Georgia transfer Damon Wilson II, one of the top players available in the transfer portal this offseason.

"We are fortunate to have a veteran in (Blackwell) to be able to step in and fill any additional coaching needs we might have at that position," Drinkwitz said in a release. "We're looking forward to a seamless transition as we continue preparations for the 2025 season."

This is the second coaching change of the offseason for the Mizzou defense. Former linebackers coach DJ Smith was named the defensive coordinator at Appalachian State in December, and the Tigers replaced him with Miami’s Derek Nicholson.