Jim McElwain is out as Florida’s head coach, the program announced Sunday. Defensive coordinator and former Miami head coach Randy Shannon is his interim replacement.
Why Jim McElwain is out as Florida’s head coach, in 90 seconds
He won two SEC East titles in three years, but there’s a lot more to it than that.
Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images
Florida said Sunday it was negotiating the exact terms of McElwain’s departure. Brett McMurphy reports McElwain might only receive $4 million of a nearly $13 million buyout.
Why’s McElwain out?
The 42-7 loss to Georgia is as embarrassing a defeat as the program has had in years. While Florida was getting eviscerated, reports leaked that UF was mobilizing to renegotiate McElwain’s buyout or perhaps fire him with cause due to his withholding of information about those alleged death threats, which would be a lucky break for UF.
Overall, McElwain’s team frustrated by looking like a barely upgraded version of a Will Muschamp team. As SB Nation broke down before the 2017 season began, McElwain was buffeted by his record in close games, something that tends to be far less statistically sustainable than we like to believe when our coaches are winning big.
Not that the Gators really won big. Despite McElwain’s decades of experience on the offensive side, Florida finished No. 100 or worse in scoring in his first two seasons, with 2017 not looking much better. For a fan base largely raised on Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, that ain’t gonna cut it, even when some of those early QB issues were beyond his control.
On top of all that, he was a somewhat weird cultural fit all along. He has deep connections to the Northwest, and he’s had some awkward (to say the least) run-ins with bright-light media. There was also that time he got #actuallymad about an internet joke involving a shark, and LSU players got to clap back at him by using his own words.
Was this the right move?
With Kirby Smart building a behemoth at Georgia, Tennessee likely making a move, and Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher facing some overhauls of his own, it’s a weird time for the Gators. McElwain’s recruiting has lagged a bit behind Smart’s, especially on offense, and no one seems to have any idea what a truly elite McElwain Florida looks like.
Based off wins and losses alone, it’s bonkers, but there’s a lot more to it than just the raw record.
Assuming the Gators wanna finally score points again, UCF’s Scott Frost is gonna be a really popular name to throw around.
Where was he before Florida?
Most notably, Nick Saban’s first title-winning offensive coordinator at Alabama, though those teams were far more about stopping points than scoring them. He also had a nice run as Colorado State’s head coach, ending with a 10-2 2014 season.
It wasn’t all bad, right?
He won the SEC East twice! A down SEC East, and he fell far short of his promise to return to Atlanta and finally win there, but still. McElwain averaged 9.25 wins over his last two years at CSU and first two at Florida. There’s a lot of context needed there, but it’s clear he can win, so long as he has a talent advantage, at least.
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