Updated 12/4/2014
As Chat Sports first reported on Tuesday, Jim McElwain has agreed to become the next head coach at Florida. The announcement is set to become official sometime today. According to sources, the new Gators coach had spent Tuesday evening and all day Wednesday negotiating terms of his buyout with his former employer Colorado State.
12/2/2014
Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley flew to Fort Collins, CO today with one goal: heading back to Gainesville with Colorado State coach Jim McElwain as his new head football coach.
He has succeeded. Sometime in the next day, Jim McElwain will officially be named the new head football coach at Florida, taking over for Will Muschamp.
Now that the coaching search is over, let's take a quick look at the new head man for the Gators.
Jim McElwain
Age: 52
Head coaching record: 22-16 in 3 seasons at Colorado State
Previous stops as an assistant: Eastern Washington QB/WR (87-94), Montana State OC (95-99), Louisville WR (00-02), Michigan State 03-05 (WR/ST), Oakland Raiders 2006 (QB), Fresno State 2007 (OC/QB), Alabama 08-11 (OC/QB)
Playing career: Eastern Washington 1980-83, QB
Alabama accomplishments: McElwain was the offensive coordinator at Alabama for one of the most successful stretches in modern college football history.
2008: Alabama started the season 12-0, only to lose to the eventual National Champion Gators in the SEC Championship game. Alabama would lose in the Sugar Bowl to an undefeated Utah team and finish #6 in the AP Poll.
On offense, Alabama ranked 30th in rushing offense out of 119 FBS teams, (184.64 yards per game), 35th in scoring offense (30.14 points per game), 63rd in total offense (355.79 yards per game) and 97th in passing offense (171.14 yards per game). In conference, they ranked 3rd in rushing offense, 5th in scoring offense, 6th in total offense and 9th in passing offense. John Parker Wilson led the team in passing offense and completed 187 of 323 passes for 2,273 passing yards and 10 touchdowns. Julio Jones led the team with 58 receptions for 924 yards and 4 touchdown receptions. Glen Coffee led the team with 233 rushing attempts for 1,383 yards and Mark Ingram led the team with 12 touchdown runs.
2009: The Tide went 14-0 in McElwain's second season at Alabama, a streak that included a 35-13 blowout of #1 Florida in the SEC Championship game. Alabama would beat Texas in the BCS Championship Game 37-21.
On offense, the Crimson Tide ranked 12th nationally in rushing offense (215.07 yards per game), 22nd in scoring offense (32.07 points per game), 42nd in total offense (403 yards per game) and 92nd in passing offense (187.93 yards per game). Individually, Leigh Tiffin led the SEC with an average of 2.14 field goals and 9.43 points per game.
Tide RB Mark Ingram won the Heisman Trophy this season under McElwain's guidance.
2010: In what was considered a down year at Alabama, the Tide went 10-3 and destroyed Big Ten co-champion Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl, 49-7.
On offense, the Crimson Tide ranked 18th nationally in scoring (35.69 points per game), 22nd in total offense (444.08 yards per game), 27th in passing offense (261.15 yards per game) and 29th in rushing offense (182.92 yards per game). Individually, Robert Lester led the SEC with an average of 0.62 interceptions per game.
2011: In one of the stranger years in college football, Alabama won the BCS title again, this time beating SEC Champion LSU - which had previously beaten Alabama in 9-6 in the regular season - in one of the Tide's poorest offensive outputs in the Saban era.
On offense, of the 120 FBS teams, Alabama ranked sixteenth in rushing offense (214.46 yards per game), twentieth in scoring offense (34.85 points per game), 31st in total offense (429.62 yards per game) and 69th in passing offense (215.15 yards per game). In conference, they ranked first in rushing offense, second in total offense, third in scoring offense and fourth in passing offense. Individually, Trent Richardson led the SEC and the team offensively with 1,679 total yards rushing, an average of 129.15 rushing yards per game, an average of 160.23 all-purpose yards per game, 21 rushing touchdowns and an average of 11.08 points per game. AJ McCarron led the team in passing offense and completed 219 of 328 passes for 2,634 passing yards and 16 touchdowns. Marquis Maze led the team with 56 receptions for 627 yards, and Brad Smelley led the team with four touchdown receptions.
Colorado State record:
In 2009, 2010 and 2011, Colorado State finished the year with a 3-9 overall record. In 2011, the season before McElwain's arrival, Colorado State limped to a 1-6 record in the Mountain West.
In 2012, their first year under McElwain, the Rams only improved to 4-8. In year two, they surged to an impressive 8-6, ending the year with a bowl win over Washington State.
In 2014, the Rams excelled with a 10-2 record, and were ranked in the AP Top 25 until falling to Air Force on a late field goal in their regular-season finale - also McElwain's final game as Rams coach.
For more on this story, check out the Florida Football News page on Chat Sports NOW
Back to the Florida Gators Newsfeed