By Jordan Long
The Florida Gators were drummed this past weekend 42-7, dropping their record to 3-4. After the game, questions swirled about if Head Coach Jim McElwain would keep his job. They had lost three straight games. On Sunday, the University Of Florida decided to fire McElwain for cause. According to ESPN, the reason he was let go was because he claimed family members and players received death threats last week. The school was unable to verify that.
McElwain had been the Gators’ head coach since 2015. This was after a successful tenure at Colorado State where he went 22-16. The Gators were hoping he was going to turn the team around into a winner again. He did in his first season going 10-4. The Gators went 9-4 the following season. Both years they won the SEC East Title but fell in the Conference Championship Game to Alabama. This year he was 3-4. Florida was having an average season. The Gators interim Head Coach will be Defensive Coordinator Randy Shannon.
According to CBSsports.com, Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said, “We want to thank Coach McElwain for his efforts in leading the Gator football program. We are confident Coach Shannon will provide the proper guidance to the players and rest of staff during this time and we will begin a national search for the next head coach.”
The Gators were right to fire him. He lied to the media about death threats, something that should never be done. Florida University needed to send a message to say that is not okay especially if there wasn’t evidence of it.
On the other hand, the Gators were having a poor season compared to their standards. Sure they can be bowl eligible with a few more wins, but Florida expects to be in the hunt for a National Title. Defensive Coordinator Randy Shannon has a golden opportunity to turn this program around the rest of the season. If he coaches them to a bowl game and even a bowl win, Florida may want to consider keeping him.
For Jim McElwain, this may hurt him from being hired at another program. He is a decent college coach with a career record of 44-28. This is not the problem. Programs can’t trust what he says will be true which was proven this week.
What do you think of the Florida Gators firing Jim McElwain?
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