“It will be a blast!”
So says the 52-year-old Jim McElwain, who was named the new head coach of the Florida Gators last week. McElwain will be taking over a dispirited Florida program with a tradition for prolific offenses that has been stuck in a ditch since Heisman Trophy winning QB Tim Tebow departed the scene in 2009 followed a year later by head coach Urban Meyer, who was out of gas and ideas following the 2010 season.
Offensive UF Culture
Florida has a program culture of “fun and gun” offenses, which was ignited in their decade of glory in the 1990s under favorite son Steve Spurrier. Spurrier was a Heisman Trophy winning QB at Florida in 1966 who went on to become head coach at his alma mater in 1990 and led the Gators to a national championship along with six Southeastern Conference titles before he departed for the NFL after the 2001 season.
Part of the challenge that McElwain will face is that Spurrier spoiled the fans with a level of success and style of play that is increasingly more difficult to emulate. One of the reasons Spurrier left Florida was that he created a monster of impossibly high expectations of the spoiled Florida Fan base.
Meyer only added to the sense of entitlement of Florida fans when he won two national championships as Gators head coach from 2005-10 with an offense that met the demands of entertaining Gator fans. At Florida, winning is not enough as the necessity for a high octane offense that runs up the score is part of the package that a prospective head coach must deliver.
Muschamp Didn’t “Get It”
Muschamp went through three offensive coordinators in his four seasons on the job and the offense was not only inept but also an insufferable bore to watch. The grandstands at The Swamp were no longer full as fans were frustrated with the losing while also incensed at the plodding style of Muschamp’s offense. The Muschamp era was an assault on the cultural tradition of Florida football. Even in their Sugar Bowl season of 2012, the lack of excitement on offense was something Muschamp never grasped or seemed to care about.
Every Box Checked
McElwain seems to be the perfect choice to restore the roar of Florida football and reload the fun and gun tradition that is part of the job description. “Eventually every box got checked,” said Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley in regards to McElwain’s qualifications.
“One thing they’ve checked a lot was his character and his integrity and his fit. You can see he’s a good guy.” After the reign of terror and on campus incidents during the Meyer era in which Gainesville seemed to resemble “Gangsville” the character factor is an important part of the hiring process at UF.
SEC Championship Pedigree
McElwain made his fame as offensive coordinator with Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide and then went on to become head coach of the Colorado State Rams. His Colorado State program has qualified for bowl game in the past two seasons. CSU QB Garrett Grayson is the nation’s second leading passer this season which is a portent of good things to come at Gainesville. While at Bama McElwain’s offense produced a Heisman Trophy winner in Mark Ingram and a Heisman finalist in Trend Richardson. The Tide won two national championships with McElwain running the offense. McElwain has the advantage of knowing what it will take to win at the highest level in the nation’s toughest conference. He will also set up shop in the most fertile recruiting base in the land.
Job One
McElwain’s first order of business is to find a quarterback. It boggles the mind that Florida has lacked a bona fide signal caller since Tebow but that is why McElwain is now head coach. He understands the importance of landing a big time QB and has the proven ability to develop one upon singing day. Expect a fully loaded fun and gun offense to return Florida to SEC contention.
