Florida, McElwain agree to part ways
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida and coach Jim McElwain have agreed to part ways a day after a third consecutive loss and nearly a week after he said his players and their families had received death threats.
Athletic director Scott Stricklin made the announcement Sunday and named defensive coordinator Randy Shannon the team’s interim coach for the final four games. The parties are negotiating McElwain’s $12.5 million buyout.
Florida (3-4, 3-3 Southeastern Conference), which is still paying former coach Will Muschamp, would like to significantly reduce McElwain’s sum and could use his actions over the last week as leverage.
Regardless of the outcome, McElwain’s tenure will be remembered for failing to fix a floundering offense. The Gators currently rank 113th in total offense, in triple digits nationally for the third time in McElwain’s three seasons.
McElwain went 22-12 with the Gators, including 4-9 against ranked teams. Florida was eliminated from contention in the Eastern Division with a 42-7 loss to rival Georgia on Saturday. It was Florida’s most lopsided loss in the series since 1982.
His already-strained rapport with administrators reached a new low last Monday when he said Florida players and families had received death threats. Stricklin met with McElwain later that day, and the coach rebuffed a request to provide more information about the threats.
The school’s position was basically this: If there were death threats and administrators did nothing about them, the Gators would be legally liable if something horrible happened. If McElwain exaggerated the threats or made them up altogether, then he essentially sullied an entire fan base without merit.