Closing the Stat Book: Jim McElwain with the Florida Gators

As we close the book on Jim McElwain’s tenure as head coach of the Florida Gators, I wrestled with this column and what to write. On the one hand, I owe it to you as your “stats guy” to give you the numbers you, the readers, deserve. On the other hand, I hate piling on beating dead horses.

So instead I do what I normally do when I need to make a tough life decision, I asked social media. I did a highly scientific Twitter poll using “re-tweets” and “likes” to determine whether I should I write this article – and low-and-behold a column on closing the chapter won out. So if you didn’t want this article to happen feel free to follow me on Twitter and vote in my next poll!

Because I know this article won’t be for everyone, I will keep it short and to the point – and just know, it is not all bad. For his offensive shortcomings, Florida had some great defensive numbers and at the end of the day Jim McElwain is the first coach in SEC history to go to two straight SEC Championships in his first two years.

And just because I know this article may be tough to read, I am going to start with the bad, then list some good (because everybody loves a happy ending), and then “the why” – as we close this book…forever.

The Bad

• Jim McElwain leaves Gainesville with the 113^th total ranked offense, 110^th scoring offense, 107^th in offensive explosiveness, and 118^th in offensive plays.
• Florida finished 105^th, 100^th, and are now ranked 109^th in percentage of plays that result in a first down or touchdown.
• The Gators never ranked greater than 102^nd in offensive explosiveness.
• The best the Gators ever ranked nationally was 103^rd in number of plays per game and their pace of play never ranked better than 108^th.
• The best the Gators ever ranked under McElwain was 108^th in 2016.
• Over the last two seasons, the Gators have ranked as the 94^th and 104^th ranked special teams.
• The Gators never averaged more than 7.16 yards per pass attempt to end a season.

Now, it just seems like piling on. Let’s look at some good.

The Good

• Jim McElwain was the first coach to go to the SEC Championship in his first two seasons.
• In his first two seasons, McElwain averaged a ranking of 17^th in the country in percentage of plays that resulted in a turnover, sack, or tackle for loss on defense.
• The Gators currently rank 30^th in fewest points allowed when an opponent enters their 40-yard line and ranked 7^th last season – bend, don’t break.
• In three seasons, opponents only completed 51% of passes.
• His redzone percentage this season ranked 10^th in the country – the highest in more than 11 seasons.’
• Jim McElwain’s teams averaged a defensive touchdown every three games – among the top-10 nationally over that time.
• He never allowed a regular season opponent to convert greater than 50% of their third downs.

The Why

I have long documented my opinion of football heading coaching – that it is much more CEO than it is brilliant offensive/defensive mind. There is always a debate about which “great mind” is available and in reality it is not just the ability to craft plays, as much as it as about crafting a program and a system.

It is about being loyal when needed and making changes when needed.

It is about adapting rather than sticking with one set way.

It is about airing grievances with your bosses privately and not in the court of public opinion.

All of these reasons are why Jim McElwain failed.

He is not a bad guy and is likely a “brilliant offensive mind” – but that doesn’t make you a good CEO and at a program like Florida, you don’t have time to figure that out – you are expected to know that.

Jim McElwain was loyal to a fault and protected his friends and his staff for two-and-a-half years and I have a saying that I always say, “loyalty is good until it’s not”. Florida consistently ranked low in offensive production and special teams – and guess where his two closest friends coached? Not one change was made as they regressed for three seasons.

Jim McElwain never once adapted to players consistently and ran the same offense with Luke Del Rio as he did with Treon Harris as he did with Austin Appleby –all very different quarterbacks. There was seldom a hurry-up drive, there was seldom application of the “get it to” list, and there were seldom any wrinkles that showed there would be an adaptation to the players on roster rather than the X’s or O’s on the play sheet.

And finally, McElwain could never quite master his message. Sure, the graphics and marketing improved drastically because he brought over Buddy Overstreet to help. Sure, there were some funny times and funny quips by McElwain during his tenure. But, there were constant frustrations about a lack of question answering to the media and the random outbursts against the administration – that seemed on edge almost immediately. Grievances and dirty laundry should, and need to be, aired privately. There is a finesse that McElwain struggled with either grasping or employing and one that he will have to learn before his next role – unless he truly does not care, because that will be the one thing that keeps him from getting his next job. Athletic Directors expect a company lined to be towed during press conferences and in public forums; Jim McElwain did not do that.

The decision to hire Jim McElwain really made a lot of sense at the time.

He improved a program in Colorado State.

He had the pedigree.

And was a relatively warm name in a year without a lot of options.

It didn’t work out. And it happens. This is one of the toughest jobs to hire for because you never quite know what the perfect recipe is.

All we can hope for is that both parties have learned and both parties can move forward.

The Jim McElwain book has closed. I am hopeful there is a better sequel in his future.