The Florida Gators are sitting down for pregame meal. In a few hours they’ll face the No. 3, undefeated Georgia Bulldogs in an annual rivalry game.
Their head coach had successfully turned all attention away from the game five days earlier when he mentioned that he, his family and his players had been receiving death threats. They are all on social media, they read and watch ESPN, it was a distraction.
Now, sitting quietly in a ballroom at the Sawgrass Marriot Golf Resort & Spa their head coach walked in again to address the team.
Early Saturday morning reports surfaced that Florida was looking for ways around McElwain’s buyout. McElwain said he spoke to Scott Stricklin, as recently as Thursday and, in his opinion, had a very normal conversation.
“There’ve been no conversations about that,” McElwain said when asked if he and Stricklin had spoken of his job security. “I talked to him on, when he was down here, I guess on Thursday. I talked to him on the phone, just normal talk of what was going on, so but no nothing along those lines.”
McElwain walked into the room, asked for the attention of his players and addressed the rumors. The nature of the conversation surely ruining their appetite, but McElwain decided he needed to addresses it then.
It was another distraction.
It’s not the reason Florida lost. They were facing a talented and angry Georgia team that hadn’t beat Florida three years. The Dawgs are on a revenge tour after finishing 8-5 (4-4 SEC) last season. They lost to a superior team on Saturday. No level of off the field distraction would have changed that.
After the game, a 42-7 drubbing, McElwain was asked if he even wanted to be at Florida. All season long fans have questioned his demeanor in press conferences, saying he looks down or disinterested.
“This is a dream job. It’s a great place. It’s great fans. Great support. The resource is there to win,” he said. “Obviously I’m disappointed that I haven’t been able to deliver in the time I’ve been here. But you know what, it’s an opportunity.”
His players had a resounding “no comment” when asked after the game when asked about their head coach.
“He’s my coach. I’m going to keep playing for him regardless of what’s going on,” defensive back Chauncey Gardner said when asked about McElwain’s future for the third time in five questions. “Like I said, I have no comment to it, to anything in regard to our coach and this program. There’s no comment to it. If you want to talk about football, that’s what I’m here for.”
Saturday McElwain took the podium and looked resigned to his fate. He was asked 17 questions; three of them were about the football game he had just coached in. He stood there like a man and accepted blame.
“We’ve won a few games, but we haven’t won enough, haven’t won a championship. That’s real. That’s life. That is this business, and I take full responsibility for all of it. There’s no doubt.”
He showed that he’s selfless, especially facing the end of the biggest opportunity of his coaching career.
“My concern isn’t about my job. My concern is about these players, our staff. We have a fantastic staff — coaches, support staff, their families. That’s the concern. It isn’t about me.”
The question of how long McElwain will loom large until the final decision is made to relive him of his coaching duties. Players like Duke Dawson and Khairi Clark have gone through coaching changes already in their time at Florida. They know how to compartmentalize the external noise and play.
They love and appreciate their head coach but they know the stark reality is they may have to finish the season without him.
“Play as a team and play for each other,” Dawson said. “That’s what we play for each and every game we play for each other. Don’t look at anything big it’s just the next game we gotta win.”