Florida has passed point of no return on firing Jim McElwain

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A week ago, Jim McElwain’s job never seemed in jeopardy for this season.

A day ago, as the sun rose on Saturday for the annual Florida-Georgia game, his job security for this week seemed to be intact.

With two SEC Championship Game appearances in his first two seasons and being hamstrung early by suspensions and key injuries, it seemed like 2017 would be a rebuilding year from the start and 2018 would evolve into McElwain’s make-or-break season.

But as Saturday progressed and more noise continued to clutter a program that has seen its share of self-inflicted distractions this week, it has become inevitable that Florida has come to the point of no return.

It’s not a matter of if Jim McElwain will be fired. It has become a matter of when.

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Let’s start back with Monday.

McElwain met with reporters like he always does and gave an unprompted response about how people in his program were the target of death threats. When pressed for more information by reporters, he gave no information. When pressed for more information by the administration of the University Athletic Association, “he offered no additional details,” according to a UAA statement.

Fast forward to Saturday.

As the reeling Gators were on their way to Jacksonville to face the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs, the rumors about McElwain’s agent and the UAA meeting to discuss McElwain’s buyout began swirling.

Athletics director Scott Stricklin released a second statement from the UAA rebutting the rumors and saying “Our focus is on this great Florida-Georgia rivalry today.”

Two statements in six days. None expressing direct support for their head football coach.

That’s a red flag.

Then add on the 42-7 demolition against the Bulldogs on Saturday in which Florida’s offense was inept, its defense couldn’t hold down Georgia’s offense and its head coach essentially sounded like he was a dead-man walking in his post-game press conference.

It’s not a matter of if anymore. It’s a matter of when.

“When you look back, I’ve made mistakes in my life, and yet I’ll stand by everything that occurred,” McElwain said Saturday. “It is what it is. And it won’t be the first to ever have happened to anybody.”

 

And for the Florida athletic department’s sake, ripping the Band-Aid of sooner will look better than later.

Because delaying the inevitable will only add more scrutiny upon the UAA. Why wait when you know what you’re going to get on the field during that time? Why wait when you don’t know what you’re going to hear your head football coach say during a press conference?

It’s not if anymore. It’s when.

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