The Jim McElwain nightmare is officially over for the Florida Gators

There were some mixed reviews when the Florida Gators hired Jim McElwain before the 2015 college football season.

On the one hand, replacing Will Muschamp and that ugly era was encouraging. Muschamp went 28-21 and provided a tough four years for Gators fans.

Muschamp’s 2012 season was solid, with Florida going 11-2 but losing to Louisville in the Sugar Bowl 33-23.

After firing Muschamp, McElwain was the guy the Gators hired. McElwain did not come cheap either, as the Gators had to pay a $7.5 million buyout to Colorado State.

McElwain’s contract averaged around $3.5 million per year. Florida also paid Colorado State $2 million for a game at Florida in 2018 to aid the buyout process.

Jim McElwain never became what some thought he could become.

Many felt Florida was doing what they did when they hired Urban Meyer. McElwain was a proven winner, going 10-2 in his final season as Colorado State head coach.

His offense was solid, scoring 33.9 points per game, good enough for 32nd best in the country.

The McElwain era doesn’t have many bright moments other than when they hired him, though.

McElwain lost four games in each of the three seasons he coached at Florida, and in 2017, he started 3-4. That 3-4 start led to him being fired mid-season and the Gators once again looking for a new coach.

McElwain ended his Gators career 22-12.

Luckily for the Gators, this led to hiring current head coach Dan Mullen, and Mullen can cement his legacy as a Gator great with an excellent season in 2021. Mullen has been so good that he’s allowed fans to forget about the McElwain era in Gainesville. However, that era officially ended today.

How is that possible? Well, according to Mark Long, the “Gators have finally paid off former coach Jim McElwain, who gets $500,000 today in the final installment of his $7.5M buyout.

Total cash paid to Mac for his nearly three years of service (22-12 record and two SEC East crowns) was $23.8 million.”

Gross.

However, mistakes happen, and this one may have cost a lot of time and money, but the nightmare is finally behind the Gators.