UF’s pricey albatross.
Scott Frost will coach the University of Florida Gators next season.
Haven’t you heard? Uncle Bob posted it on Facebook, and then Aunt Mable confirmed it on Twitter, so it must be true.
We live in a world of — take a deep breath — #fakenews and expert analysis in 140 characters or less.
The University of Florida football program and its coach, Jim McElwain, have been embroiled in that social-media firestorm for quite some time, with the volatility and hostility amping up as the Gators stumble in mediocrity.
At 3-3, and just days away from likely getting crushed by arch-rival University of Georgia in Jacksonville, the Gators are probably headed toward a lower-level bowl played a few days before or after we open our Christmas presents.
The frustration leads many fans to wish that Florida will deliver McEl-
wain as a parting gift. Sorry, you are stuck with a bag of coal, otherwise known as McElwain’s crummy offense.
McElwain is tethered to a cushy contract after signing an extension in June. Florida is on the hook through January 2023, and the deal includes a bump in annual salary of just under $200,000 pushing his compensation to $4.486 million. Terms of the buyout are $2.5 million per year.
So no matter how deep those Bull Gator pockets may be, McElwain isn’t going anywhere.
Those facts, of course, haven’t stopped the speculation or the understandable frustration up in Gainesville. The rants included but are not limited to “McElwain has to go, and we know just the guy.” Hello there, Scott Frost.
Frost is the hot new poster child as the “It Coach,” leading UCF to a school-record 6-0 start this season after beating Navy 31-21 on Saturday. Frost has a lot of leverage over UCF if it wants to keep him around, especially with alma mater Nebraska smitten by his abilities. But the Gainesville gig is unattainable feasibly and financially for the Gators to make it happen.
Advantage, McElwain. At least another year, anyway.
Coach Mac has time, but he is still on the clock. The way things are going is unsustainable. Uncle Bob and Aunt Mable have every right to be peeved, even as McElwain’s camp points to his two SEC East titles in his first two seasons as coach.
That’s not an accomplishment; it’s a consolation prize. And one that deserves an asterisk because the SEC East is a terrible division.
Still, McElwain deserves credit for coaching them up in close games. The Gators were 9-1 in onepossession games under Mac before losing the last two — to LSU and Texas A&M.
The problem comes down to style points, if you will, and comparisons to the good old days under Steve Spurrier. The Gators are neither Fun nor Gun under Coach Mac. On the flip side, things could always be worse. Google “Butch Jones” and “Tennessee.”
So winning ugly — most of the time — it is. There are many layers as to why the Gators offense has been such a train wreck under McElwain, he of the reputation as an offensive guru. It starts with the suspension and transfer of quarterback Will Grier his first season and continues with the suspension of nine clowns, including wide receiver Antonio Callaway, on credit-card charges. The fact that starting quarterback Feleipe Franks is a redshirt freshman isn’t a plus either.
McElwain doesn’t have a lot to work with these days, including offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier But like the contract with Coach Mac, Nussmeier is tethered at the hip. Mac and Nussmeier have coached together on and off since 2003 at Michigan State and Mac does not seem inclined to offer him up as a sacrifice to disgruntled fans.
Still, Nussmeier’s severed contract would be a reasonable compromise/ consolation prize at Christmas.
Beyond that, beware of what you read on social media. Even if Aunt Mable has a verified account on Twitter.