The Florida Gators have had its eye on Colorado State's Jim McElwain for a while and ever since Will Muschamp was relived of his duties. Now, the Gators are making a big push as athletic director Jeremy Foley is flying to meet with McElwain in Fort Collins, Colorado.
This is very clear that McElwain is the clear choice, and not Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze who was considered another top choice to become Florida's next head coach.
There also was a rumor about New England Patriots offensive coordinator being in the mix, but that does not seem to be the case due to the NFL schedule and how far the Patriots may go into the postseason.
McElwain has done a great job of turning around Colorado State by going from four, to eight and to now 10 wins in his three years. There are concerns about him taking over such a high profile job since McElwain's only coaching experience came at Colorado State, but he spent four years as the offensive coordinator at Alabama, and in that time the Crimson Tide won two BCS titles.
The one hurdle is the buyout which is $7.5 million and it will stay at that amount until 2018, and even for the athletic rich that is Florida, that amount has to at least consider that amount.
Here is McElwain's contract and the important info is on page 10.
The flight to see McElwain in Colorado State could leave a new contract for him to coach Florida or it could be an interview between the two, and don't be foolish if anyone thinks that this is the first time that these two have spoken to each other.
Also, it would be hard pressed to see McElwain turning down over $4 million per year which is nearly tripling his current salary, and this would lend a chance for him to go back to the SEC.