On the Mark: Four thoughts as McElwain heads out the door
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* Atlanta out of reach, McElwain reaches end of line
* Uncensored Sound Off: Harsh reaction to latest loss
* Five Fast Thoughts: Feels like the end of the McElwain era
* Instant Analysis: Georgia runs wild, thumps Florida 42-7
* Alley: Florida vs. Georgia game thread
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At one time it was thought that Florida's football program had hit rock bottom in 2013 when the Gators were beaten by FCS program Georgia Southern.
Over the past week Florida head coach Jim McElwain has tried his damnest to guide the Gators to newfound depths.
Okay, so in reality losing to the No. 3 ranked Georgia Bulldogs isn't anywhere near as bad as losing to a FCS program for the first time in program history.
However, everything that has happened this week in its entirety certainly approached rock bottom.
McElwain's troubles didn't just start this week or come out of nowhere though.
Three weeks ago I opined that his time at Florida was more closely mirroring that of Will Muschamp rather than that of Urban Meyer.
RELATED: McElwain has been more like Muschamp than Meyer
Lets take a closer look at what has brought us to this point.
This has been an emotional roller-coaster ride for McElwain, the fans and the media
If I had known it was going to be such a rare occurrence I would have marked the date on my calendar. On September 13, 2015 - during just the second game of his first season at the helm of Florida Football – Jim McElwain went on a sideline tirade when then Gators running back Kelvin Taylor capped a touchdown run with a throat slashing gesture.
Looking back, based on the events of this past week, is it possible that perhaps McElwian perceived that as a death threat?
Or, maybe not, but I digress.
(It's a joke...)
That was the first and last time the Gator Nation saw any sort of fire from their head coach.
From that point on, from what we saw and heard, he not only hardly ever raised his voice, he almost seemed comatose at times.
I am not a psychiatrist or a psychologist, I don't play one on TV and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night – and while it may be in somewhat poor taste - I am going to make an uneducated diagnosis regardless.
My take is that McElwain may be prone to depression.
There are so many instances that if you take them on their own, there's nothing there. However, when you look at them in their entirety, there are some red flags.
During a September 13 (there's that date again) press conference earlier this year he came off as so overly subdued, two different reporters asked questions about his somber demeanor and state of mind.
That same week during the post game press conference after the win over Tennessee, another reporter asked about his emotional state, inquiring as to whether or not he was really happy at Florida or felt underappreciated by the Gator Nation.
In all my years of doing this, even after some devastating losses, I had never seen a coach come across the way he did that week.
That might not be all that newsworthy, but then go back to his appearance at SEC Media Days when he was asked about the photo making the rounds with what looked like him, naked, on top of a shark.
In his response he went from laughing it off to almost breaking down in tears in a matter of seconds.
I mean, I have worse things said and written about me – on an almost daily basis.
You call the person a few choice names, laugh at them for being so gullible as to think it may be you and you move on.
It just feels like this is too big a stage for him.
There is too much pressure on him to properly function at this level of football.
It's better to under promise and over deliver
To say that Florida has been abysmal offensively would be an understatement.
What magnifies their issues even more is the bravado he displayed at his introductory press conference when he stated that he could win with his dog Claribelle under center for Florida.
When you make those type of bombastic statements, you better be able to back them up.
Instead, McElwain won back-to-back SEC East Championships leaning mostly on defensive players signed by the previous coaching staff.
With many of those players now off to the NFL, if Florida were to contend for a third straight East crown, the offense would have to carry the load.
Here, over halfway through his third season in Gainesville and McElwain and Company still have a bottom 15 offense in college football.
If and/or when threats are made, there's safety in numbers
No, not the numbers you are thinking.
Jim McElwain could have stood at that podium on Monday and accused Scott Stricklin and Jeremy Foley of threatening his life at the behest of Florida President Kent Fuchs and you can rest assured he would still have job security today if Florida's offense was firing on all cylinders.
Instead, after yet another abysmal offensive outing (and yes, I am well aware of the fact that I overuse the word abysmal when referencing the Florida offense) the Gators woke up to the newly updated NCAA rankings to find that they are No. 112 in total offense.
No. 102 in passing yardage.
No. 109 in scoring offense.
No. 113 in third down conversions.
No. 126 in first downs.
Forget everything that took place this past week, if those numbers listed above were sharply improved, we wouldn't be on a McElwain death watch today.
You don't keep a coach to save a recruiting class
Up until yesterday, for the most part the rallying cry for those who supported keeping McElwain and staff intact was that jettisoning him and/or his assistants would result in Florida taking a hit in this recruiting cycle.
As though a #8 ranked class (where the Gators are currently slated) is a high point unable to be achieved by his replacement.
That is an indication of how much the bar has been lowered during McElwain's time at Florida.
BM (Before McElwain) Florida consistently signed top five classes.
Though we praised the effort in moving up from being ranked in the 30s to No. 9 overall at the end of the 2017 recruiting cycle, the truth is that ninth ranked class would still be consided a subpar class in the Meyer, Ron Zook or Muschamp years.
Back then the Gators regularly contended for a top three class, signing the No. 1 overall class a couple of times.
This is recruiting and things change, but according to the early returns, some of Florida's top rated commits, including quarterback Matt Corral, are committed to being Gators regardless of who coaches the Gators.
RELATED: Rivals100 quarterback Corral talks commitment status
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