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Post by al1tidr on Dec 2, 2014 19:05:35 GMT -5
McElwaine's buyout will be offset with home game(s) at Colorado State by whichever program gets him. Will Foley agree to UF traveling to Colorado?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2014 20:28:50 GMT -5
McElwaine's buyout will be offset with home game(s) at Colorado State by whichever program gets him. Will Foley agree to UF traveling to Colorado? It would pay more to play one of those preseason games in Jerry's World. However, CSU isn't a big enough name for that draw. Have you thought that CSU might make more money coming to Gainesville. Barring that, I'm sure UF would do a home and home with CSU if that's what it took to negotiate a buyout. I seriously doubt UF would be willing to play multiple games at Colorado State.
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Post by al1tidr on Dec 2, 2014 21:10:43 GMT -5
McElwaine's buyout will be offset with home game(s) at Colorado State by whichever program gets him. Will Foley agree to UF traveling to Colorado? It would pay more to play one of those preseason games in Jerry's World. However, CSU isn't a big enough name for that draw. Have you thought that CSU might make more money coming to Gainesville. Barring that, I'm sure UF would do a home and home with CSU if that's what it took to negotiate a buyout. I seriously doubt UF would be willing to play multiple games at Colorado State. They just approved a large facility update, stadium included. I'm sure they'd rather fill it with a home and away or two with UF than travel twice to Gainesville.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2014 9:53:34 GMT -5
It looks like Foley went to get who he wants for a 1st choice. It'll ultimately depend on whether the CSU president is willing to negotiate. He could simply say I want the full buyout in cash. IMO, UF won't do that so I'll believe it's a done deal when it is a done deal. This from Gator Country:
Written by Nick de la Torre, December 3, 2014
Even before Will Muschamp was fired, University of Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley was getting ready for the inevitable. Foley keeps a working list of coaches that would be suitable replacements if need be.
On Tuesday afternoon, Foley made a move on one of those coaches; flying to Fort Collins, Colorado to meet with Colorado State head coach Jim McElwain.
The 52-year old head coach became the apple of Foley’s eye over the past three days as Foley narrowed in his search on one coach to bring the Gators back to prominence in the SEC.
Foley, along with Executive Associate AD for Internal Affairs Chip Howard, Senior Associate AD Steve McClain, Executive Associate AD for External Affairs Mike Hill and Executive Associate AD for Administration Lynda Tealer (who deals with coaching contracts) made the trip from Gainesville to Fort Collins to meet with McElwain and, presumably, offer him the head-coaching job at Florida.
There is a sticking point. When Colorado State snatched McElwain away from Alabama — where he served as offensive coordinator for two national champion teams — they made a huge commitment. CSU gave McElwain an initial five year contract that could be extended all the way out through 2023, a 10 year commitment that could pay a coach who was taking on his first head coaching gig up to $15 million.
In return, they wanted to protect that investment and did so by tacking on a $7.5 million dollar buyout to the contract. Kelly Lyell of the Coloradoan wrote on Tuesday night that the buyout was meant to be a “deterrent to other schools who might want to hire McElwain away.”
From Lyell’s story, where he speaks with former CSU athletic director Jack Graham, advised that the initial contract was not to have any language or loop holes to get out of what Graham called a “breakup fee”.
“Unfortunately in the meeting back in June during which Mac, Tony Frank and I were to sign Mac’s employment agreement, Tony agreed to reduce if not eliminate the breakup fee if a ‘dream job’ were to come along,” Graham told the Coloradoan.
The official language in the contract reads:
“If such termination [McElwain terminating his contract] occurs on or before December 31, 2018, the liquidated Damages shall be the great of: (1) $7,500,000; or (2) An amount equal to McElwain’s total remaining Base Salary for all years and months remaining from the termination date until the Contract Ending Date.”
McElwain’s contract will pay him $7,806,060 over the course of the deal through 2018.
However, the aforementioned agreement was written in to the contract:
“Notwithstanding the above, the parties acknowledge, understand and agree that in the case or event of extenuating circumstances the University’s President shall have the discretion, but not the obligation, to reduce in whole or in part McElwain’s obligation to play Liquidated Damages to the University. McElwain shall have the right to request that the parties engage in good faith discussion of Liquidated Damages amount prior to McElwain providing formal notice to the University of his decision to terminate this agreement without cause and in such event the University agrees to engage in such discussion, although the University has no obligation to reduce in part or in whole McElwain’s obligation to pay Liquidated Damages, with an understanding and acknowledgement that time will be of the essence in coming to a final decision.”
That was a lot to take in but the layman summary is that CSU president Tony Frank did leave a loophole in the contract but the specific language does protect CSU and will force Jeremy Foley to play ball with them in he wants to avoid paying the full price of the buyout or “Liquidated Damages”.
One option could be to offer up a future trip to Gainesville. CSU traveled to Alabama and received a reported $1.5 million for their game with the Crimson Tide. Another option would be making a donation to the school as part of an agreement to drop the Liquidated Damages.
One thing is certain. Jeremy Foley played this entire coaching search close to the vest. He did not leave from Jacksonville on Tuesday and expect to go unnoticed across the country. This was a show of force and a gesture of sincerity to McElwain.
Foley brought the UAA brass with him to Colorado and he won’t be coming back to Gainesville without a head coach.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2014 15:56:15 GMT -5
A source is saying Jim McElwain has notified his team that he is leaving for the UF job. Still no official statements so we'll see.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2014 17:12:19 GMT -5
Three updates:
1. CSU players are saying they haven't been notified of anything. 2. CSU is reportedly adamant about the $7.5 million buyout. 3. Jeremy Foley and the UF entourage have left for home without Jim McElwain in tow.
My guess is this doesn't come off. If it was a done deal, Jeremy Foley would have had Jim McElwain on that return flight.
UF is likely to move on to the next target. As I said previously, there is no way UF is going to pay a $7.5 million buyout on top of the $6.3 million to Muschamp over the next two years. This hire wasn't meant to happen. Those who had McElwain off the list early due to the buyout were probably right to do so.
I'm also guessing that Jim McElwain cannot be happy with his employment situation at CSU after the new president said he would renegotiate his buyout if a "dream job" offer came to McElwain. It's going to be interesting to see that situation play out over time.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2014 10:31:23 GMT -5
I think this from a Gator Country article is too optimistic. The deal with McElwain is on life support at best. What is new is to find out that Jeremy Foley offered $3 million for a negotiated buyout and that the CSU president, Tony Frank, refused to budge or negotiate on the $7.5 million. My guess is that is also why Foley is now refusing to play a game in Colorado:
"The deal is stalled over a $7.5 million buy-out that Mr. Foley refuses to pay for Jim McElwain. This deal will get done. CSU may not acknowledge it yet, but they are going to accept less than $7.5 million. We could pay the money, but that is not how Florida does things. Call it cheap, call it thrifty, but Jeremy Foley doesn’t over pay for anything and that mindset has produced national championships in not only football, but other sports as well.
The national media is painting this as some kind of failure and calling out the Gators as the deal should have been inked before he stepped on the plane to go to Fort Collins, Co. However, no one knows what was relayed to Foley by the administration at CSU, if you believe Foley, CSU stated they were willing to negotiate, but then reneged once the deal with McElwain was complete. I believe Foley’s version because the contract has an “extenuating circumstances” clause that allows for a reduced buy out that was to be negotiated in good faith.
The clause was specifically put in the contract at McElwain’s request. Moreover, it is not like we flew out there and said we weren’t paying anything. Foley offered $3 million. That is a good faith offer. Florida is not a bully; that $3 million pays their next coach’s salary for at least a couple of years. It seems the only thing that changed on the flight out there for Foley is that other universities names with coaching vacancies got connected to McElwain.
This is a failure and a classic overreach by a party that is overestimating the strength of their bargaining position. How does CSU see this playing out? Do they think they will retain McElwain? After this messy incident, how does he want to coach there? Moreover, after he leaves, who takes over for McElwain after their administration has shown that they refuse to bargain in good faith and lied to their head coach. CSU might as well forget about getting a decent up and coming replacement after this mess. Jim McElwain is not their property to be sold to the highest bidder.
In any event, I still see this deal getting done because both Florida and CSU have gone past the point of no return. Each side will give a little bit and come up with a narrative of what happened allowing both sides to save a little face.
At some point, Jeremy Foley will introduce Jim McElwain as the new head football coach at the University of Florida."
While I hope this is right, I think the assessment is too optimistic. If something doesn't break soon, UF can and will move on to the next candidate.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2014 10:55:18 GMT -5
Well, that was fast. Jim McElwain to be the new Florida coach - This from Gator Country: Written by Nick de la Torre, December 4, 2014 Just five days after Will Muschamp coached his final game in orange and Blue the University of Florida and Jeremy Foley have found his replacement. Jim McElwain will be the 24th head coach of the Florida Gators after Jeremy Foley flew out to Fort Collins, Colorado to meet with and offer him the job. The two parties hit a snag when they couldn’t reach an agreement on the hefty $7.5 million dollar buyout that came along with McElwain. However, the two parties have come to an agreement after a few days of negotiation. McElwain was the offensive coordinator for two national championships at Alabama where the Crimson Tide offense finished sixth, fifth, third and second in consecutive years. While at Alabama, McElwain was a key recruiter for the Tide and helped bring in Florida products Dee Hart, Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, HaHa Clinton-Dix and Phillip Ely. After guiding the Crimson Tide offense, McElwain was given his first head coaching opportunity at Colorado State. The Rams were coming off of a 3-9 season when McElwain took the helm and he became the first Colorado State head coach to beat rival Colorado in his coaching debut when the Rams overcame an 11-point deficit to win 22-17. McElwain’s Rams improved each season under his control finishing 4-8 his first season then 8-6 and a 10-2 mark this year. He was named the Mountain West Coach of the year after his offense averaged 35.9 points-per-game and finished seventh in the country in passing (323.6 ypg.) McElwain will be tasked with re-vamping a Gators’ offense that finished 93rd in the country in total offense at the end of the regular season.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2014 12:02:14 GMT -5
Gatorzone with the deal details:
By SCOTT CARTER GatorZone.com Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jim McElwain is returning to the Southeastern Conference after three seasons as head coach at Colorado State.
The 52-year-old McElwain, who as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Alabama from 2008-11 helped the Crimson Tide win two national titles, has been hired to replace Will Muschamp.
Florida Athletics Director Jeremy Foley finalized an agreement with McElwain on Thursday and a press conference to introduce McElwain as the 24th head coach in Florida football history is scheduled for Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
“Coach McElwain was someone we targeted from the beginning of the search,’’ Foley said. “The more we worked through the process and did our due diligence, coupled with our meeting and conversations with him and those around him, it was obvious he is the right person to lead the Florida Gator football program.”
The University of Florida Athletic Association and Colorado State have agreed to a payment of $3 million over six years. Florida and Colorado State will also play a game in Gainesville between 2017-20 with a $2 million guarantee. Coach McElwain has agreed to a $2 million payment over time to Colorado State.
Coach McElwain's total compensation package will average $3.5 million annually over six years.
McElwain led Colorado State to a 10-2 season in 2014, the Rams’ first 10-win season in 12 years. The Rams also made an appearance in the national rankings for the first time since 2003.
McElwain took over a program that had gone 9-27 in the three seasons prior to his arrival and led Colorado State to 22-16 record in three seasons.
McElwain completed his 30th season in coaching on Friday when the Rams concluded the regular season with a 27-24 loss at Air Force, snapping their nine-game win streak. Foley reached out to McElwain over the weekend after Colorado State’s season ended to gauge his interest in taking over the Gators.
“He has a proven track record on the offensive side of the ball, has coached in the SEC, won two national championships and has had success as a head coach,’’ Foley said. “He has recruited the South and the state of Florida and has spent time coaching at the highest level in the NFL.
“He has an engaging personality and is someone who can connect with a variety of audiences and he operates with a high level of integrity. I welcome him and his family to The Gator Nation and I’m looking forward to working alongside him and his staff as they build a championship program both on and off the field.”
Florida fans who follow the SEC closely recall McElwain’s prolific offenses at Alabama that teamed with Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban’s defensive mastery to unseat the Gators as the SEC’s premier program in 2009.
In former UF quarterback Tim Tebow’s final season, Alabama knocked off Florida 32-13 in the 2009 SEC Championship Game, as Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy, under the direction of McElwain, won MVP honors by throwing for 239 yards and a touchdown against a UF defense that was ranked No. 1 in the country.
Alabama rolled up 490 yards to snap Florida’s school-record 22-game win streak and earn its first SEC title in a decade. A month later, the Crimson Tide defeated Texas to win the program’s first national title since 1992.
In McElwain’s four seasons at Alabama, the Crimson Tide’s offense produced the three most prolific seasons in school history in total yards up to his departure after a victory over LSU to win the 2011 national championship. Alabama posted a 48-6 record with McElwain in charge of the offense.
During McElwain’s time at Alabama, he was responsible for recruiting parts of Florida and played a key role in landing former Crimson Tide standout Ha Ha Clinton-Dix out of Dr. Phillips High in Orlando. Clinton-Dix was a first-round pick of the Packers in 2014.
McElwain continued to produce explosive offenses once he got established at Colorado State. The Rams averaged 497.8 yards per game this season, 13th in the country, and 7.21 yards per play, fourth overall. Led by quarterback Garrett Grayson (3,779 yards, 32 TDs, 6 INTs), the Rams averaged 326.3 yards passing per game (seventh in country) and 9.5 yards per pass attempt (second overall).
Grayson wasn’t the only star on Colorado State’s offense, joined by Orlando native and former Alabama running back Dee Hart, who rushed for 1,291 yards and 16 touchdowns, and receiver Rashard Higgins, who caught 89 passes for 1,640 yards and 17 touchdowns. A sophomore, Higgins is one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation’s top receiver. Alabama’s Amari Cooper and West Virginia’s Kevin White are the other finalists.
In 2013, the Rams offense featured running back Kapri Bibbs, who rushed for 1741 yards and scored 31 touchdowns, most in the nation that season. Grayson threw for nearly 3700 yards with 23 touchdowns in the same season.
A native of Missoula, Mont., McElwain played quarterback at Eastern Washington from 1980-83 and began his coaching career there in 1985 as a graduate assistant. He spent 10 years at his alma mater, rising to quarterbacks/receivers coach before leaving in 1995 to become offensive coordinator at Montana State.
McElwain later made stops at Louisville and Michigan State before spending the 2006 season as quarterbacks coach of the Oakland Raiders. After one season in the NFL, McElwain returned to the college ranks as offensive coordinator at Fresno State in 2007 before joining Saban’s Alabama staff in 2008 – a month after turning down an offer from his alma mater to return as head coach.
“Their improvement on offense, especially in the play of their quarterback, was tremendous,’’ Saban said when he hired McElwain from Fresno State. “We talked to a large pool of coaches when we interviewed for that position and Jim was absolutely the best candidate we spoke to.”
In his first season at Colorado State, the Rams finished 4-8 in 2012 as McElwain installed his pro-style offense that relied heavily on a balanced and up-tempo approach. They improved to 8-6 a year ago – defeating Washington State in the New Mexico Bowl -- and beat Colorado and Boston College on the way to a 10-2 season in 2014.
McElwain shared his offensive philosophy when he arrived at Alabama this way: “No. 1 is to be physical and make sure the team we’re playing knows that they better bring their lunch because we’re going to come after you on every play. When we hit the field, we’re here on your end for a long day.”
McElwain takes over a Florida team that finished 6-5 and is awaiting to hear of its bowl destination as interim head coach D.J. Durkin directs the program.
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Post by lz2112 on Dec 4, 2014 12:07:54 GMT -5
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Gator Bait!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2014 12:23:07 GMT -5
Sports Illustrated? They couldn't find their own ass in the dark with a flashlight.
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Post by mscott59 on Dec 4, 2014 14:15:30 GMT -5
I think this from a Gator Country article is too optimistic. The deal with McElwain is on life support at best. What is new is to find out that Jeremy Foley offered $3 million for a negotiated buyout and that the CSU president, Tony Frank, refused to budge or negotiate on the $7.5 million. My guess is that is also why Foley is now refusing to play a game in Colorado: "The deal is stalled over a $7.5 million buy-out that Mr. Foley refuses to pay for Jim McElwain. This deal will get done. CSU may not acknowledge it yet, but they are going to accept less than $7.5 million. We could pay the money, but that is not how Florida does things. Call it cheap, call it thrifty, but Jeremy Foley doesn’t over pay for anything and that mindset has produced national championships in not only football, but other sports as well. The national media is painting this as some kind of failure and calling out the Gators as the deal should have been inked before he stepped on the plane to go to Fort Collins, Co. However, no one knows what was relayed to Foley by the administration at CSU, if you believe Foley, CSU stated they were willing to negotiate, but then reneged once the deal with McElwain was complete. I believe Foley’s version because the contract has an “extenuating circumstances” clause that allows for a reduced buy out that was to be negotiated in good faith. The clause was specifically put in the contract at McElwain’s request. Moreover, it is not like we flew out there and said we weren’t paying anything. Foley offered $3 million. That is a good faith offer. Florida is not a bully; that $3 million pays their next coach’s salary for at least a couple of years. It seems the only thing that changed on the flight out there for Foley is that other universities names with coaching vacancies got connected to McElwain.This is a failure and a classic overreach by a party that is overestimating the strength of their bargaining position. How does CSU see this playing out? Do they think they will retain McElwain? After this messy incident, how does he want to coach there? Moreover, after he leaves, who takes over for McElwain after their administration has shown that they refuse to bargain in good faith and lied to their head coach. CSU might as well forget about getting a decent up and coming replacement after this mess. Jim McElwain is not their property to be sold to the highest bidder. In any event, I still see this deal getting done because both Florida and CSU have gone past the point of no return. Each side will give a little bit and come up with a narrative of what happened allowing both sides to save a little face. At some point, Jeremy Foley will introduce Jim McElwain as the new head football coach at the University of Florida." While I hope this is right, I think the assessment is too optimistic. If something doesn't break soon, UF can and will move on to the next candidate. lmao. kudos to the csu president for his stance that a signed contract is, well, a signed contract. and, it turns out, w/the combination of uf paying part of the buyout, the agreement to play a game in gainesville (you knew the uf charter flight didn't know the way to fort collins, although it certainly seems the executive jet had a flight plan to get there-lol), and what mcelwain will pay back over time, that the csu president wasn't overreaching at all.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2014 15:00:19 GMT -5
UF is out $3 million over 6 years that was offered on day 1 and is paying $2 million for a CSU visit to Gainesville. The trip to Gainesville is market value as bama paid CSU $1.8 million when CSU visited Tuscaloosa last season. If McElwain doesn't pony up his $2 million over time for signing that ridiculous contract with a clause that gave all power to the CSU president, he wouldn't be coming to Gainesville. UF wasn't about to pay it.
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Post by mscott59 on Dec 4, 2014 15:59:10 GMT -5
UF is out $3 million over 6 years that was offered on day 1 and is paying $2 million for a CSU visit to Gainesville. The trip to Gainesville is market value as bama paid CSU $1.8 million when CSU visited Tuscaloosa last season. If McElwain doesn't pony up his $2 million over time for signing that ridiculous contract with a clause that gave all power to the CSU president, he wouldn't be coming to Gainesville. UF wasn't about to pay it. lol. $2 mil is 'market value' for a visit? really? i certainly don't think osu has ever paid that amount before. plus uf is paying the entire amt... where do you think mcelwain is going to get the $500k/yr that rounds out this deal? foley was extremely complicit to what csu said they needed re: buyout. but he got his guy... very similar to when he went out and got meyer; a well respected ass't coach tutored by the best coaches of the day, who was able to make his mark on a mid-level program. he'll have an impact in turning 1 or 2 of those close losses into close wins, quickly.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2014 16:01:34 GMT -5
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