2014 SEC Football Coaching Carousel Update, End of Regular Season

Oct 4, 2014; Fort Collins, CO, USA; Colorado State Rams head coach Jim McElwain reacts to a call in the second quarter against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Hughes Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The SEC football coaching carousel started when Will Muschamp was finally dismissed as the head coach at Florida. Since, there have been a few more changes, but there could still be plenty to come. Here’s an update as of the end of the 2014 regular season.

SEC East

Florida: Will Muschamp simply did not win enough games as the head coach of the Florida Gators, and he was fired the morning following the team’s 23-20 overtime loss to South Carolina in mid-November.

Muschamp went 7-6 in his first season in Gainesville, and was 11-2 the following year, but a disastrous 4-8 mark in 2013 gave him the hottest seat in the nation entering this season. Another underachieving offense received the biggest blame – a Muschamp-coached Florida team never had an offense that ranked in the top 90 in the nation.

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The Gators are going back to a bowl game, but Muschamp won’t be there. Reportedly, he’s in the Dominican Republic on vacation and mulling over offers from Auburn, Texas A&M and South Carolina, while also receiving interest elsewhere.

This week, Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley targeted his man, and brought him back to the SEC from Colorado State. Jim McElwain was 10-2 in his third season with the Rams, a job he took after spending time as Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama.

“Coach McElwain was someone we targeted from the beginning of the search,” Foley told the school’s official website. “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.”

McElwain is in place, but his staff has a long way to go. He’s not expected to bring many assistants from Colorado State, but a few are expected to follow McElwain to Gainesville.

Depending on when and where Muschamp decides to coach next, it could impact next season’s Florida staff. McElwain may have an interest in retaining an assistant or two, but odds are one or two others will join Muschamp on the defensive coaching staff wherever he ends up.

Next: Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri