Report: Jim McElwain To Florida On Hold Over Buyout Clause Issue

The Florida Gators may have run into a snag in landing Jim McElwain as they’re coach because of his enormous buyout clause.

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Early on Wednesday it seemed as if an announcement that the Florida Gators had hired Colorado State’s Jim McElwain as their next head coach was imminent. Now, as we head into Thursday on the east coast, things aren’t looking so great at the moment.

According to Brett McMurphy of ESPN, there seems to be a little bit of an issue with the enormous buyout clause in McElwain’s Colorado State deal. The clause is for $7.5 million dollars, and while many thought Florida could get that number lowered, it seems as if Colorado State is not budging.

“At this point, any potential deal is on hold until there’s some sort of resolution with the buyout issue,” a source told ESPN.

The report would go on to say that if this keeps up, then McElwain to Florida will probably not happen and the Gators will have to move on with their search.

Athletic Director Jeremy Foley got on a private plane Tuesday night and flew out to Fort Collins, Colorado to meet with McElwain and his family. After this report, it’s pretty safe to assume that potentially lowering the buyout was discussed at one point, and Foley was told no way.

Now could Florida pony up that money? They probably could, however that would be putting a lot of stock into a coach that everyone just sees as having a lot of potential.

McElwain is on the rise in the coaching ranks, but pulling $7.5 million out of your budget to take a chance on whether or not he could take a top spot in the SEC is mighty risky.

The Florida Gators may have run into a snag in landing Jim McElwain as they’re coach because of his enormous buyout clause.

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