College Football

Florida Gators Football: Jim McElwain Optimistic About Future

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:00 p.m. ET

Fansided, Maxwell Ogden/FanSided via Hail Florida Hail

The Florida Gators football team concluded the 2016 season in style. Head coach Jim McElwain is confident that Florida will carry the momentum over into 2017.

The Florida Gators football team is in caring hands with head coach Jim McElwain. There aren’t many coaches more passionate about the game or supportive of their team than Coach Mac, as evidenced by his countless tear-jerking post-game interviews.

Following the Gators’ dominant 30-3 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Outback Bowl, McElwain expressed how confident he is in the future of his team.

Florida finished the 2016 season at 9-4 overall and 6-2 against the SEC. It won its second consecutive SEC East championship, won a bowl game, and overcame the overwhelming adversity of sustaining injuries to eight starters.

According to Nick de la Torre of Gator Country, head coach Jim McElwain is optimistic about the future of the program.

“We had a heck of a year,” McElwain said. “Two straight SEC East championships, new facilities. We’ll look for the commitment that we get from the administration moving forward, see where that’s at, and I know this, we’ve got a lot of good young players that would have played a lot of football for us this year, and they’ll teach the guys that are coming in next year the same thing.”

The future is bright in Gainesville.

Through two seasons as head coach, McElwain is 19-8 overall and 13-3 in the SEC with a 1-1 record in bowl games. He made history in 2016 by becoming the first coach in conference history to reach the SEC Championship Game in each of his first two seasons.

The goal for the Gators in 2017 will be to add a victory in the Conference Championship Game to his resume.

Based on what Florida achieved in 2017 and how promising the roster is, the future is bright.

Freshman defensive back Chauncey Gardner dominated the Outback Bowl and running backs Jordan Scarlett and Lamical Perine are underclassmen. Star wide receiver Antonio Callaway will be a junior in 2017, as well, and Luke Del Rio will be a part of a deep class of quarterbacks.

That only scratches the surface of the remarkable level of talent that Florida will return, as well as its improving recruiting class.

With a projected Top 20 finish to the 2016 college football season, the Gators are on the precipice of greatness under head coach Jim McElwain.