BREAKING: Central Michigan hires Jim McElwain as next head coach
Jim McElwain will be the next head football coach at Central Michigan University.
McElwain is the replacement for four-year head coach John Bonamego, who was fired on Nov. 23 after a 1-11 record in the 2018 season.
Sources from the Athletics Department verified McElwain's hiring. His first press conference will be held on Monday, Dec. 3 at 11 a.m.
“My wife and I relish the opportunity to come to a place with such great tradition and pride," McElwain said in a CMU Athletics press release. "It was that rich tradition that really drew us to CMU, with legendary coaches like Roy Kramer and Herb Deromedi and championship teams. We want to continue that tradition and build on it.
The-56-year-old began to make his mark on college football as the head coach of Colorado State from 2012-14. His time with the Rams came after working as an assistant for Eastern Washington, Montana State, Louisville, Michigan State, Fresno State and Alabama.
McElwain turned Colorado State from a 4-8 team in his first season in 2012 to a 10-3 group with a trip to the Las Vegas Bowl in 2014. He agreed to become the head coach at Florida on Dec. 4, 2014.
With the Gators, McElwain went 10-4 and 9-4 in his first two campaigns, respectively. He was named the 2015 SEC Coach of the Year. After a 3-4 start to the 2017 season, McElwain was forced out.
On Feb. 20, 2018, he was named the wide receivers coach for the Wolverines. McElwain has contributed to the development of top pass catchers Donovan Peoples-Jones, Nico Collins and the rehabilitation of Tarik Black, who has suffered two broken feet in two seasons.
"It's been a great opportunity," McElwain said in April. "Coach Harbaugh has been a guy, obviously, I've followed for a long time. The opportunity to come and learn from him and kind of see how someone else does and puts it together, it's really been a lot of fun.
"Just getting an opportunity to kind of stand in the background and see how something is operated, that's what's been really good here."
McElwain made a base salary of $300,000 with the Wolverines. When Bonamego was CMU's coach, he made $656,000 with bonuses in 2018, according to his contract.
