Jim McElwain is no longer the Florida Gators' coach, bringing an abrupt end to his tenure fewer than three years since he arrived vowing to return the Gators to national prominence and resurrect a moribund offense.
McElwain did neither.
A source confirmed his widely expected departure to the Orlando Sentinel on Sunday.
Until their current three-game skid, McElwain's Gators did show some signs of progress, including two SEC East titles. But each positive step was reversed by stern reality checks, including lopsided losses to Alabama.
McElwain leaves the Gators at their lowest point since he arrived in December 2014. UF (3-4) has suffered few beatings a thorough as Saturday's 42-7 loss to rival Georgia.
The unbeaten Bulldogs led 21-0 after fewer than eight minutes and never looked back.
Afterward, McElwain sound resigned to his fate.
"Look, we haven't been good on offense. I get it," he said. "We've won a few games, but we haven't won enough, haven't won a championship. That's real. That's life. That is this business.
"And I take full responsibility for all of it."
Defensive coordinator and former Miami head coach Randy Shannon will serve as interim coach as the Gators enter the final month of the regular season.
McElwain and UF officials spent much of Sunday working out the details of his massive buyout clause. The 55-year-old signed extensions after each of the past two seasons and is entitled to $2.5 million for the five remaining seasons on his deal.
UF, however, might have grounds to fire McElwain "with cause" following last week's back and forth between him and the administration over claims he and his family received death threats. McElwain declined to provide evidence when his superiors requested it, leading the school to release a statement saying as much.
The schism was the most severe between the two sides. But since McElwain was hired with promises of future Gators' glory, he had a habit of taking jabs at the administration for a perceived lack of commitment.
This even after the school built a $17 million indoor practice facility prior to his first season and later committed to a $60 million stand-alone building for football that remains in the planning stages.
After Saturday's beatdown, McElwain praised UF's commitment, but the words had come a little too late.
"This is a dream job," he said. "It's a great place. It's great fans. Great support. The resource is there to win.
"Obviously I'm disappointed that I haven't been able to deliver in the time I've been here."
McElwain's struggling offense failed to meet expectations he set when he was hired and boasted he could win with his dog under center. The Gators are 13th in the 14-team SEC in scoring offense, averaging just 21.2 points, and have scored just five touchdowns during the current three-game losing streak.
In going 0-4 against Florida State and Michigan, the Gators totaled just one offensive touchdown.
After the Georgia, McElwain's Gators are 4-10 against Top 25 teams.
Even so, McElwain's sudden outster was as surprising his hiring to replace Will Muschamp.
Few were familiar with McElwain when UF hired him away from Colorado State after three seasons and even helped him meet his $7 million buyout with the school.
McElwain quickly delivered a 6-0 start and Top-10 ranking during the 2015 season, but quarterback Will Grier's suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. UF would never recover from the setback at the quarterback position and is 16-12 since then.
Grier's suspension was the first major off-the-field incident involving one of McElwain's top players. Receiver Antonio Callaway's highly publicized indiscretions later would include a credit-card fraud scandal that led to nine suspensions in August and sidetracked the team's 2017 season.
McElwain's players supported their coach following the Georgia loss _ the most one-sided UF defeat in the series since a 44-0 loss to Herschel Walker and the 1982 Bulldogs.
"We stand behind Coach Mac," sophomore safety Chauncey Gardner said Saturday night. "He stands behind us."
McElwain wrapped his UF career with a 22-12 overall record and 16-6 SEC mark. He was the 2015 SEC Coach of the Year, but still struggled to win the games that mattered most.
The Gators now will play the final month of the regular season with the program's future in doubt.
After the Georgia game, McElwain said he was prepared to face whatever happened, without regret, including his comments last week that accelerated his ouster.
"I've made mistakes in my life," he said. "And yet, I stand by everything that occurred. It won't be the first to ever have happened to anybody. And I get that.
"As I go back, look, we've put a lot into this program. The people have been great to my wife and I. We'll see what happens. That's the stuff that's out of your control."
