GAINESVILLE -- Nearly 30 years ago, Jim McElwain earned $4,723 in his first coaching job at Eastern Washington.
“Still have the contract,” he said, chuckling.
To make ends meet, Florida’s second-year head coach also “taught classes, tended bar and worked at JCPenny’s.”
“I’ve come a ways,” he said.
Truly.
McElwain joined the $4 million coaching club in February, as Florida announced his $750,000 raise on Friday.
The Gators’ coach now earns $4.25 million annually, becoming the highest-paid coach in the SEC East after winning the division in his first year.
“I’ve said this before but there’s times I just walk out to practice and it’s hard to imagine I’m at the University of Florida,” McElwain said.
"It's so good to know that your university and your administration believes in the direction that we're taking this thing. It's something that sends a message in recruiting. Just the belief in our organization and where we're going. We got a ways to go now, but I'm happy for all of us."
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