Jim McElwain, offensive coordinator for an Alabama team that will play for the national championship next month, has been hired as CSU’s new football coach.
Colorado State University wouldn’t confirm the hiring Monday night but scheduled a news conference for noon today in the Indoor Practice Facility to introduce its new football coach.
The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News, citing an unidentified source close to McElwain, reported that he would be introduced today as CSU’s new coach. Several sources in Fort Collins, both inside and outside the athletic department, confirmed that McElwain was the choice of new CSU athletic director Jack Graham.
Graham declined to comment when contacted Monday night by the Coloradoan.
“There’s a process in place, and we’ll just stick to the process,” Graham said.
Earlier in the day, in an “open letter” posted on CSU’s athletic department website, Graham said he had been on the road since Thursday interviewing candidates “in search of a leader to guide our program into a new era.”
McElwain didn’t respond to an email sent to his school account Monday, and Alabama officials have declined to comment, citing university policy, on whether or not CSU had contacted the school seeking permission to speak to McElwain.
ESPN.com reported that McElwain would sign a five-year contract with CSU, with an annual salary of $1.5 million a year — more than double the $700,000 a year the Rams were paying Steve Fairchild.
Two recruits who had given oral commitments to CSU’s coaching staff over the past two weeks — former Fossil Ridge High School quarterback Craig “C.J.” Leonard and Fountain-Fort Carson linebacker Kevin Davis — said Monday they had not been told who the new coach would be but were anxious to find out.
“I have a lot of faith in Mr. Graham’s ability to choose a coach,” said Leonard, who played this fall at a prep school in North Carolina. “He’s a football guy. He played quarterback at Colorado State, and I’m pretty sure he knows what it takes to win football games.
“I’ve been in contact with him.”
McElwain, 49, was an all-state quarterback at Sentinel High School in Missoula, Mont., who played college football at Eastern Washington. His previous coaching stops included Eastern Washington (1985-1994), Montana State (1995-99), Louisville (2000-02), Michigan State (2003-05), NFL’s Oakland Raiders (2006) and Fresno State (2007).
He’s been the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Alabama under Nick Saban for the past four years, helping the Crimson Tide go 14-0 and win the national championship in 2009. Alabama’s offense that year gained a school-record 5,642 yards from scrimmage, while scoring an average of 32.1 points a game.
In McElwain’s four seasons at Alabama, the Tide has gone 47-6.
McElwain, who is married and has three children, reportedly turned down offers to become the head coach last week at Memphis and over the weekend at Fresno State.
CSU to announce new coach | The Coloradoan | coloradoan.com
Colorado State University wouldn’t confirm the hiring Monday night but scheduled a news conference for noon today in the Indoor Practice Facility to introduce its new football coach.
The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News, citing an unidentified source close to McElwain, reported that he would be introduced today as CSU’s new coach. Several sources in Fort Collins, both inside and outside the athletic department, confirmed that McElwain was the choice of new CSU athletic director Jack Graham.
Graham declined to comment when contacted Monday night by the Coloradoan.
“There’s a process in place, and we’ll just stick to the process,” Graham said.
Earlier in the day, in an “open letter” posted on CSU’s athletic department website, Graham said he had been on the road since Thursday interviewing candidates “in search of a leader to guide our program into a new era.”
McElwain didn’t respond to an email sent to his school account Monday, and Alabama officials have declined to comment, citing university policy, on whether or not CSU had contacted the school seeking permission to speak to McElwain.
ESPN.com reported that McElwain would sign a five-year contract with CSU, with an annual salary of $1.5 million a year — more than double the $700,000 a year the Rams were paying Steve Fairchild.
Two recruits who had given oral commitments to CSU’s coaching staff over the past two weeks — former Fossil Ridge High School quarterback Craig “C.J.” Leonard and Fountain-Fort Carson linebacker Kevin Davis — said Monday they had not been told who the new coach would be but were anxious to find out.
“I have a lot of faith in Mr. Graham’s ability to choose a coach,” said Leonard, who played this fall at a prep school in North Carolina. “He’s a football guy. He played quarterback at Colorado State, and I’m pretty sure he knows what it takes to win football games.
“I’ve been in contact with him.”
McElwain, 49, was an all-state quarterback at Sentinel High School in Missoula, Mont., who played college football at Eastern Washington. His previous coaching stops included Eastern Washington (1985-1994), Montana State (1995-99), Louisville (2000-02), Michigan State (2003-05), NFL’s Oakland Raiders (2006) and Fresno State (2007).
He’s been the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Alabama under Nick Saban for the past four years, helping the Crimson Tide go 14-0 and win the national championship in 2009. Alabama’s offense that year gained a school-record 5,642 yards from scrimmage, while scoring an average of 32.1 points a game.
In McElwain’s four seasons at Alabama, the Tide has gone 47-6.
McElwain, who is married and has three children, reportedly turned down offers to become the head coach last week at Memphis and over the weekend at Fresno State.
CSU to announce new coach | The Coloradoan | coloradoan.com
