Central Michigan coach Jim McElwain to retire after 2024 season

Central Michigan announced Tuesday that coach Jim McElwain will retire at the end of the season after six years leading the Chippewas.

The former Florida and Colorado State coach is 33-35 with two bowl appearances at the Mid-American Conference school since taking over in 2019, and he’s 77-63 overall in 12 seasons as an FBS head coach.

McElwain, 62, led CMU to the MAC Championship Game in his first season, and the Chippewas shared the MAC West title with Northern Illinois in 2021. The Chips are 4-7 this year, and the announcement comes less than 24 hours after they beat rival Western Michigan 16-14.

🏈 @cmu_football Head Coach Jim McElwain to retire after four decades coaching college football….

📰 https://t.co/v6q9T6kTfC #FireUpChips 🔥⬆️🏈 pic.twitter.com/mXxl5i57zb

— CMU Football (@CMU_Football) November 20, 2024

Central Michigan concludes its season on Nov. 30 against Northern Illinois.

“He has brought pride and excitement to Mount Pleasant and our football program and we look forward to his contributions to the department in other ways in the years ahead. We are grateful for his service and mentorship to our student-athletes,” athletic director Amy Folan said.

CMU announced McElwain will move into the role of special assistant to the athletic director.

“My wife Karen and I have cherished every moment of our football journey,” McElwain said in statement. “We want to express our deepest gratitude to all the players who have welcomed us into their lives, and the incredible coaches and support staff at every stop along the way. It has been a true privilege to work alongside all of them. The lifelong friendships that were created mean the world to us.”

McElwain spent four seasons as the offensive coordinator at Alabama under Nick Saban — and was part of two national championship teams (2009, 2011) — before getting his first head coaching job, at Colorado State. He guided the Rams to a 22-16 record from 2012 through 2014 and then returned to the SEC as the head coach at Florida.

McElwain had an eventful two-plus seasons in Gainesville. He became the first coach to lead his team to the SEC Championship Game in each of his first two seasons. His Gators lost them both to Alabama, but he was the league’s coach of the year in 2015.

McElwain’s 19-8 start fizzled into a bizarre exit. He publicly questioned the commitment of the Gators administration. After a 3-3 start in Year 3, he said that members of his program had received death threats. He did not share details in his news conference or with administrators. Six days and one blowout loss to Georgia later, he and Florida split in what was announced as a mutual separation.