Jim McElwain sees himself as the head of a corporation.
And his corporation, the Florida football team, is currently being re-branded.
The program was in disarray after former head coach Will Muschamp failed to bring consistent success in his four years as coach.
But McElwain has already gotten the players on the team to buy into his philosophy and the change doesn’t just happen on the football field.
"It’s interesting because there are so many things that go into a successful football program, to a successful university, to a successful business," McElwain said at Florida's media day.
"It doesn’t matter what it is. It’s all the little details. Not just about the player, not just about the play that was called, but all the things that go on a year-round cycle."
Once he took the job at Florida, McElwain had a vision — a vision of bringing back a football program that has won three national championships and eight Southeastern Conference titles in its history back to national prominence.
And to do so, he's focusing on the program's very infrastructure.
Major changes were needed and McElwain was intent on bringing in a like-minded staff.
One of those like-minded people was Randy Shannon.
McElwain’s vision is one of the reasons why the current co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach left his former job as Arkansas' linebackers coach.
"He’s a guy that has high visions of things he wants to accomplish," Shannon said.
"He’s done a lot of great things where he’s been at throughout the country and it was an opportunity to work with a guy that I think has done a great job."
McElwain was successful at his two previous stops before Florida. At Alabama, he was the offensive coordinator for two national title-winning teams in 2009 and 2011.
He parlayed that success into a head-coaching job at Colorado State, where he helped turn around a program that was looking for some guidance.
The Rams hadn’t had back-to-back winning seasons since 2002-03, but McElwain led them to eight wins in 2013 and 10 wins in 2014.
McElwain’s success at Alabama and Colorado State is what attracted Shannon and the other coaches on the staff to come to Gainesville.
And with McElwain nine months into being named the head coach of the Gators, the first part of his vision is playing out the way he wanted it to.
Everyone is buying in.
"One of the things we’ve tried to do, which people have done and the people that have been here when we took over have embraced, is the idea of everybody being on the same page with the same mission," McElwain said.
"The same view, understanding the only reason any of us exist is because of these players. That’s it."
As Fall camp begins today and the season starts on Sept. 5 against New Mexico State, McElwain has everyone in the program beaming with confidence.
Players were quick to praise what he’s already done in his short time as head coach and how much different things are with him.
Still, McElwain recognizes the program is nowhere near where it needs to be and it has a long way to go.
"We’ve had some great change already, and yet we’ve got a long way to go, but we’re getting there. And those are not overnight fixes," McElwain said.
"Those are the things that happen over time, and I’m excited this administration and our president has afforded us the opportunity to take this program in that direction."
UF football coach Jim McElwain speaks during UF's media day on Wednesday at Touchdown Terrace in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
