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Jim McElwain and his family. (Photo via Jim McElwain's Twitter)
Jerret McElwain will be in an exciting yet unenviable position as he walks into the Georgia Dome this Saturday.
The sophomore at Alabama works as a recruiting specialist in Nick Saban's program, and will have a great seat as the Crimson Tide goes for an SEC Championship. The only problem is Jerret's dad happens to be the head coach at Florida, the team standing in Alabama's way of another College Football Playoff berth.
Jerret knew this situation could happen one day, but he thought he had a few years -- not his dad's first season in Gainesville. His solution is to sit in Florida's family section and root for both programs.
"No matter how the game ends, I'll have a 'W' under my belt," Jerret says. "It will be one of those games where I'm going to be happy at the end of the day no matter what. I'll be on the Florida side rooting on the family because family is more than anything, but you can best believe I'm still going to be rooting for the Tide.
"There's a reason I went to college there. I love the Tide to death."
Jerret might not be the only McElwain rooting at least a little bit for the Crimson Tide. His two sisters -- Elizabeth and Hanna -- both attended Alabama and worked for the football program. The family has strong ties to Tuscaloosa after Jim spent four seasons as Saban's offensive coordinator. Only in the SEC could the Florida head coach have three proud Alabama fans as children.
"Hopefully come gameday they are rooting for their dad," Jim says.
**
Jerret was a little boy when he wanted to warm up by the fire one day before heading off to preschool. The young boy got too close and his nightshirt caught on fire, forever changing both his and his father's lives.
Fortunately, a neighbor was an off-duty firefighter and quickly came over and helped. Even with the help, Jerret spent eight months recovering from the accident. It took him years to gather up the courage to ask his parents what happened and look at what remained of the nightshirt.
"I was on my death bed," Jerret says. "I almost died. It was a miracle I'm still here, and I thank the Lord for that."
At the time, Jim was the receivers coach at Louisville, trying to climb his way up the coaching ladder. He was at the office when the accident happened -- another long day of game planning on the docket -- and couldn't do anything to fix the situation.
That day changed Jim McElwain.
It changed the way he acted; changed the way he coached. After watching Jerret's long recovery, which caused him to retake a grade because of all the time he missed, he realized he couldn't take anything for granted. The accident that almost stole his only son from this world became the impetus behind his rise as one of the best coaches in college football.
"It really makes you sit back and realize sometimes 3rd-and-6 is not the most important thing in the world," Jim says. "The most important thing in the world is our families. It brought a lot in focus."
Jerret is a healthy college student now, with the scars on his back the only physical reminder of the accident. He's in a fraternity, loves going to see movies and is following in his father's football footsteps. He works under Alabama director of player personnel Jody Wright, who used to work for his father. He likes recruiting and likes the idea of going up against his dad in recruiting battles when Alabama and Florida pursue the same top prospect.
"What my dad told me is it's not about who you are rooting for; whoever is paying the check make sure you do the right thing for them," he says. "It's kind of cool working against my dad. It's a little rivalry thing going."
When Jerret first arrived on campus at Alabama, a few students recognized his last name but it wasn't widespread. At the time, his dad was still the coach at Colorado State and hadn't hit the mainstream yet. Jerret wasn't going to make a big deal out of it, and no one at Alabama seemed interested in doing so, either.
That started to change this year once his dad took over the Florida program. Expectations were low for the Gators this season, but McElwain guided the team to a few big wins and clinched the SEC East title weeks before the end of the regular season. As McElwain's national profile grew, so did the number of students coming up to Jerret and asking about his dad.
Although his dad's fame grew, a frequent problem persisted on campus: Few could correctly pronounce Jerret's last name.
"I'd say there's an 80 percent chance someone is going to butcher it," Jerret says.
He says it has gotten better this year, but the majority of his college professors still mispronounce it. That could change in the future if McElwain's Gators end Alabama's title hopes this weekend.
**
Jim McElwain still puts in long hours -- it's part of the job description when you're an SEC head coach -- but he sets time aside for his kids. When he's not working on Xs and Os, he enjoys watching HGTV's "House Hunters" and Food Network with the family. Beyond leading quick turnarounds of SEC programs, Jim is known as a master chef on the Green Egg. He has a homemade South Carolina-style BBQ sauce called "Mambo sauce" that's a big hit with friends and family.
"It's the Mac Daddy special," Jerret says. "It's amazing."
As McElwain pulls into his driveway, he'll spend an extra 10 minutes waiting in his car to let the day's stress wash away. You can't escape how much football matters in Gainesville, but when he walks into his house, he doesn't want anyone worrying about what's happening at the office.
"My kids mean everything to me," the Florida coach says. "As a dad you do everything you can to instill things into them but yet work hard so you can provide for them. I think my kids can see that, and they know when it is dad time, they've got all of me."
The two McElwain men talk every Saturday before the recruits arrive and the game kicks off. The bond between the two is strong and Jerret says he could "die happy" if he ever got a chance to work on his dad's staff.
Of course, it was the accident that almost killed him that played a role in his father's ascent to the Florida job. If Jerret gets his chance to "die happy," it will be because a young boy lived and taught his dad his most important lesson.