In the 2nd installment of our special summer series that began with Scott Stricklin on #89 and concludes with Steve Spurrier in early August, today we welcome Jim McElwain to the podcast for the first time. We invited Coach Mac to join us on Gator Tales to go far beyond the usual questions about the perpetual QB battle and injury updates to paint a more complete portrait of the man from Montana.

Host Adam Schick asks Coach Mac about his early life in Montana and passion for basketball (1:26), how he first became involved in football (3:16), his friendship with former Eastern Washington roommate Colin Cowherd (4:52), the many hats he had to wear during his early years at Eastern Washington (6:26), when he first got the coaching bug (8:32), his experience working for the Oakland Raiders (10:47), the funny way he first connected with Nick Saban at Alabama and the relationship they forged (12:15), what he learned during his first head coaching stint at Colorado State (15:49), what he and his staff look for when evaluating recruits (18:12), the differences between coaching in the Mountain West and the SEC (19:24), how he manages fan expectations and criticism (20:17), the strengths of the 2017 football team (22:05), and his passion for music and some of his favorites (23:58).

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