[6] At Louisville, he tutored All-Conference USA receivers Arnold Jackson, Deion Branch, Damien Dorsey and Zek Parker.

[9] He helped lead the 2007 Fresno State team to a 9–4 record on the year including a win over Georgia Tech in the Humanitarian Bowl.

[21] In 2011, the Crimson Tide finished the season with a 12–1 record, and beat the LSU Tigers 21–0 in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game.

[22][23] On December 12, 2011, sources revealed that McElwain had accepted the head coaching position with Colorado State.

[24][25][26] A press conference was held at the Colorado State University Rams indoor practice facility on December 13, 2011, to officially announce the hiring.

[24][25][26] McElwain's tenure, dubbed by the school's athletic department as "A Bold New Era", began on a high note.

[27] McElwain's Rams rallied from an 11-point deficit to defeat arch-rival Colorado 22–17 at Sports Authority Field in Denver on September 1.

[29] The momentum did not last long though as CSU suffered a 22–7 setback in their home opener one week later to defending FCS National Champion North Dakota State, the start of a six-game losing skid.

[34] McElwain finished his second season with a record of 8–6 after CSU's miraculous comeback win in the New Mexico Bowl against Washington State.

[36] After a Week 2 loss at Boise State,[37] the Rams reeled off nine straight wins, climbing as high as #21 in the national rankings, and being in the conversation for a possible New Year's Day bowl bid.

[41] As a result of the successful transformation of the program, McElwain was named the Mountain West Conference's coach of the year on December 2, 2014.

[42] McElwain was hired as head coach of the University of Florida Gators in December 2014 by athletics director Jeremy Foley.

[55] However, that season saw a second-half collapse against Tennessee and blowout losses to Arkansas, Florida State, and Alabama in the SEC Championship.

[59] After a narrow 26–20 victory over Tennessee off of a game-winning Hail Mary throw,[60] Florida defeated Kentucky 28–27 and Vanderbilt 38–24.

Before the game there were rumors that Florida officials were considering firing McElwain for cause, though Athletic Director Scott Stricklin stated there were no such discussions.

At that meeting, school officials told McElwain that they intended to fire him for cause, and contended that they did not owe him a buyout because he failed to tell them about the alleged death threats.

School officials interviewed by ESPN said that McElwain had been "an odd fit" for Florida from the start, and didn't seem to understand "being part of a team."

[75][76] In his first season with the Chippewas, McElwain led the team to an 8–4 record,[77] and an appearance in the Mid American Conference Championship Game against the Miami Redhawks at Ford Field in Detroit where they lost 26–21.

[84] They finished as co-champions of the MAC West division, but would lose the tie breaker to Northern Illinois, who defeated the Chippewas 39–38 earlier in the season.

A previous owner of their home had designed it to be accessible to wheelchair users, and the McElwains had converted an eight-car garage into a guest wing.

The purchasers, medical equipment company CEO Rick Staab and his wife Michelle, have three children, with the oldest being a wheelchair user due to dystonia, and the second-oldest less seriously affected by the same condition.

The Staabs were looking for a larger home, and Rick remembered attending a fundraiser at the McElwain house and realized that it would meet his family's unique needs.

The McElwains initially considered it a lowball offer, but once they learned that it came from the Staabs, they began discussing a sale, and closed on the transaction in early 2018.

Unknown to the McElwains at the time, McGuirk had purchased a farm a few miles from campus several years earlier that included a 6,000-square-foot barn, and he had thought about building living quarters on the lower level.