Fresno State football coach Jim McElwain announced Wednesday morning that he will be leaving the Bulldogs to take the offensive coordinator position at the University of Alabama.

Earlier this month, McElwain interviewed at Eastern Washington and chose to remain a coach at Fresno State, but the lure of Alabama Crimson Tide football was enough for McElwain to leave Fresno.

“I think that when you’re losing a coach that’s not only a good coach, but a good person and somebody that you consider a good friend, when he has this kind of an opportunity, I think its important to let people know how tough a decision it was for him,â€Â coach Pat Hill said Wednesday.

Last week, Alabama coach Nick Saban called and spoke to McElwain about the open position on his coaching staff.

“The phone rang and I thought maybe they had the wrong number,â€Â McElwain joked at the press conference Wednesday. McElwain flew to Tuscaloosa and interviewed for the job on Sunday, but did not make his final decision until late Tuesday night.

“The fact that [Alabama] would think enough to come out to Fresno and take a look at some guy who grew up in Montana, that’s an unbelievable thing,â€Â McElwain said.

After thinking heavily about his family considerations, McElwain could not pass on the opportunity to coach in college football̢۪s South Eastern Conference SEC. The SEC is thought to be the strongest conference in college football and is the home of many powerhouse schools including the past two national champions, Louisiana State and Florida.

“As coaches and competitors, the challenge is the big thing,â€Â he said. “Maybe I had too many people say ‘You can’t do it.’ Well, we’re gonna find out.â€Â

McElwain will be responsible for calling the offensive plays for Alabama, taking over the same position he held for one year at Fresno State.

“I will never stand in the way of my coaches moving on if it’s the right job. I think he’s doing the right thing and it’s a great opportunity for him,â€Â Hill said. “I’m very happy for Jim. There aren’t too many Alabama’s.â€Â

While McElwain̢۪s stay in Fresno was short, he still helped considerably to improve the Bulldog̢۪s offensive production in 2007. Under McElwain, the offense improved from 23 points per game in 2006 to 32.23 points per game in 2007 and 338 yards to 406 yards per game.

The team improved its overall record to 9-4 in 2007, including a victory in the Roady̢۪s Humanitarian Bowl over Georgia Tech, from a lowly 4-8 record in 2006. The production of starting quarterback Tom Brandstater also improved vastly under McElwain.

“Tommy came a long way and he’s got a long way to go. I’d blame it [the new job] on him, because he played so good,â€Â McElwain said. “If he hadn’t played so well, I wouldn’t be sitting here.â€Â

Brandstater enhanced not only his numbers, but he also developed his overall decision-making abilities in 2007. The quarterback threw 15 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions under McElwain̢۪s tutoring, improving from his 13 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 2006..

“These guys had a wonderful run this last year, but understand this: that was last year,â€Â McElwain said. “The one thing we’ve tried to do with this offense is rip off the rearview mirror and go forward.â€Â

The Fresno State football team has plenty to look forward to in the upcoming football season. The team returns eight starters on the offensive side of the ball, including Brandstater, tailback Ryan Mathews and tight end Bear Pascoe.

While McElwain̢۪s replacement has yet to be decided, Hill is confident the program will be able to succeed in 2008.

“Every time we have a person goes down in our football program, somebody has to pick up the flag. We’ll pick up the flag and move on,â€Â Hill said. “If we can continue to play hard, the scoreboard will take care of itself.â€Â