After 15 years as the coach of the Bulldogs Pat Hill was relieved of his duties. During the period that he coached Hill only missed postseason play four times and averaged around 7 to 8 wins a season. The expectations of the Bulldog faithful rose during Hill’s tenure. Unfortunately for Hill those same expectations that he helped create are ultimately what did him in.

With winning and competing for conference championships now the expectation and not just the hope of a few fans the Bulldogs need a coach who can help elevate them to the next level.

The perfect man for this job would be former Bulldog offensive coordinator Jim McElwain. Jim McElwain was the offensive coordinator during the 2007 season and helped guide the Bulldogs to one of their best offensive seasons outside of the David Carr era. Shortly after the season ended McElwain was hired by the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and their head coach Nick Saban to help Saban return the university to it’s past glory.

Since being hired as the offensive coordinator for Alabama the Crimson Tide have played in two National Championship games with one victory and one yet to be played. His offenses at Alabama have also boasted one Heisman Trophy winner in Mark Ingram and another hoping to win it this year in Trent Richardson. Other standouts on offense have included Julio Jones who went on to be a high draft pick in the NFL.

McElwain also boasts NFL coaching experience, which is one of the things that originally interested the Bulldogs in Hill before he was named coach. McElwain was the Quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders in 2006. This gives him an advantage with recruits due to the fact that he can tell them what it’s like and what the expectations are for players in the NFL.

McElwain also has proven to be a solid recruiter while at Alabama having recruited current Alabama starting quarterback AJ McCarron. McCarron while under the tutelage of McElwain has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the South Eastern Conference (SEC) and has helped lead them to a National Championship rematch against the LSU Tigers.

With quarterback Derek Carr returning for his second year as a starter along with a slew of other offensive talent it would be interesting to see what McElwain could do. The fact that he coached under one of the elite coaches in all of college football in Saban should also help his cause.

McElwain is also clearly better than his competitors that have been floated around as of late. Mike Martz is the most prominent name but would not be an ideal fit. Since leaving the Rams Martz’s offenses have hardly looked as good as they did when he was in St. Louis. His offenses are also not known for protecting the football or the quarterback for that matter.

In the end, the top candidate for the Bulldogs should be McElwain. Having been a former Fresno State coach, his experience and learning under Saban he would be the perfect choice. If he shows interest it would behoove the Bulldogs to go after him.