It came as a shock when the news broke Sept. 26 that Scott Stricklin had accepted the job as the new athletic director at Florida.
Stricklin was Mr. Mississippi State, where in six years as athletic director he helped raise more than $144 million to improve facilities and hire better coaches.
Stricklin, who was born in Jackson, Miss., graduated from MSU and began his career in media relations (once known as a sports information director) there and came home in 2008 as a senior associate athletic director before working his way up to head of athletics in just two years.
His father-in-law is Bulldog legend Bailey Howell, who was the first basketball player at the school to have his jersey retired.
Some of the shock wore off when it was learned Stricklin went from being one of the SEC's lowest paid ADs, at a salary of $500,000, to $1 million a year with a shot at bonuses that could raise it to $1.4 million.
Good for him; he earned it by working his way up, from student volunteer to stints at five different schools.
Monday was Stricklin's first day on the job at Florida, and replacing Jeremy Foley is no small task.
On Saturday, Stricklin was at the Florida-Georgia cocktail party in Jacksonville, Fla. -- although for the Bulldogs it has been more about cocktails than parties, having lost three in a row to the Gators and 21 of the past 27.
By all accounts, Stricklin stayed in the background to allow the spotlight to glow one final time on Foley, who was still officially the AD. When Stricklin was told in a joking manner he couldn't put the win on his resume, he joked back, yeah, but the Gators are bowl eligible on his watch.
The Gators are 6-1 overall, but the combined record of the teams they have beaten is 21-28. The one loss was to Tennessee, 38-28, and the Vols are a disappointing 5-3 despite returning 17 starters, although that number now drops to 16 with junior running back Jalen Hurd declaring he was transferring (probably to next year's NFL Draft).
The Vols, who lost last week to South Carolina, were picked to win the SEC East, and Florida was voted No. 3 behind Tennessee and Georgia.
Saying head Coach Jim McElwain is helping Foley's legacy is an understatement.
He's 16-5 as the Gators' coach, but his talents and abilities were obvious early in his career, especially in the two years he served under Nick Saban as offensive coordinator for the Alabama Crimson Tide. In his two seasons, the Tide were 24-3. After winning a national championship, he went to Colorado State as the head coach.
Most coaches on their way up avoid stops such as Colorado State. Places like that usually turn into a detour back into the ranks of being an assistant coach.
McElwain won his first game against Colorado in 2012. Reality set in, and the Rams lost six in a row, but won three of their final five.
in 2013, the Rams were 8-6, including a win over Mike Leach and Washington State, 48-45, in the New Mexico Bowl.
In his third season, he led the Rams to a 10-2 record and the Las Vegas Bowl, but he was on his way to Florida before the bowl game and left Colorado State with a 22-16 record.
McElwain is earning his way onto the somewhat short list of successful head coaches in Power Five conferences who worked for Saban, guys like Jimbo Fisher (Florida State) and Mark Dantonio (Michigan State).
However, it isn't so much who you worked for, but what you do with the opportunity. Like McElwain, expect Scott Stricklin to be successful.
Sports on 11/02/2016