Greg McElroy shares his reaction to Georgia losing Dell McGee

On Feb. 23, Georgia State hired Dell McGee to become the program’s next head coach. McGee has spent the past seven seasons with Georgia, most recently serving as the team’s run game coordinator and running backs coach.

McGee will replace Shawn Elliot, who accepted an offer to become South Carolina’s run game coordinator and tight ends coach last week. On Tuesday, ESPN’s Greg McElroy weighed in on McGee’s decision.

“[Dell McGee] has been in the running for a while,” McElroy said. “I feel like it’s been five, maybe six, maybe seven, maybe 10 openings where his name has been floated out there, not just as a head coach, but as a coordinator, in large part due to just what a recruiter he is.

“It’s going to be harder and harder for [Group of Five] programs to retain coaches. That’s why you see guy like [Maurice] Linguist at Buffalo Take a co-DC job at Alabama. You see Kane Womack, head coach at South Alabama, won 10 games a couple years ago. He’s now the DC at Alabama.”

McGee has certainly earned his respect across college football.

Under McGee’s guidance, Georgia averaged 191.2 rushing yards per game last season, the 20th-most in the country. In his seven seasons at UGA, McGee has coached four 1,000-yard rushers: Nick Chubb in 2016-17; Sony Michel in 2017; D’Andre Swift in 2018-19; and Elijah Holyfield in 2018.

Chubb and Michel finished their careers as two of top three rushers in UGA history, amassing over 8,400 combined yards and 87 touchdowns. McGee was key in recruiting both of the standout talents to Georgia.

Before McGee joined the Bulldogs, he served as Georgia Southern’s running backs coach in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. McGee has only notched one game as a head coach when he served as GSU’s interim head coach during a bowl win in 2015.

Dell McGee has also spent time in various roles at Auburn and Carver-Columbus High School. The Georgia native was a two-year starter and four-year letterwinner at Auburn from 1992-95. McElroy believes McGee is a great get for Georgia State.

“The fact that Georgia State was able to go and get a guy in-state that is known for his recruiting prowess, and is universally respected in that part of the world — Dell McGee is a terrific hire,” McElroy said. “I can’t wait to see what he does because he’s been on everyone’s radar for a while now. Now, he gets the keys to the car that’s actually pretty good.”

Georgia State went 7-6 last season, finishing the 2023 campaign with a convincing 45-22 win over Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Now, McGee will aim to take the program to new heights.