As Florida coach Jim McElwain turns his attention to his second year in Gainesville, it might benefit him to remember the early months of 2008. He was fresh at his new job as Alabama's offensive coordinator when Nick Saban was eliminating the odor of his first season as the Crimson Tide's head coach.

After an uninspiring 7-6 2007 season that featured an embarrassing home loss to Louisiana-Monroe, Saban decided to it was time for a major makeover at one of college football's most storied programs. Saban wasn't going to wait and endure a slow rebuild. No, Saban put his foot on the gas and bowled over anyone and everyone who wasn't on board for a complete transformation.

Saban, who had already undertaken the task of rebuilding LSU years earlier (winning a national championship in the process) knew that in order to succeed in a conference that was only gaining momentum as a national power, he had to change the culture and attitude from within. McElwain was brought over from Fresno State to help in that metamorphosis, but it was more than just surrounding the program with better people.

This was a mental evolution, as much as it was physical.

"Boy, I'll tell you what, you know, I think that when you start a program," Saban said, "... you really have to establish fundamental sort of intangibles that are going to help you build the kind of character, competitive character in the people that you have in the organization to get them to be all that they can be, and that says a lot about the attitude that the players have, and that's certainly a challenge."

Saban's football team accepted the challenge and earned a SEC championship game appearance and a BCS bowl spot.

And as McElwain, who helped win two national championships with Saban (2009 and 2011), embarks on his own second year with his own SEC team, it's time for his own cleansing for the better good. Saban decided to pound his 2008 team mentally in order to create a culture of excellence that refused to accept mediocrity. Saban is one of the few coaches who is so good at crafting such mentalities, but McElwain's time with his old boss should payoff, as he attempts to push Florida more and more toward the pedestal Alabama current sits upon.

"It's a long ways away,'' McElwain told reporters before the Gators' 41-7 loss to Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl. "There's a lot of short-term solutions that end up backhanding you later in life. There are a lot of short cuts you can take to make it look prettier early, but if you don't have everything set -- including everybody in the organization -- which we are still in the process of making sure we understand where we need to be as a total program."

McElwain knew even before that listless performance against the Wolverines that this program was much further behind than its 10-win season would imply. When you lose your final three games of the season by a combined 73 points, change must happen, no matter how far your program has come in a year's time.

The basic building blocks that made Saban's 2008 improvement? It revolved around respect, a trust in principles and values, players respecting and trusting each other and the coaches' new pathway toward success, accountability and self-determination. Sprinkle in a more positive, confident attitude and some work ethic on top, and you have a foundation to work with, Saban said.

But this isn't an overnight fix, no matter how McElwain started.

McElwain took a team mired in mediocrity back to Atlanta for the SEC title game for the first time since 2009. You can't underestimate how impressive Florida's turnaround was, but for the Gators are far from a finished product. The offense was atrocious during the last month of the season, finishing the season ranked 111th nationally in total offense (334 ypg) and 71st in offensive efficiency (46.5). And players fully-admitted to becoming complacent after clinching the Eastern Division, proving their mental immaturity.

What made Alabama's quick transformation possible was an infusion of talent and attitude. Saban signed the nation's No. 3 recruiting class in 2008, and he immediately put it through the mental wringer. McElwain isn't far behind, currently owning the No. 7 recruiting class.

But where McElwain must dive in deep is in the character column. Florida's football team still needs to grow up and has some toughening up to do. Saban didn't get to a fourth championship without rebuilding the players around him, and McElwain has seen that in the flesh. It's his job to take elements of that training and implement it into his own teaching.