Bailey McElwain, who played two years under Derek Mason at Vanderbilt before an injury shortened his playing career, has instead carved an upward path in coaching.
Now McElwain, after spending last season as Austin Peay's co-special teams coordinator and running backs coach, is climbing back into major-college, Power 4 football.
Sources tell FootballScoop Thursday that McElwain is accepting a position on Jedd Fisch's new University of Washington staff.
Specifically, per sources, McElwain is transitioning into a top special teams analyst role.
He'll reunite there with Huskies special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Jordan Paopao, with whom McElwain previously worked at UCLA.
Earlier this year, McElwain was selected to the prestigious Our Coaching Network 30 Under 30 Class of 2024.
Blessings 🙏🏽🙏🏽 https://t.co/PjHKTgDGTH
— Bailey McElwain (@UCLACOACHMAC) January 29, 2024
In addition to his Vanderbilt playing days and time at UCLA and Austin Peay, McElwain also coached at Northern Arizona, East Central Community College and in the high school ranks in his native Alabama.
Starting his coaching career as a student-assistant for the Commodores, McElwain then subsequently logged time on staffs as Jacksonville State and UNLV.
The Huskies hired Jedd Fisch last month to replace Kalen DeBoer after DeBoer departed to succeed Nick Saban upon his retirement from Alabama.
Fisch brought Paopao back to Washington with him after Fisch turned his Arizona turnaround into the opportunity to run the Huskies program.
Paopao previously had an extended stint in the Washington program across multiple coaches and had been a longtime veteran of the PAC-12.
Washington is transitioning into its first season as a Big Ten Conference member in 2024. The Huskies are scheduled to open their upcoming season Aug. 31 against Weber State, plays its annual 'Apple Cup' rivalry game against Washington State Sept. 14 and then makes its Big Ten debut Sept. 21 at home against Northwestern.