A longtime Navarro defensive football coach, McElroy compiled a 62-16-3 head coaching record in eight seasons (1986-1993). He guided the Bulldogs to three conference championships, five bowl appearances and their first NJCAA football championship by capping an undefeated 1989 season with a 41-17 win over Ellsworth, Ia., in the Mid-American Bowl at Tulsa, OK.

McElroy, a three-time Coach Of The Year winner and a 2002 NJCAA Hall of Fame inductee, spent 19 seasons at Navarro College.