Jim Mora new UCLA HC

64 posts / 0 new
Login or register to post comments
Last post
December 10th, 2011 at 7:51 AM
#1
Lets_Go_Blue
Lets_Go_Blue's picture
Joined: 10/06/2010
MGoPoints: 1760
Jim Mora new UCLA HC

Looks like Jim Mora will be coaching UCLA, according to rumors on ESPN.com.

Jim L. Mora will be named football coach at UCLA Saturday, a source close to the situation told ESPNLosAngeles.com. Mora, the former coach of the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons, is currently an analyst for the NFL network. He replaces Rick Neuheisel, who was fired after going 21-29 during his four years with the Bruins.

 http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/ncf/story/_/id/7337808/ucla-bruins-hire-jim-l-mora-coach-football

 

According to the article, it will be officially announced sometime today.

 

EDIT: Realizing this may cause some confusion, I'd like to clarify.  It's the younger Jim Mora

Not the older

Football is both an identity and a terminal illness. A rhythm and a chaos and an opiate for the mind all at once.

     -Johnny Danbury (umichedme.blogspot.com)

Top
Tags:

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
December 10th, 2011 at 7:57 AM | Hate To Be That Guy, But... (Score:1 Normal)
LSAClassOf2000
LSAClassOf2000's picture
Joined: 01/07/2011
MGoPoints: 8757

http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/beckman-illinois-now-official

EDIT: Didn't know about the Mora hire at UCLA myself. Interesting grab for them. 

"Funny isn't it, how naughty dentists always make that one fatal mistake."

Follow the random tweets of a Michigan alum - http://twitter.com/#!/LorneEC3

December 10th, 2011 at 8:04 AM | Didn't see it.  Tough when (Score:5 Normal)
Lets_Go_Blue
Lets_Go_Blue's picture
Joined: 10/06/2010
MGoPoints: 1760

Didn't see it.  Tough when you can't click past the first page of the board.  Did a search, but apparently misspelled it when I typed it.  My bad.

Fixed now.

Football is both an identity and a terminal illness. A rhythm and a chaos and an opiate for the mind all at once.

     -Johnny Danbury (umichedme.blogspot.com)

December 10th, 2011 at 8:05 AM | Nice Save! (Score:4 Normal)
LSAClassOf2000
LSAClassOf2000's picture
Joined: 01/07/2011
MGoPoints: 8757

Well done,  sir!

"Funny isn't it, how naughty dentists always make that one fatal mistake."

Follow the random tweets of a Michigan alum - http://twitter.com/#!/LorneEC3

December 10th, 2011 at 8:07 AM | The benefits of being awake (Score:4 Normal)
Lets_Go_Blue
Lets_Go_Blue's picture
Joined: 10/06/2010
MGoPoints: 1760

The benefits of being awake while everyone else is asleep.  Now no one has to know... it can be our little secret.

Football is both an identity and a terminal illness. A rhythm and a chaos and an opiate for the mind all at once.

     -Johnny Danbury (umichedme.blogspot.com)

December 10th, 2011 at 10:18 AM | Does everyone else have that (Score:5 Normal)
yoopergoblue
yoopergoblue's picture
Joined: 02/11/2010
MGoPoints: 1978

Does everyone else have that problem too?  The board hasn't let me click past the first page of posts for about a month now.  I figured maybe it was my browser for a while, but I'm not so sure now.

"They will meet a dastardly fate here for that! There isn't a Michigan Man who wouldn't like go out and scalp those Buckeyes right now."

December 10th, 2011 at 10:48 AM | Yes, I can't click through (Score:4 Normal)
AlwaysBlue
Joined: 11/23/2008
MGoPoints: 539

Yes, I can't click through either. 

December 10th, 2011 at 11:16 AM | Right click and open in a new (Score:4 Informative)
bacon1431
bacon1431's picture
Joined: 07/26/2008
MGoPoints: 3291

Right click and open in a new tab, that's the only way it works for me.

For a' that, an' a' that, 
Our toils obscure an' a' that, 
The rank is but the guinea's stamp, 
The man's the gowd for a' that. 
December 10th, 2011 at 8:30 AM | Interesting hire, to say the (Score:1)
Maize_in_spartyland
Maize_in_spartyland's picture
Joined: 04/06/2011
MGoPoints: 738

Interesting hire, to say the least. He had mixed results at the NFL level. Lack of coaching experience at the college level makes it interesting, too.

For more on college football, college basketball, baseball, hockey, and more, visit Before Visiting the Sportsbook.

Follow BVTSB

December 10th, 2011 at 10:05 AM | I always felt like the (Score:2)
rbgoblue
rbgoblue's picture
Joined: 07/20/2009
MGoPoints: 1615

I always felt like the college game was better suited for the Moras.  No need to worry about the PLAYOFFS?  We have the BCS!

December 10th, 2011 at 8:49 AM | Another idiotic hire by UCLA (Score:5 Normal)
Don
Don's picture
Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 19222

These bonehead college ADs keep thinking they're hiring the next Pete Carroll out of the NFL, when it's far, far more likely they're hiring the next Charlie Weis or Mike Sherman.


December 10th, 2011 at 8:57 AM | Probably, But.. (Score:3 Funny)
LSAClassOf2000
LSAClassOf2000's picture
Joined: 01/07/2011
MGoPoints: 8757

...UCLA wants that lock on being the de facto Pac-12 South champion for one more year. 

"Funny isn't it, how naughty dentists always make that one fatal mistake."

Follow the random tweets of a Michigan alum - http://twitter.com/#!/LorneEC3

December 10th, 2011 at 8:55 AM | Why didn't Neuheisel work out? (Score:1)
Vasav
Vasav's picture
Joined: 12/13/2009
MGoPoints: 2837

A lot of times when high-profile coaches don't work out, the reasons are obvious in hindsight. Charlie Weis, Ty Willngham (although I still think ND pulled the trigger too early on him), Rich Rod - everybody can tell you why those didn't work.

Neuheisel was a highly regarded coach with previous experience at a school (Washington) that is just as much of a traditional power as UCLA. He took a program that had become firmly mediocre, and won a Rose Bowl to cap off a top-5 season in his second year there. As far as I know, he faced none of the silliness at UCLA that we saw at Michigan over the last three years. And he got to UCLA at the end of/after the USC dynasty's heyday. He's at a school that has all the perks of USC, except it's in a nicer neighborhood (or so I've heard - it's been over twenty years since I was in LA and I don't remember it very well).

So what gives? Well regarded coach, a school that should be easier to recruit too than his old school,  exact same competition - and his bad years at Washington were his good years at UCLA. Why didn't this work?

December 10th, 2011 at 9:32 AM | He and Norm Chow fought (Score:3 Normal)
Rabbit21
Rabbit21's picture
Joined: 11/12/2009
MGoPoints: 1687

He and Norm Chow fought constantly about how to run the offense and he also insisted on messing with the quarterbacks and kept trying to start Kevin  Prince when Richard Brehaut was A) a better passer and B) seemingly not made of glass.  He was also a Ferentz-a-saurus when it came to punting decisions and there was very little aggression in his game plans.  Finally, there was a RR-ian style decision  to have his offensive coordinators run the Pistol offense that they had never heard of and put the team out of synch.  His logic in going to the pistol was that it would help the run game without killing the pass game and put a band-aid on the non-existent offensive line depth. 

Finally, he tried to recruit nationally and lost control of recruiting in LA.  All-in-all it was a total disaster that was not aided by Neuheisel's non-stop bravado that made him seem untouched by reality, if not completely clueless.  He did, however, handle his firing well.

Chaos is found in greatest abundance wherever order is being sought.  It always defeats order because it is better organized. 

December 10th, 2011 at 9:44 AM | Thanks (Score:1)
Vasav
Vasav's picture
Joined: 12/13/2009
MGoPoints: 2837

A lot of those mistakes sound too damn familiar. I guess from Washington you'd have to recruit nationally a bit more, and he probably had an OC in Seattle that didn't follow him? Still, it's crazy to see a coach fare worse against the same competition when he had access to greater resources. I did think he was very classy in his firing.

December 10th, 2011 at 9:50 AM | Recruiting (Score:1)
Tater
Tater's picture
Joined: 08/13/2008
MGoPoints: 10385

When you are in the same town as the second-dirtiest program in college football, and they have half of Hollywood helping them recruit, it's hard to put a decent talent level out on the field.  They need to put Mark Harmon to work.  

 

 

 

December 10th, 2011 at 10:32 AM | I heard a radio interview a (Score:4 Informative)
cbuswolverine
Joined: 08/14/2008
MGoPoints: 1768

I heard a radio interview a few days ago where Neuheisel was talking about how hard it is to recruit top flight talent at UCLA because UCLA does not have top flight facilities.  He seemed to be very down and very frustrated.  He was more or less saying that UCLA is a coaching deathtrap because they want high end results but they aren't willing to make the appropriate sacrifices.  At the time of his hire, when he was talking about taking LA back from USC, he was under the impression that the UCLA admin would step up, and that wasn't the case at all.

Here's a five part article about their need for new facilities.

part one

part two

part three 

part four

part five

nice post about Mora on the same blog

They are not happy.

 

December 10th, 2011 at 10:38 AM | Thanks Very Much (Score:1)
OldBlueMan
OldBlueMan's picture
Joined: 06/06/2011
MGoPoints: 198

For posting the article.  The concept of converting the existing Drake Stadium is fabulous, but I cannot imagine it coming into reality, given the financial, political and environmental obstacles.

December 10th, 2011 at 11:38 AM | whatever you want to say (Score:3 Normal)
ttifiblog
ttifiblog's picture
Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 2703

about bill martin's culpability for the transition years, dude got the facilities in order. We owe him for that. 

http://ttifi.blogspot.com/ for interesting vids

http://ttifiblog.tumblr.com/ for interesting pics

December 10th, 2011 at 12:19 PM | It does not have the perks of USC (Score:1)
Eye of the Tiger
Eye of the Tiger's picture
Joined: 09/14/2009
MGoPoints: 1054

The facilities are terrible and pay is considerably lower for staff, which makes it hard to get anyone good in the area.  

When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing. -Bo

December 10th, 2011 at 3:00 PM | You're kidding, right? (Score:1)
PM
Joined: 11/23/2008
MGoPoints: 241

Neuheisel left Colorado in a shambles, then did the same at Washington.  Both programs were in disarray with a stench of history of bending/breaking NCAA rules.  I was not surprised but was very much disappointed when UCLA hired the idiot.  I don't get how he has an image of being a good coach unless you go back to his days as a QB coach... then, maybe...

go blue

December 10th, 2011 at 8:59 AM | What an uninspiring hire for (Score:2)
TimH
TimH's picture
Joined: 01/26/2010
MGoPoints: 298

What an uninspiring hire for UCLA.  Glad I'm not a fan.

December 10th, 2011 at 9:00 AM | we know how he feels about the bcs... (Score:1)
Max Power
Joined: 12/13/2009
MGoPoints: 84

playoffs? you kidding me? he just hopes he could win a game.

December 10th, 2011 at 9:02 AM | I think this is junior (Score:2 Normal)
Vasav
Vasav's picture
Joined: 12/13/2009
MGoPoints: 2837

The Jim Mora you're thinking of is his father, I believe

December 10th, 2011 at 9:04 AM | Yes, this one (Score:2)
Lets_Go_Blue
Lets_Go_Blue's picture
Joined: 10/06/2010
MGoPoints: 1760

not the one below

Football is both an identity and a terminal illness. A rhythm and a chaos and an opiate for the mind all at once.

     -Johnny Danbury (umichedme.blogspot.com)

December 12th, 2011 at 12:01 PM | Don't (Score:2)
Hardware Sushi
Hardware Sushi's picture
Joined: 03/08/2010
MGoPoints: 3496

Don't call him Jim Jr., though....

Intensity is a lot of guys that run fast.

December 10th, 2011 at 9:03 AM | (No subject) (Score:4 Normal)
Lets_Go_Blue
Lets_Go_Blue's picture
Joined: 10/06/2010
MGoPoints: 1760

Football is both an identity and a terminal illness. A rhythm and a chaos and an opiate for the mind all at once.

     -Johnny Danbury (umichedme.blogspot.com)

December 10th, 2011 at 1:57 PM | Maybe he can.. (Score:3 Normal)
JD_UofM_90
Joined: 11/09/2009
MGoPoints: 2190

hire his Dad as the defensive coordinate.  Then Kiffin and him could have a sweet "My dad can kick your dad's ass" converstion, before every USC/UCLA game...

“Oh Yeah, what he said forgodsakes...”  -   -         

<

December 10th, 2011 at 9:00 AM | Wow (Score:1)
Argyle
Joined: 09/26/2009
MGoPoints: 1179

What an uninspiring hire. When everyone else in the Pac 12 is going big and taking a risk, UCLA makes a move that makes the Illini seem bold.

December 10th, 2011 at 9:47 AM | The Illini made a great hire. (Score:1)
NorthSideBlueFan
NorthSideBlueFan's picture
Joined: 08/28/2009
MGoPoints: 2198

He is a very good coach and recruiter.

"... never forget that Ohio is still a four-letter word."
-Bob Ufer

December 10th, 2011 at 11:35 AM | posted from iPhone (Score:1)
Argyle
Joined: 09/26/2009
MGoPoints: 1179

I don't disagree. But a B1G school hiring a MAC coach is hardly ambitious. It's a safe, and perhaps smart choice, but as I suggested above, not very bold.

December 10th, 2011 at 12:23 PM | I think it's a really nice (Score:1)
Zone Left
Zone Left's picture
Joined: 07/03/2008
MGoPoints: 13967

I think it's a really nice hire too. What other realistic options did Illinois have? A mid-level BCS program can basically go after a top assistant or an up and coming non AQ head coach. They went with the second option.

I like their choice much better than hiring a recently out of work head coach or some retread from the NFL.

It's all John Navarre's fault.

 

December 10th, 2011 at 9:28 AM | From what I am hearing from (Score:1)
NateVolk
NateVolk's picture
Joined: 07/19/2010
MGoPoints: 3827

From what I am hearing from fans out there, this is barely registering beyond the accumulation of more evidence that Dan Guerrero, AD, needs to be fired.

"because character wins in life and character wins on the football field....."  1-11-11

December 10th, 2011 at 9:36 AM | The main objection is that he (Score:1)
Rabbit21
Rabbit21's picture
Joined: 11/12/2009
MGoPoints: 1687

The main objection is that he went for a guy who has no college experience and was mediocre at best in the NFL, when it appears he didn;t even try to talk to some college head coaches who could possibly be poached or even go for college coordinators.  To most it feels loazy and incompetent.  However, several people mention wanting to have talked to Dantonio, which would have made me burn any and all UCLA gear instantly and send a letter of apology to my grandparents explaining why I can't root for UCLA anymore.

Chaos is found in greatest abundance wherever order is being sought.  It always defeats order because it is better organized. 

December 10th, 2011 at 11:48 AM | agree (Score:1)
snowcrash
Joined: 07/22/2008
MGoPoints: 1569

I don't like this hire at all. I don't see any reason to expect an unsuccessful NFL retread with no college background to be a successful college coach. This reminds me of Nebraska hiring Bill Callahan.  They probably should have gone for a well-regarded coordinator or mid-major head coach. I think they would have even been better off picking Mike Stoops or Paul Wulff off the scrap heap--at least those guys have shown that they can make some progress running a Pac-12 program.

December 10th, 2011 at 9:32 AM | I'm just wondering what the (Score:2)
UMgradMSUdad
UMgradMSUdad's picture
Joined: 07/02/2011
MGoPoints: 1966

I'm just wondering what the Sparty Jersey Shore dude has to do with any of this.

December 10th, 2011 at 9:46 AM | So wish it was the elder Jim (Score:1)
NorthSideBlueFan
NorthSideBlueFan's picture
Joined: 08/28/2009
MGoPoints: 2198

PLAYOFFS?!?!?!?!?!?!

But seriously, this is the second truly incomprehensible hire this week.(Weis being the other.) What are these AD's thinking, that  a name/or NFL history will bring kids in?  Crazy.

"... never forget that Ohio is still a four-letter word."
-Bob Ufer

December 10th, 2011 at 9:50 AM | Is it just me (Score:2)
Lets_Go_Blue
Lets_Go_Blue's picture
Joined: 10/06/2010
MGoPoints: 1760

or does he look too much like this guy?

(Greg Grungerg)

Football is both an identity and a terminal illness. A rhythm and a chaos and an opiate for the mind all at once.

     -Johnny Danbury (umichedme.blogspot.com)

December 10th, 2011 at 11:51 AM | (Score:2)
ldoublee
Joined: 06/22/2009
MGoPoints: 2888

did someone say GERG?

December 10th, 2011 at 9:57 AM | I Predict This... (Score:2)
LSAClassOf2000
LSAClassOf2000's picture
Joined: 01/07/2011
MGoPoints: 8757

...once USC can go to the PAC-12 CG and a bowl again...

"Funny isn't it, how naughty dentists always make that one fatal mistake."

Follow the random tweets of a Michigan alum - http://twitter.com/#!/LorneEC3

December 10th, 2011 at 10:17 AM | "Neuheisel was a highly regarded coach" (Score:1 Overrated)
Don
Don's picture
Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 19222

?? I'd bet the vast majority of college football insiders regard Neuheisel as a Class A dickweasel.


December 10th, 2011 at 10:41 AM | Neuheisel always looked to me (Score:1 Overrated)
mGrowOld
mGrowOld's picture
Joined: 10/04/2010
MGoPoints: 13180

Neuheisel always looked to me like the asshole kid in class who just knew he was smarter than everyone else and enjoyed making everyone else feel stupid every chance he got.  Which, in turn, led to everyone beating the shit out of him at recess if memory serves.

Come to think of it....Slick Rick kinda dresses like that kid too........

 

 

December 10th, 2011 at 10:27 AM | What a Stunning Hire (Score:1)
OldBlueMan
OldBlueMan's picture
Joined: 06/06/2011
MGoPoints: 198

I lived in SoCal for 30 years and it's not that I was a UCLA Bruin fan as much as I hate everything about USC: the Rose Bowl games where the Wolverines got screwed by bad calls, truly smug assholes who graduate as Trojans forever that get USC Alumni license plate brackets instead of diplomas....I could go on forever.

Maybe they are following the USC lead on this.  The Trojans were in the toilet for almost ten years when they hired Pete Carroll, another NFL reject, and he led them to the promised land before leaving on the edge of NCAA infractions.

The comments above about facilities are interesting.  How much fun is it when the football stadium is a 45-minute drive from campus?

December 10th, 2011 at 10:34 AM | There is no reason UCLA can't be competitive (Score:2)
Don
Don's picture
Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 19222

Look what Terry Donahue did there in the 70s and 80s; won or shared five conference titles, including 4 in six seasons; won seven bowl games in a row, among them three Rose Bowls, and produced a bunch of high-profile NFL players.

The problem is the coaches they've hired; after Donahue, it's been Bob Toledo, Karl Dorrell, and Slick Rick.

I know David Brandon has his warts, but his hiring of BH has been a stroke of genius by comparison.


December 10th, 2011 at 12:14 PM | Judging on Year One results (Score:1)
SalvatoreQuattro
SalvatoreQuattro's picture
Joined: 11/30/2010
MGoPoints: 2801

it was a stroke of genius period.

 

"The Ruhr will not be subjected to a single bomb. If an enemy bomber reaches the Ruhr, my name is not Hermann Göring: you can call me Urban Meyer!"

December 10th, 2011 at 12:26 PM | Bob Toledo had a .604 winning % (Score:1)
Eye of the Tiger
Eye of the Tiger's picture
Joined: 09/14/2009
MGoPoints: 1054

...and two very good years (1997 and 1998).  He wasn't great, but he wasn't terrible either.  Dorrell and Neuheisel were terrible.  

When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing. -Bo

December 10th, 2011 at 10:41 AM | Damn (Score:2)
TRSaunders
TRSaunders's picture
Joined: 07/07/2008
MGoPoints: 4241

I'd love to hear the other Jim Mora talk about whether or not we should replace the BCS... "Playoffs?!"

Posted from my Dell Venue Pro

Brilliant!

"There will be blood on the field and it won't be mine" - K

December 10th, 2011 at 10:44 AM | Dan Guerrero Has So Much Experience (Score:1)
OldBlueMan
OldBlueMan's picture
Joined: 06/06/2011
MGoPoints: 198

In hiring coaches at UCLA that you would think he might eventually get it right, but look at your list: each of those last three hires is completely different in every possible manner.  The funny thing is that Toledo was the most successful and they have gotten worse with each new coach.

December 10th, 2011 at 10:45 AM | good hire (Score:2)
j_rod23
j_rod23's picture
Joined: 07/16/2009
MGoPoints: 131

I think he's a good coach for UCLA. I was really confused at first. I kinda forgot he had a son.

GO BLUE!!!

December 10th, 2011 at 11:00 AM | I think he's a good coach for UCLA. (Score:2)
Don
Don's picture
Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 19222

I'm curious: what is it in his resume that makes you think he'll be successful at UCLA?


December 10th, 2011 at 11:50 AM | good question (Score:2)
j_rod23
j_rod23's picture
Joined: 07/16/2009
MGoPoints: 131

Hard to find coaches with NFL coaching experience. Rick Neuheisel didnt work out there. I mean,  UCLA is a tough job, and you need someone big to compete with the more successful programs in the PAC 12. They need some stability. I probably would have condsidered other people although. Brent Venables (Oklahoma DC) would be #1 in my book for any head coach position.

GO BLUE!!!

Theme provided by Roopletheme; sidebars adapted from Chris Murphy.