UCLA Coaching Hot Stove: Concerns about Jim Mora’s Resume, Keeping the Heat on Chianti Dan
by Nestor on Dec 6, 2011 5:05 PM PST
in Football
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PrintIt appears that chatter is getting hot and heavy that UCLA is getting with serious with Jim Mora. As it goes with these types of transactions, a deal is not final until parties have signed on the dotted line. There is some hopeful info out there that this may be all part of a Mora specific campaign targeting the UCLA gig. So overwhelming negative feedback from here and other places always help.
That said, it's worth further delving into this guy because there are numbers of issues with him. bluebland bulleted few of the key concerns with Mora in this fanpost yesterday:
- Hasn't coached in college for 27 years.
- Career coaching record is 31-33.
- Has no familiarity with college-style innovation in schemes.
Odysseus further noted the off field problems and distractions that riddled Mora's coaching tenure in Atlanta. It was not pretty picture. What is also really ugly is to see how Mora's reached his 31-33 record over the years as broken down by tasser10 in his post:
- Atlanta 2004 11-5 (0.688)
- Atlanta 2005 8-8 (0.500)
- Atlanta 2006 7-9 (0.438)
- Seattle 2009 5-11 (0.313)
So as a head coach Mora in his career has had just one winning season. That is it. His record got progressively worse every season. He has not track record of building and managing a college program.
As far as we know Mora was not coveted by any of the major college programs that had positions available in last few weeks. Apparently back in 2008 when the Washington Huskies were on the market to find a replacement for Tyrone Willingham they sent out inquiries but he ended up not being a "candidate" for that job. It is unclear whether the Huskies pulled back or if it was the other way around.
We have seen stories about Denver Broncos pursuing Mora as their DC back in January. There were also stories about Mora being "front runner" for the Eagles DC position. All of those stories are vaguely sources and it seems to have the finger prints of a skilled agent who is good at creating hype around his client. To be fair Mora is still enjoying a nice buyout from the Seahawks as reportedly there were about $12 million remaining in his K, when the team let him go. Still he hasn't gotten any plum job offers from NFL since he was let go from the Seahawks or pursued by any major college program.
The picture around Mora is really incomplete and frankly scary if you are UCLA alum who are looking for someone who you can have total confidence to take this program to the next level. His NFL track record is not very impressive. There is no doubt we are going to hear pathetic spin from Guerrero and his cronies about Pete Carroll being successful as a former NFL coach, but savvy football fans know that Carroll example is an aberration given how college football has seen one examples after another of pure NFL coaches failing to build programs (See Bill Callahan, Al Groh, Dave Wannstedt, Charlie Weiss, Karl Dorrell, Mike Sherman and so on).
Now looking back at 2007 when Guerrero was conducting another sham search process, a name like Mora seemed interesting because we were also dealing with uninspired "finalists" such as Dewayne Walker, Norm Chow and even Rick Neuheisel. We eventually supported the Neuheisel hire because the other options were so horrid and didn't have any experience as a college head coach. It appears we are coming around to same sham process all over again ending up with names like Mora, who wasn't really wanted by other college programs at this time.
So taking chance on Mora will be another huge gamble on the part of Chianti Dan, after failing with two previous experiments, who were not coveted by anyone except UCLA. Even if Guerrero hires Mora, he shouldn't be offered more than $1 million per year given no one in the college ranks really want this guy. He should be basically offered in the market range of what an NFL DC makes, which is around $850,000 for average coordinators. If Guerrero offers this guy more than $2 million per year, it will be a total joke.
Now if Chianti Dan is hell-bent on hiring Mora and announces him as the next head coach, I will be happy to give Mora a "chance" but I will also put him on a short leash. The Bruins have enough talent to at least win the Pac-12 South next season, and win 9 or more games. If someone like Mora comes in and does not accomplish that goal, the seat will get scorching hot right away.
Moreover, the seat will remain scorching hot for Chianti Dan. At this point, it does not matter how this bogus search end up. We will want Chianti Dan gone and we will relentlessly keep pushing and hammering home the point every day that he needs to leave UCLA. We certainly don't want him to botch the hiring process if Bruins are on the market for a new basketball coach. Once we get a new AD in, it will automatically put Mora or whoever Chianti Dan brings in as his puppet on notice, that his tenure will be short-lived in Westwood, if he is not "firing out." (ie. Wining conference titles and have our team finishing in top-20 year in and year out).
GO BRUINS.
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Nestor, you're far nicer than I am
I wouldn’t even give Mora a chance. Not only is he unqualified, but is a proven failure (as you’ve documented above). He is the absolute worst possible candidate I’ve heard of in this sham of a “search”, and has no business coaching at our university. Everyone affiliated with this potential hire should be ashamed.
We have been in this same place twice in DG's tenure
We start a search in a world of great choices and he then backs us into a corner of mediocrity.
We start with high hopes and end in disappointment.
At least with Rick, he was one of our own and we could celebrate and hope that he would succeed.
sjh
I agree with giving him a chance
Is he our first choice? Absolutely not. But if he is hired then I think he deserves a fair shake to prove what he’s got but will be on a short leash. I think he could potentially lead a good defense if he can adjust to having to defend 53 yards wide against these Pac 12 offenses. And let’s hope that he’d be smart enough to hire a good OC and keep out of the offensive decisions. He will need to hire an ace recruiter like Tosh Lupoi or Adrian Klemm though.
There is a lot of talent coming back next year, and the Pac 12 South should be pretty bad with the exception of USC if Barkley comes back. If Barkley does leave they will still be a pretty good team, but I think we probably should win the conference unless one of their QBs breaks out like Leinart did after taking over for Carson.
I am also still 100 percent behind Dan being fired after his mismanagement of this entire process
screw giving some f'ing coach a fair shake... we don't owe him a damn thing
How about this program getting a fair shake for once?
Keep the siege on Block-head alive… Flounder Guerrero must be stopped.
by beanandcheeseburrito on Dec 6, 2011 5:54 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
You're right
We don’t owe him or anyone a damn thing. If we’re going to be nice about it and give fair shakes to everybody then we should’ve at least been nice to Mike Leach and given him a fair shake. Same goes for Malzahn, Mullen, Diaz, Fedora, etc.
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 6:20 PM PST up reply actions
Whoever is hired
We will give that person a chance but the window for that person is going go be small because Neuheisel unlike Dorrell is not leaving behind an empty cupboard.
That said Chianti should be looking at other options than Mora. His resume as shown above doesn’t inspire much confidence
by Nestor on Dec 6, 2011 5:56 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
How Many more years are you willing to wait
for a legitmate coach?
The Answer Amongst All Bruins Should Be A Resounding 0
0, also the number of coaching hires Dan Guerrero should be allowed to make.
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 6:21 PM PST up reply actions
Signed - Question for MexiBruin
How can we confirm that Chancellor Block has seen it with his very own eyes?
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 7, 2011 4:25 PM PST up reply actions
If it is unclear
I am not saying Mora should be our coach. In fact there are a number of coaches I would pick ahead of him. But it wouldn’t be his fault for taking a job that was offered to him. The coach deserves a shot to show us who he is and what kind of product he can put on on the football field, but like N said, he will be on a short leash.
Guerrero on the other hand needs to be fired yesterday. If he were to hire Mora it would look like a really bad choice but I would hope Mora would prove us wrong. Even if Mora miraculously wins the national championship next year, Dan needs to be gone. No questions asked.
Ugh, really? Can anyone see this guy as a Carroll or Saban?
Why are we not interviewing Mullen or Gus malzahn?
Sorry N
Gotta take exception on this one. This one is a non-starter right out of the gate.
With firepower in the Pac-12 and ASU looking to get dangerous too we can be left behind. This guy is useless filler in the cerealbowl of college coaching. No nutrition, just useless calories…and it tastes bad too.
Can’t give this one a try.
by GemCityBruin on Dec 6, 2011 5:53 PM PST via mobile reply actions
I know I'm going against the grain on this one...
… but I am reserving judgement on the Mora hire for now. I am not in love with him as a hire, but I think his coaching style might work in college better than the pros. I also think a lot of the potential hires are not without risks.
Even Chris Petersen. What works for him in Boise might not work in LA — his style might be better geared to motivating two-star guys as underdogs than maximizing the potential of 4 and 5 star primadonnas. Perhaps he realizes this as much as anyone else.
Fedora, like Sumlin, hasn’t shown that he can succeed with the grind of a BCS conference schedule. Whittingham, who I still think is a great coach, saw first hand this year how difficult it is to gear up against good competition week in and week out.
I still think Mullen or Briles would be better coaches because they are guys that have shown the ability to compete with lower talent in tough conferences.
This by no means to put the heat off DG, who by all accounts has bungled this search like he’s bungled most everything else related to our Athletic Department (Adidas contract, firing CRN, etc),
OK, Ike. Give us the explanation
You said “but I think his coaching style might work in college better than the pros.” What is his coaching style? You can’t base it on anything he’s done for the last two years, because he has not been coaching. So please define his coaching style. I see his coaching style as being 11-5, then going into the tank. So that means that he says “Hundley, my man, get in there.” Then after we go 9-3, we tank and he gets fired. But I’m not going to put words in your mouth. Tell me – tell all of us – what his coaching stuyle is.
Then, and here’s the killer question, explain why whatever his coaching stule is will work better in college than in the pros.
Or to put it another way, you need to put down whatever it is you’re smoking and get some professional help. Because, Ike, Mora is a loser, NFL reject and retread, who hasn’t seen a college campus since probably before your were born, and who couldn’t win with the most gifted athlete in the league as his quarterback. Not to put too fine a point on it, he is worse than the guy we just fired and worse than the guy before him.
You are right...
… I didn’t give much of an explanation for why I think Mora’s “style” might work, so your criticism is well warranted. By coaching style, I am referring to whatever observations I have of him with the Falcons and as a 49ers coordinator as a guy that tells it like it is and won’t sugarcoat our deficiencies. After 4 years of being “relentlessly positive” in the face of overwhelming evidence that there wasn’t much to be positive about, I believe that might be a welcome change.
Now please don’t view the above as a ringing endorsement of Mora; I have my misgivings like many of the other posters around here.
The principal point of my post was to point out that many of the candidates we’re collectively evaluating have an element of risk. I probably undermined my own argument by appearing to endorse Mora more than I really believe.
And as far as Mora’s W-L record, while I think it’s fair to look at W-L record in evaluating a candidate, more goes into it. We don’t have to look much further than RN, whose impressive W-L record coming into the HC position here has been well-analyzed and discussed here as not being fully indicative of his abilities. On the other hand, many on the board have provided endorsements of Mullen (and even James Franklin), who both finished 6-6 in a tough SEC with relatively weak rosters. Correlation does not always equal causation.
My point is, Mora went 5-11 with the Seahawks, a team that wasn’t a sleeping giant like the 49ers and able to go 11-5 the next year. I don’t think he’s the second coming, but I do think there are attributes to him that make me feel better about him than Sumlin, June Jones, D Walker, or some of the other less than stellar candidates we’re throwing out there.
BUT, I still would prefer Mullen or Art Briles all day long over Mora.
Sorry for this long winded answer; I like coming here because people can’t just throw arguments into the wind and not expect to get challenged, it’s intelligent and reasoned conversation. So…. thanks Fox. Hope I somewhat articulated my point better… and I wish someone could give me something to smoke to dull the pain of being a die-hard Bruin these past several years.
Well said, Ike. My secret for dulling the pain is sleeping as much as I can.
Apparently just like Chianti Dan does his coaching searches.
Mora Perspective.....
Ike, I am a (rare) Southern California Falcon fan, so I watched Mora’s Falcon career with close interest….His coaching style could be defined as enthusiastic, aggressive, up-tempo, all things that could be positives for a college coach both on the field and recruiting. On the down side, he got more than a little snippy in Atlanta when when things went wrong, and of course the UW “Dream Job” comment was really what got him canned in Atlanta. If you were thinking about hiring him (especially for a college job), you’d need to be comfortable that he’s learned to control his temper and watch what he says to who; according to some who watched his Seahawk tenure, that might still be an issue……
….It’s impossible to really judge Mora without examining the "Vick " issue……On the one hand, Vick has freely admitted that he didn’t work hard in Atlanta, which was a big reason Mora’s record slipped in his final two years…..On the other side of the coin, you could also argue that Mora’s failure to get through to Vick, make him work and/or realize that his franchise player had a serious personality flaw is an indictment of his leadership ability……Some also felt (Vick included to some degree) that Mora and OC Greg Knapp retarded his development as a QB by running a variant of the West Coast offense that did not seem to maximize his skills…..but on the other side of the coin, the Eagles did put Vick into a more wide-open offense, which has been spectacular at times – WHEN they have been able to keep him healthy. Take your pick….
…Bottom line, Mora definitely comes with some baggage and a high degree of risk…….He got the Atlanta job with a good interview, and UCLA needs to be sure than they understand what they are getting, as opposed to being blown away by a good interview……Hopefully some other viable candidates will be identified and interviewed (quickly !) so that we don’t have to feel as though we “settled” on the only guy who wanted the job……
As far as all that “loser, reject, retread” stuff, that’s just name-calling by those awfully brave throwing around insults when they don’t have to look a man in the eyes……Everyone’s disappointed with the failure of the UCLA football program and athletic department administration over the past several years, but this unabashed hatred for a coach who hasn’t even been hired is not the kind of class that UCLA stands for.
Re: More Perspective
Thanks for offering some additional insight; as I mentioned above, I’m not giving Mora a ringing endorsement, but I like having a reasoned discussion rather than “Mora sucks” or simply looking at W-L’s.
at least he did it at the college level!
Mora has been a failure… in the pros! He has zero recruiting experience and offers absolutely no reason to believe that he will be a good college coach. Hiring him would be the equivalent of playing a game of darts with the lights out, hoping that your only dart somehow hits the bullseye. Blind hope is the opposite of what we need.
NO MORA!!!
This is not a step up from what we had
what makes anyone optimistic about this hire?
Give him a chance?
Why take a chance when there are better options out there.
For this, we didn’t call Mike Leach?
sjh
This is a joke!!
A complete joke. We had (have) a chance to hire guys like Leach, Mullen, Golden, Smart, etc………and we are going to end up hiring Mora? Are you flippin serious?!?! I have nothing against Mora. In fact, I don’t even think he is a shitty coach. He is a decent coach, with decent bloodlines, probably a nice guy, knows defense, blah, blah, blah. However…….he has not coached in the college game since I was in high school! He has never led a successful program. He has no connections to Los Angeles and our fertile recruiting base. Come to think of it, he has NO connections to any fertile recruiting bases anywhere in the country. Nowhere. Not Texas, not Florida…………NOWHERE!! He has no UCLA ties, which is good……….but that would be the only real reason to hire this guy with all of his lack of credentials and success. There is absolutely no reason to hire him, to be honest. The only reason to hire him is because the person doing the hiring does not know football, has no clue as to the perception of our program nationally, and really doesn’t care.
I would rather him call up Dick Vermeil and have him come out of retirement and run the program. Hell, maybe Lou Holtz would want the job. It was as if DUMBASS DAN sat in his office, wrote the names of 10 coaches not qualified for the job (it probably included Mike Martz, Rocky Seto, Paul Hackett, and maybe Gerry Faust), closed his eyes, and his finger ended up at the spot that said Jim Mora Jr. I am serious, his dad, Jim Mora Sr. might be a better candidate. At least the press conferences would be exciting.
What an incredibly uninspiring selection, if this does indeed happen. No other Athletic Director would dare gamble on hiring a guy like Mora after making the worst hires in UCLA history in Karl Dorrell and Rick Neuheisel. What does DG have on Block that keeps enabling him to make these types of hires? He has the resources to go out and get Dan Mullen or a stud coordinator like Kirby Smart. It should have been done already. However, he has continued to tarnish the UCLA brand and the athletic department……….once again proving that they are clueless in Westwood. I am disgusted.
If they hire Mora I will be pissed as hell. He would not have my blind support. This would be a situation where he would have to prove it to me first. I will support him and the program only for the sake of the players. As for DUMBASS DAN………..he needs to go! NOW!
He was a UCLA ball boy in '87
/facepalm
"A legend is an old man with a cane known for what he used to do. I'm still doing it." Miles Davis
Fool Me Once (Dorrell), Shame on Me, Fool me Twice (Neuheisel), Shame on You
Try to Fool Me Again with Another Donahue Inspired Hire, F U DAN!
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 7:27 PM PST up reply actions
Spot on, MW!
An unqualified, proven failure. Give him a chance? Hah! His luster tarnished in these parts when he openly solicited for the Husky HC position (his “dream job”) while still a Falcon coach and before a vacancy opened up here at Montlake. And as a Seahawks coach his offense was inept, his defense terrible, he dissed his players in the media
(an ill attempt to inspire their play), admitted that there were no playmakers on the team and that his guys needed to play “smashmouth football” but none were up to the task.
This didn’t exaclty ingratiate himself to the team, and he was ousted after a year despite a hefty contract unserved. Have you heard him in interviews or as a broadcaster? I don’t think he ever could have scored 800 on the SATs. These points are worth repeating.
Do not give this guy a chance. This man is hanging onto the coat tails of his father, his only qualification. Gee, why isn’t anyone else interested in him? Doesn’t that tell you something?
Last I heard of him
he was butthurt on a Gottlieb interview and dealing with it like a 9-year old. This is the guy we’re trying to get? A guy who last coached a 5-11 team and was making a fool of himself on national radio?
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 7:32 PM PST up reply actions
I'll say it again....
….if this is true or comes to fruition….focus on getting DG out.
A new AD will want to hire their own coaches. This would keep Mora or anyone else on a short leash, surviving only if they have 10 win seasons and consistently beating $C. nothing less than PAC12 championships and competing with the elite teams.
Until this is deal is done – keep up the heat everywhere – on block, DG, in the media. Maybe we can turn this Mora deal away from our beloved school. If DG goes ahead with this plan – the heat goes squarely on him and will continue until he resigns or is fired.
+1
Well said. But if he takes as long to resign as he does to find quality head football coaches (i.e. never), then we need to keep pushing the “fire” button as hard as possible. Can’t count on him taking one for our school. Thanks for all the initiative you have shown Taz- it is heartening to see how much we care, even if Block doesn’t.
Rather have Neuheisel than Mora
Or heck, give me Mora Sr…
A word on our "talent"
I have heard over and over on this site we should win based on the “talent” here at Westwood. I am sorry but you are looking through rose colored glasses. There are some nice players here, do not get me wrong, but overall the talent base is nowhere close to any competitive FBS school. The easiest measuring stick is simply looking at the what the NFL scouts rate our players as. Do we have any 1st, 2nd, or 3rd round talent? USC is loaded, hell UNC is loaded with them. UCLA is not recruiting the type of athlete that it takes to compete on a national level. It has to start there. Everyone from the AD, to the new coach, to the alumni need to understand it starts and ends with the talent. The new coach must be able to bring it in here. The current roster does not have the horses to compete for the Pac 12 title. TD thinks it starts with a great QB, he is wrong, it starts with great lines, then to win championships you must have a great QB. Whoever comes in next needs to recruit and find great JuCo transfers if he is going to jumpstart this program.
by Wex on Dec 6, 2011 7:03 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
I disagree, Wex
Don’t you remember the great joy we felt when we signed all the kids that just$c* was going after? We have some very talented players. We have coaches who stink, unfortunately. Our coaches are so bad that we promote to head coach the guy responsible for leading us to zero points against just$c*, and do not fire the worst defensive coach that I can remember ever.
With XSF coming back
the OL is looking really nice for the future. Same with the DL, lots of young guys with potential. Can we at least not have a guy from freakin’ Montana coaching them!!!
"A legend is an old man with a cane known for what he used to do. I'm still doing it." Miles Davis
You're confusing having talent with developing talent.
The talent has overwhelmingly been recruited (3 top 10 recruiting classes and a 5* QB).
It has been horrifically handled and mismanaged.
"I have one word for you...Be careful."
-Jose Guillen
Think about the defections too
Morrell, Marlon, Aundre, Milton, Antwon, Stan Hasiak, etc.
I’m sure there’s a sharp decline in talent on paper
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 7:29 PM PST up reply actions
Again points to failure to develop/use the talent brought in.
"I have one word for you...Be careful."
-Jose Guillen
Yep
Utter failure. Guys like Barr, James, Jones, Carroll, Kip Smith, Zumwalt and Golper were highly touted and coveted. A good coach can develop and use them correctly. This good coach’s name is not Jim Mora.
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 7:49 PM PST up reply actions
Couldn't agree more
Don’t know why people continue to harp on “lack of talent”. We should also add scheme as well. If the staff had properly developed and utilized the talent by putting them in position to succeed, I’m pretty sure that some of the guys on the roster would be more “highly rated” by the NFL.
First Things First
The F-Back position must be eliminated and our punter cannot be a standout player.
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 8:03 PM PST up reply actions
Sorry Wex
It’s not rose colored glasses it’s knowing that for all the misses scout and rivals don’t miss on that many players.
Neuheisel out recruited every school outside of the Cheaters next door and those guys are upper classmen now.
Our roster is littered with highly recruited 4 and 5 star guys at every level. We have just been beaten down by inept game planning for to long.
And More is a joke I’ve already given all of his faults but in summary his defense is what we have seen in the Neuheisel era and his playcalling makes Neuheisel’s look dynamic.
by Seahawcla on Dec 6, 2011 7:31 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
My big problem with Jim Mora Jr.
In 2006, while he was driving the Falcons into the ground, Mora gave a radio interview to an Atlanta sports radio station saying that he would take the University of Washington job even if Atlanta was heading for the playoffs. At the time he made these comments, the UW job wasn’t open.
That kind of loyalty is not what our team needs. Sure, it was the only time I could find him saying this but you only need to slam your own team like that once to lose my respect. It’s a character issue. We would never EVER have to worry about these kind of asinine comments with Neuheisel. Guerrero needs to go for considering Mora.
So many better names out there and this is who Guerrero is considering? Pathetic.
Dreaming of Westwood while in permanent exile in Virginia
Representing Seahawk Nation
You have no clue how awful he was in one season he should never lead people again.
by Seahawcla on Dec 6, 2011 7:38 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
As a Niners fan
I am sorry but I enjoyed it. Not that we were any better with Nolan…but it was that bad
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 7:40 PM PST up reply actions
Winners then Losers Now should be our TV AD now...
seriuosly, we are hiring a man that went from good to mediocre to bad to horrible. I wonder how many people would hire this guy in the real world. Also, if he is due to make 12 million while sitting on his ass at home, I can guaranteed they are offering him more than 1 million per year, otherwise, it would not make much sense to leave that amount of money on the table, to take pennies at UCLA. If they hire this mediocre guy, or any crappy coach, as much as it hurts, I think I will no longer get bothered by UCLA athletics. Our basketball team is a joke, our football team is nomad, and our AD is incompetent to say the least. RIP UCLA Athletics…
"Winners Then, Winners Now... Bruin in Madrid"
Lisa Love and DG
Will never understand how a school like UCLA and ASU have worse facilities than Oregon State
So sick of this
stuff getting thrown at us. Donut Dan and the department fails at doing anything positive because of their incompetence and then try to sell us on the “best of the rest” or “lesser of various evils”. So aggravating and insulting that they expect us to support them when they consistently pull stuff like this.
Chianti Dan needs to be fired
Before he can hire Mora.
Christian Ponder: Super Bowl 50 MVP for the Minnesota Vikings
"Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play"
Since we’re on the Mike Singletary quote train.
I have the Sons of Westwood on my iPod in my "favorites" playlist ...
http://sonsofwestwood.wordpress.com
WILD CARD???
WHAT ABOUT PETE CARROLL??? I THINK THAT WOULD BE AWESOME! HE’S NOT DOING THAT GREAT IN THE NFL AND THE RIVILARY WOULD BE OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!
UCLAughingstock
Chris Dufresne has a scathing update on UCLA’s fruitless quest. You have to read the damning quotes from Barry Switzer. Sadly, I think Bruins Nations readers will acknowledge there’s more truth to this than we previously cared to admit.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-1207-dufresne-ucla-coach-20111207,0,842687.column
"People that hire and fire coaches have never run down on a kickoff or run one back," Switzer said. "They don't know what the hell they are doing."
I doubt Dan has ever sat through an entire UCLA football game.
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 6, 2011 8:08 PM PST up reply actions
Well,
He makes a ton of sense and he’s spot-on. Everything I read outside of BN is slightly more positive each time regarding Jim Mora, Jr. We should be cautious, but wasn’t Lane Kiffin a disaster before Tennessee? (Yes, yes he was. Worse than Jr.)
I want Guerror to go after Dan Mullen and if we can’t get him — Guerrero’s ability to sell be damned — then maybe we shouldn’t pass on an opportunity to pick up a guy that is high-risk high-reward.
I have the Sons of Westwood on my iPod in my "favorites" playlist ...
http://sonsofwestwood.wordpress.com
Agreed
At least make an offer to Mullen before going down this depressing road. There’s a reason Mora’s name hasn’t come up for any other current HC openings
by 808bruin2003 on Dec 6, 2011 8:27 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Switzer wants to know why we didn't hire Mike Leach when Leach wanted to come here --
so do I.
Switzer really makes a complete case against DG. Incredible that he would do that. He has no horse in the race.
He is right in everything he said.
Why can’t Block see this? Because he never coverd a kickoff or ran one back? Or because he just does not give a shit about athletics or getting any bang for his buck?
sjh
How Great Is That?
The best we can do is hire some guy whose only claim to fame is being the son of the guy who said. “Playoffs? Playoffs?!? Did you say Playoffs?!?!?”
I want a real coach, like Mullen. Fire DG and get us a coach, now.
Can someone please tell me how I can get paid $700,000 to do Dan's job?
I worked for brilliant scientists at UCLA who were making less than $150K to cure cancer, but Dan makes $700k for what exactly? We don’t need him to cure cancer, we just need to hire a coach worthy of the fifth highest salary in the country, and he can’t even find someone with a winning record?
That's a great point
Those scientists have phDs from some of the preeminent universities of the world, yet Chianti is “earning” more than five times their salary with his masters from Cal State Dominguez Hills (no offense to Dominguez) while running his tradition rich, world renown department to the ground.
by truebluebruin on Dec 6, 2011 10:43 PM PST up reply actions
lol I have to tell that to my sister who graduated from CSUDH
"Winners Then, Winners Now... Bruin in Madrid"
by uclaprofe on Dec 7, 2011 1:26 AM PST via iPhone app up reply actions
sorry
I truly did not mean to offend. Just trying to highlight the absurdity of Dan’s pay wrt to his performance and to many of our esteemed professors at UCLA.
by truebluebruin on Dec 7, 2011 10:55 AM PST up reply actions
I'm sorry, but I don't know how Mora will do and I refuse to bash him
because DanG wants him. I agree with Nestor that we should give the guy a chance, but no mercy on the bufoon who is embarassing the entire university and all of the alumni. As I typed this I meant to conclude by putting in Dan G’s name, but as I think more about it, I should put in the Chancellor’s name as well….
please no Mora
In Europe in the other football bad executives are dealt with many times in such a way that they don’t stay at their jobs. No more NFL rejects unless it is Jon Gruden. If Fat Dan is as inept as he has shown during his tenure he needs to be eliminated-pay him off, ban him from the campus, remove his name from the records. Really he has got to go as he still doesn’t understand that he has to put butts in the seats and Mora won’t do it.
I am quite pessimistic about getting rid of DanG when you see the
2008 inductee into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame is Peter Dallis…
Even Pete Dalis
makes Chianti Dan look like a loser.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
I am also quite pessimistic when you read on other boards
how they think BN is “over the top” on their criticism of the AD or how some are still “unsure” whether the AD is doing a good or bad job. I think most of them, if they attend any UCLA athletics are the hundred year olds at Pauley and “shady side”centenarians at the Rose Bowl who get upset if you stand during a game or make too much noise…Sorry to sound like a Peanuts character, but the last four years in particular with our football and basketball products will do this to you…
They are part of the acceptance of mediocrity and losing.
They can’t complain and should look in the mirror…..
+1
To both posts. They don’t believe in UCLA’s potential to be a great athletic/academic university. If Florida can win national titles in bball/football, what’s holding us back besides the chancellor/AD? We’re a better university, academically and we’re located in a world-class city. We have the best athletic tradition in the nation. The mediocrity loving Bruins need to stop thinking within the scope of 6-6 seasons, simply making the NCAA tournament and hiring the next guy who “might” pan out.
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 7, 2011 7:42 AM PST up reply actions
should have gone for a top tier coach but im liking the idea of hiring jim mora jr
We need to give this guy a chance. Honestly you just never know how a coach will turn out in college. Im more worried about our administration giving our next coach the necessary tools and resources to take our program to the next level. Until that happens we will not succeed in modern day college football. Im a bit more interested in the coordinators we hire. We NEED HIGHLY QUALIFIED coordinators. Think of this year…neuheisels demise came at the hands of treseys lack of effectiveness on the field. If our defense was a tad bit better our record would have been different.
Guerrero this is your last chance, blow this and your out buddy. Ive been a fan ever since i attended ucla in 05 and have been patiently waiting for the rise of our program. Its effin time, we need results ASAP GO BRUINS
I'm too tired to deal with any more "give the guy a chance' comments
That’s what Senator Hruska said about Carswell when he was nominated for the Supreme Court – “Mediocrity needs representation, too.” It is, to put it bluntly, too incredibly stupid for words to hire a guy like Mora to give him a chance.
The next guy that says something to this effect should be required to watch the $c game again.
by Fox 71 on Dec 6, 2011 10:51 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
if we are going to 'give a guy a chance'
then it should be an up-and-coming coordinator who we believe has all the necessary traits to be a good head coach but has no head coaching experience – not an NFL washout who wants to be the head coach at Washington.
IF he gets a chance
You and I deserve one too. I have more experience coaching college students in the past 5 years (coached 2 intramural flag football teams) than he does. But then again, I also think I’m more qualified than DG but that’s just me.
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 7, 2011 7:44 AM PST up reply actions
What are you smoking, and where can I get some?
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. ~ Vince Lombardi
Me Too
Sharing is Caring. Pass that good stuff to the left.
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 7, 2011 4:26 PM PST up reply actions
Agree "No on Mora"
And Dan must resign. Another issue is the opportunity cost of Dan repeatedly losing out on highly preferable candidates (like Leach who I really liked thanks to Class of 66 posts) and failing to create any semblance of a modern recruiting plan. Mullen is my preferred next best choice.
by 281bruins on Dec 6, 2011 8:50 PM PST via iPhone app reply actions
Tressel sighting at Westwood?
http://www.lostlettermen.com/12-6-2011-jim-tressel-ucla/
I’m excited by this and yet scared at the same time. We don’t need sanctions like our neighbors
"Players with fight never lose a game, they just run out of time"
~ John Wooden
From bruinsball......
“Sources say former Ohio State Coach, Jim Tressel, was seen at the Polo Lounge with UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero tonight. Furthermore, Arimide Olaniyan tweeted that he spotted Tressel on campus earlier today”.
by 0725brui on Dec 6, 2011 9:51 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
This has become annoying
All these links come from the same source which was unfounded.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
but it's true tasser
I saw tressel at Dick’s sporting goods in manhattan beach picking up an F Michigan shirt, “tattoos are for pu$$ies,” and more importantly, a “cabs are okay, malbecs are nice, but chianti is smooth as ice!”
by bruin578 on Dec 6, 2011 10:51 PM PST via iPhone app up reply actions
stop spreading false rumors
It was in El Segundo
It's ridiculous...
… to suggest that alums, students, and fans need to just blindly support whatever coach we hire.
If this is true, and Mora is hired,
The chianti bumbler should be fired the next day for fraud.
Simply inexcusable.
Not sure
if this has been discussed already, but coach Johnson was QB coach under Jim L Mora in Atlanta. Is it possible, that Chianti is trying to find a candidate that is willing to keep CMJ on board? Either to retain recruits, provide a bridge between staffs, or to annoint him coach in waiting? I’m not advocating any of this but just made sense considering Chianti’s dabbling with staffs and hires in the past. Could this be the REAL reason why we’ve been turned down so far?
by OutOThsWrld on Dec 6, 2011 9:53 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Forcing assistants on the new hire -- novel concept!
And totally believable.
I guess that explains why no one wants the job. Only the bottom-feeders would agree to this. And here we are.
If Mora is hired
I agree with Nestor, we should give him a chance. He has not coached in college in 27 years, but his attitude (hopefully upbeat and not whiny) could lead him to being a good recruiter if he hires the right staff to help him. With the right assistants, this could work out. And it might. The bigger concern is not talking to someone like Dan Mullen who has said he is interested. Is Mora the best man for the job? In my opinion there are a lot better, but he could prove everyone wrong, and starting with the staff he hires and this first season, we shall see. And if not, the new (hopefully) competent Athletic Director can rectify the situation.
Still hoping a miracle happens and we sign Mullen, but with good ’ole dan i have no hopes on that.
Brian Finneran, former Falcons WR
was on the radio yesterday saying he thought Mora would be a good coach with his defensive abilities, as long as he had a good OC. He thought he would be able to motivate the kids, but the big issue I heard after that was that Mora lost the team by not being enough of a disciplinarian. This was when Vick was not working very hard, but before those issues became publicized.
Mora was involved in the community, specifically with Special Olympics, but you are guaranteed that he will say something stupid through the media. He does not have the oratorical skills of Neuheisel (take that for what it’s worth).
This is not meant to be an opinion of what Mora could bring, but rest assured, he will trip himself up in the media, somehow.
Good points, but
I think our goal is to go after someone who doesn’t give the feeling that we’re taking a chance.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Agreed
Dan needs to go. An even decent AD could have gotten Petersen with the offer we have.
A guy who hasn't coached NCAA football in a while
comes from the NFL, history of diminishing returns when it comes to W’s, issues of discipline, big hit or miss, supported by Donahue…are we rehiring Neuheisel or hiring Mora?
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Dec 7, 2011 9:16 AM PST up reply actions
Neuheisel is way more qualified
He had experience and success as a college football coach.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Still a big fat NO on Mora
nothing has changed in his coaching ability or resume since this morning’s post that clearly articulated NO TO JIM MORA JR .
Nothing has transpired that ‘moves the needle’ from NO to ‘maybe we should give the guy a chance’.
He has basically zero college experience, and has damaged both NFL teams for which he has been the head coach. This to me is a much worse situation than the Rocky Seto potential hire, because whatever the next head coach does, you can pretty much guarantee he gets 3 or 4 years – and with whatever larger sums of money we’re about to throw at a new coach, you can be sure that early termination clauses will be a reason not to fire him even if he underperforms. AND he is on record as saying one of our conference rivals is his ‘dream job’ – doesn’t sound like he is the guy we can count on to build a dynasty in Westwood.
Rick leaves the cupboard better stocked than the bare bones he inherited from Dorrell. Mora Jr could burn the cupboard to ashes.
NO ON MORA.
The problem with Mora is simple
He won’t put a single butt in the stands. Isn’t an AD’s job to ensure the revenue sports create revenue?
Mora is not the right guy for UCLA...
…for all of the reasons previously stated. I’d rather take a chance on someone like Jeff Fisher if an ex-NFL coach is what Dan wants. We need someone who will be a recruit and fan magnet, not another guy who no one in LA knows or cares about. Epic fail on the Urban sweepstakes which should have had Dan mobilized months ago, but definitely after the U of A debacle. Epic fail on Petersen – Dan should have known that he wasn’t interested before wasting any time on him. Switzer has little credibility after passing on Troy (but thank you Barry!) but everything he said is painfully true.
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