[UPDATE] Jim Mora Appears to Delete His Twitter Account After Getting Embroiled in Controversy

After all the brouhahaha over a bizarre post-game exchange with Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder and a subsequent Tweet, it appears that UCLA head coach Jim Mora's Twitter profiled has been deleted.

As of right now the Twitter account of @UCLACoachMora no longer exists. It is GONE.

Here was the tweet that OC Reigister reporter Ryan Kartje manually retweeted:

In reference to his post game handshake…RT @UCLACoachMora: I will defend the safety of my players...forever.

— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) January 3, 2015

Not only that Tweet is gone if you click on @UCLACoachMora you will find that his account no longer exists.

This is just bizarre and there hasn't been any explanation from either Mora or UCLA. Mora was getting bombarded by fans from all over college football world and lot of support from UCLA fans after his Tweet.

Instead of making this controversy go away, this may just make it a bigger story. Bizarre all the way around.

[UPDATE - January 3, 2015 @ 8:15 p.m. by Bellerophon]: It would appear that Jim Mora has re-surfaced on Twitter (H/T Lisa Horne), but in a private Twitter (@hbuclafb) account that is blocked from public view (you can view the content only if the account owner allows you to follow them).  As Lisa Horne posted earlier on Twitter:

Is that his account? RT @Heleneusc: @LisaHorne #FYI ✌️ pic.twitter.com/BlImy1kMAX

— Lisa Horne (@LisaHorne) January 4, 2015

It would appear that numerous UCLA football players have started following this private account, seemingly confirming that Coach Mora has created a new, private Twitter account.  First, that's kind of a no-no from a PR perspective - ducking and going into hiding because of some backlash on Twitter?  Not a good look.  Second, Lisa Horne brings up a great point in this very thread (emphasis added):

A new protected account has appeared ( @hcuclafb ) and it is reportedly followed by some high-profile UCLA players. I am hearing his family was the subject of some pretty awful tweets. His mentions were also pretty bad.

In any case, I don’t know for sure if this is his account but if it is, my biggest concern is lack of transparency. The NCAA cannot monitor his tweets unless he grants them access. Also, why not have a staffer monitor his original account and when he wants to tweet, have him put "—JM" after the tweet so everyone knows that tweet was actually from him? Many high-profile celebrities do that.

Very interesting developments.  Stay tuned.

GO BRUINS