Jim L. Mora

James Lawrence Mora (born November 19, 1961) is an American football coach who was most recently the head coach of the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. Prior to taking the job at UCLA, Mora served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL), coaching the Atlanta Falcons from 2004 to 2006 and Seattle Seahawks in 2009. He has also served as an analyst for NFL Network and Fox Sports.

For Mora's father and longtime NFL head coach, see Jim E. Mora. For the New Zealand radio personality, see Jim Mora (broadcaster).

Jim Mora

Mora in 2013
Biographical details
Born	(1961-11-19) November 19, 1961 Los Angeles, California
Playing career
1980–1983	Washington
Position(s)	Defensive back, linebacker
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1984	Washington (GA)
1985–1988	San Diego Chargers (defensive QC)
1989–1991	San Diego Chargers (DB)
1992–1996	New Orleans Saints (DB)
1997–1998	San Francisco 49ers (DB)
1999–2003	San Francisco 49ers (DC)
2004–2006	Atlanta Falcons
2007–2008	Seattle Seahawks (AHC/DB)
2009	Seattle Seahawks
2012–2017	UCLA
Head coaching record
Overall	46–30 (college) 31–33 (NFL)
Bowls	2–2
Tournaments	1–1 (NFL playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 NFC South (2004) Pac-12 South Division (2012)

Mora played college football with the Washington Huskies from 1980 to 1983, and began his coaching career there as a graduate assistant in 1984. He is the son of retired NFL head coach Jim E. Mora.

Early years and playing career

As the son of an assistant coach in college football, Mora lived in various locations in the West as a child: primarily in Boulder, Colorado (ages 7–12) and also in California, mostly in the Los Angeles area. When Mora was 12, his father left Colorado after the 1973 season to join the staff at UCLA under first-year head coach Dick Vermeil.

After one season in Los Angeles, the elder Mora accepted a position at the University of Washington under new head coach Don James, and the Moras moved north from Los Angeles to the Seattle area when the younger Mora was 13. His father coached the defensive line at UW for three seasons, then moved over to the pro ranks with the Seattle Seahawks in 1978, where he coached for four years under Jack Patera. The younger Mora attended Hyak Junior High and Interlake High School in Bellevue, and graduated in 1980.

Mora attended the University of Washington, where he walked-on and was a reserve defensive back / linebacker for the Huskies from 1980 to 1983. He appeared in two Rose Bowls (January 1981, 1982) and was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Mora graduated from Washington in 1984 and began his coaching career under James as a graduate assistant for the Huskies, then moved to the professional ranks the following year.

Coaching career

Assistant coach

Mora hired on as a quality control coach with the San Diego Chargers in 1985, and moved up to coach the secondary in 1989. In 1992, he went to the New Orleans Saints to coach under his father, head coach Jim E. Mora. In 1997, the younger Mora moved to the San Francisco 49ers to coach under Steve Mariucci, and became the 49ers' defensive coordinator in 1999.

Atlanta Falcons

Mora with Atlanta in 2006

In 2004, Mora was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as their head coach with a five-year, $7.5 million contract.[1] He led the Falcons to a record of 11–5 and a first round bye in the playoffs. Atlanta hosted and defeated the St. Louis Rams 47–17 in the divisional round, and advanced to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost 27–10 on the road to the Philadelphia Eagles.

In 2005, the Falcons went 8–8 and Mora characterized the season as a "disappointing year." This non-winning season continued one of the NFL's strangest records – the Falcons had never had back-to-back winning seasons in the history of the franchise, a 40-year statistical oddity that no other modern professional team has matched. This record ended in 2009. During a rematch of the 2004 NFC Championship with the Philadelphia Eagles, Mora was seen smelling ammonia capsules on the sidelines during a Monday Night Football broadcast. John Madden noted that some coaches use the capsules during games, although they are mostly for players' use.[2] Following the 2005 season, Mora signed a three-year contract extension with the Falcons, which guaranteed the final two years of his original five-year deal, and added a sixth in 2009.[3]

The national media and the Falcons fans had high expectations in 2006, but they fell to a 7–9 record. Atlanta lost their final three games, including two at home, and missed the playoffs for a second straight year. On December 14, while the Falcons were still statistically alive in their quest for the playoffs, Mora said during a radio interview with Dave "Softy" Mahler and former Huskies teammate/roommate Hugh Millen on Seattle sports-talk radio station KJR-AM that if it were offered, he would take the head coaching job at the University of Washington (a job that was not open), "even if [the Falcons] were in a playoff run."[4] While Mora later claimed that he was only kidding,[5] he was criticized by many Falcons fans as well as members of the national media who claimed that making such comments was irresponsible. Team owner Arthur Blank publicly expressed his disapproval of Mora's comments.

Following the season, the Atlanta Falcons announced that they had fired Mora. Arthur Blank told the media,

This was an extremely difficult decision for us. We had the highest hopes and aspirations for a long run with Jim as our coach, but we feel this decision is in the best long-term interests of our franchise. I have great respect for Jim's passion for the game, and we wish Jim and his family all of the best.[6]

Mora turned to broadcasting after being fired from the Falcons when he became a contributor to NBC's playoff coverage.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks hired Mora as assistant head coach and defensive backs coach on January 21, 2007.[7] Following the 2007 season, Mora interviewed for the Washington Redskins head coaching job after Joe Gibbs resigned, but Mora declined the position to stay with the Seahawks. Mora was announced as the successor to Mike Holmgren prior to the 2008 season and signed a five-year contract through the 2012 season, estimated at $4 million per year.[8][9]

Mora was officially named the seventh head coach in franchise history in 2009, upon Holmgren's retirement after the 2008 season.[10] His first official press conference as the new Seahawks head coach was given on January 13, 2009, where he enthusiastically shared his vision of bringing a Super Bowl championship to Seattle and having a championship parade from the Space Needle to the 'Hawks stadium, Qwest Field.[11]

After going 5–11 in his only season as Seahawks head coach, Mora was fired on January 8, 2010, with three years and $12 million remaining on his contract. Mora was replaced by former USC head coach Pete Carroll.

UCLA

On December 10, 2011, the UCLA Bruins announced the hiring of Mora as head coach, replacing alumnus Rick Neuheisel. Mora signed a five-year contract for $12 million, plus incentives. He immediately went to work as the head coach by hiring Adrian Klemm, Steve Broussard, Demetrice Martin and Eric Yarber as assistant coaches. Less than two months later, the results came early, as UCLA landed a consensus No. 12-ranked recruiting class in 2012 after having a class ranked in the high 40s at Rick Neuheisel's departure. In his first season as head coach, the 2012 UCLA team went 9–5, including a victory over rival USC by a score of 38–28 and clinching the Pac-12 South title for the second year in a row. Standout players that year included freshman quarterback Brett Hundley, NFL first-round draft pick defensive end Datone Jones, and UCLA's all-time leading rusher Johnathan Franklin. Building on the team's success, Mora landed the No. 11-ranked recruiting class of 2013, UCLA's highest ranked recruiting class in the last two decades. During the 2013 season, Mora and the Bruins finished 10–3 with notable wins over No. 23 ranked Nebraska (41–21) and No. 23 ranked USC (35–14), and a Sun Bowl win against Virginia Tech (42–12).[12][13] In 2014, he led UCLA to their ninth 10-win season in school history, and just the third time in their history that they have won 10 games in consecutive seasons.[14]

Because of his success at UCLA, Mora was courted by his alma mater, the University of Washington, to fill their vacated head coaching position. During his time as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, Mora jokingly described the position at the University of Washington as his "dream job."[15] However, Mora turned down a reputed offer and extended his contract with UCLA for another six years, stating that he wants to eventually "hopefully retire" as head coach of UCLA. Weeks later, Mora reaffirmed his intent to remain UCLA's head football coach by turning down a reputed offer for the head coaching position with the University of Texas. In 2014, Mora earned almost $3.5 million, which is a 44 percent increase over the $2.4 million he earned in 2013, making him the highest-paid employee of the state of California as of that year.[16]

Jim Mora was fired on November 19, 2017, one day after UCLA's third consecutive loss to its crosstown rival USC. After going 29–11 through the first 3 seasons, he was 17–19 in the last 3 seasons.[17]

Broadcasting career

After his dismissal by the Seahawks, Mora accepted a position as a commentator with the NFL Network.

In August 2010, Fox Sports announced that Mora would be serving as a color analyst on the network's NFL coverage for the 2010 season. He was a sideline reporter and teamed with play-by-play announcer Dick Stockton and analyst Charles Davis to call regional games.[18]

During NFL Network's Thursday Night Football schedule, Mora, alongside analysts Kurt Warner, Sterling Sharpe, Brian Billick, Jay Glazer, and host Fran Charles could be seen on Thursday Night Kickoff Presented by Sears from Los Angeles. Mora and Billick could also be seen every Monday during the season on The Coaches Show, providing a breakdown of the biggest storylines and decisions behind Sunday's matchups from a head coach's perspective.

In July 2019, it was announced that Mora would be serving as a rotating color analyst on the network's ESPN College Football coverage.

Family

Mora has separated from his wife, Shannon.[19] They have a daughter, Lillia, and three sons, Cole, Ryder, and Trey. His son, Ryder, is a freshman at the University of Maryland and graduated from Loyola High School in Los Angeles, CA. Ryder was also a member of Loyola's lacrosse team that won two Southern Section championships, while he was there. Jim's daughter, Lillia, is a senior at USC.[20]

Mora has two brothers, Stephen, a mortgage broker in Bend, Oregon and Michael, an architect in Seattle.[21] With middle name Lawrence after his grandfather, Mora is not a junior, as his father's middle name is Earnest.[22][23][24]

The Moras run the Count On Me Family Foundation, an organization that targets children from low socio-economic backgrounds, children with mental and physical disabilities, and children deemed "at-risk," as well as those that lack stability or support in their lives.[25]

Head coaching record

NFL

Team	Year	Regular Season					Post Season
		Won	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
ATL	2004	11	5	0	.688	1st in NFC South	1	1	.500	Lost to Philadelphia Eagles in NFC Championship Game.
ATL	2005	8	8	0	.500	3rd in NFC South	–	–	–	–
ATL	2006	7	9	0	.438	3rd in NFC South	–	–	–	–
ATL Total		26	22	0	.542		1	1	.500
SEA	2009	5	11	0	.313	3rd in NFC West	–	–	–	–
SEA Total		5	11	0	.313		0	0	.000
Total[26]		31	33	0	.470		1	1	.500

College

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs	Coaches^#	AP^°
UCLA Bruins (Pac-12 Conference) (2012–2017)
2012	UCLA	9–5	6–3	1st (South)	L Holiday
2013	UCLA	10–3	6–3	T–2nd (South)	W Sun	16	16
2014	UCLA	10–3	6–3	T–2nd (South)	W Alamo	10	10
2015	UCLA	8–5	5–4	3rd (South)	L Foster Farms
2016	UCLA	4–8	2–7	T–4th (South)
2017	UCLA	5–6[lower-alpha 1]	3–5	4th (South)
UCLA:		46–30	29–24
Total:		46–30
National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth
^#Rankings from final Coaches Poll. ^°Rankings from final AP Poll.

Notes

1. Mora was dismissed from UCLA prior to the final regular season game against California. The standings reflects the team's position at the time of Mora's departure.

References

1. Seattle Times – Mora Jr. joins candidate list – December 9, 2004
2. "Analysts agree: Owens' antics cost himself fat contract". USA Today. November 6, 2005. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
3. Seattle Times – NFL Notes: Mora gets extension – Associated Press – March 25, 2006
4. "Jim Mora interview on the Dave "Softy" Mahler Show". KJR-AM. December 14, 2006. Archived from the original on January 10, 2007.
5. "Mora says he's happy with Falcons". Retrieved September 24, 2007.
6. "Mora fired as Falcons coach". Archived from the original on January 3, 2007. Retrieved January 6, 2007.
7. "Mora joining the Seahawks coaching staff". The Seattle Times. January 21, 2007. Archived from the original on January 23, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
8. O'Neil, Danny (October 30, 2008). "Why isn't Jim Mora talking? Silence only fans flame". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on November 2, 2008.
9. "On the Mora-ESPN report". Seattle Times. November 11, 2008. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012.
10. "Hawks Name Mora as Holmgren Successor in 2009". Archived from the original on February 10, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
11. "Charged-up Mora takes charge of Seahawks". The News Tribune. January 14, 2009. Archived from the original on January 29, 2009. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
12. Yonn, Peter (December 10, 2011). "UCLA hires ex-NFL coach Jim Mora". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2011.
13. "UCLA to hire Jim L. Mora as football coach". The Los Angeles Times. December 9, 2011.
14. Bonagura, Kyle; Trotter, Jake (December 7, 2014). "Valero Alamo Bowl: Kansas State Wildcats vs. UCLA Bruins". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2014.
15. http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2698649
16. http://www.sacbee.com/site-services/databases/state-pay/article2642161.html#req=employee%2Ftop%2Fyear%3D2014
17. https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/932327143354314758
18. "Warner, Mora Jr. & Pereira are the new faces of the NFL on FOX in 2010". Sports Media News. August 16, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
19. UCLA's Jim Mora and his wife are separating
20. Low, Chris (September 10, 2014). "Mora chooses stability over suitors". ESPN. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
21. Seattle Seahawks Coaching Bio Archived February 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
22. O'Neil, Danny (December 9, 2007). "Chasing Mora to the top". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018.
23. Tandler, Rich (January 18, 2008). "Mora? No!". NBCSports.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018.
24. Cosentino, Dom (March 27, 2018). "Jim Mora: 'I Would Take Sam Darnold If I Were The Browns'". Deadspin. Archived from the original on April 6, 2018.
25. Count on Me Foundation Website
26. "Jim Mora Jr. Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. November 19, 1961. Retrieved December 28, 2010.

External links

• UCLA profile