Black Friday: UCLA to face off against Washington, Mora’s alma mater
UCLA coach Jim Mora once called Washington his dream coaching job. But as his UCLA team is in contention for a third straight Pac-12 South title, Mora said he’s happy to be in Westwood. The Bruins will wear their LA Midnight uniforms for the first time tonight in the blackout game.
By Emilio Ronquillo
Nov. 15, 2013 2:04 a.m.
One of the biggest compliments Jim Mora could pay to his alma mater Washington wound up as one of the coach’s biggest regrets. Mora expressed in a 2006 interview with a Seattle radio station that he would drop any post, including his then-head coaching gig with the Atlanta Falcons, for a chance at coaching the Huskies.
“If that job’s open, you’ll find me at the friggin’ head of the line with my resume in my hand ready to take that job,” Mora said, according to the radio transcript available on the ESPN website.
Mora, a walk-on football player during the early 1980s, said that his comments were always meant to be taken as a joke. But Mora wishes that he could take back that interview with his college roommate like no other, saying that his remarks contributed to being fired by the Falcons about a month later.
“That might be the one do-over in my life. … But when I look back … it makes perfect sense to me what people read into it,” Mora said. “You live and you learn.”
After joking that he would want to coach Washington, Mora will now be trying to beat them, as the No. 13 Bruins face off against the Huskies tonight at the Rose Bowl in a game that could be an an integral part of the Bruins’ quest for their third-straight Pac-12 title game berth.
After knocking Arizona out of a three-team tie for second place in the Pac-12 South last Saturday, Mora expressed his enthusiasm at being at UCLA and tried to pump up UCLA fans for some Friday night lights and the first Bruins-Huskies game in three years.
“If you’re a UCLA fan, and you’re seeing this or you’re reading this, take the day off, buy something black, get out to the Rose Bowl, because it’s going to be an environment you don’t want to miss,” Mora said.
Mora’s statements advocated a stadium-wide blackout by UCLA fans, an occasion in which the hosting team’s supporters all wear black, a style choice visually complementing the debut of the Bruins’ Adidas-produced L.A. Midnight alternate uniform.
UCLA Athletics did not necessarily seem as committed to Mora’s blackout idea. The department’s press release for the game encourages fans, clad in black, blue or office attire, to participate in creating a primetime Rose Bowl atmosphere tonight, rather than exclusively black clothing.
Mora’s UCLA makeover includes more than just the new uniforms. The coach’s recent recruiting successes seem to have brought a new look and era for the football program.
Mora’s ties to Washington state and his staff’s eyes for talent played a role in bringing freshman linebacker Myles Jack to UCLA. Jack and Mora met in Washington when the former was 12 years old, with Jack’s younger brother and Mora’s son playing on the same football team. According to Mora, he could already see the linebacker’s potential six years ago, given Jack’s considerable build at a preteen age.
Under the tutelage of Mora’s staff, the four-star recruit has built upon his natural abilities by developing into one of the Pac-12’s premier defenders in coverage. Jack ranks fourth in the conference in passes defended with 10, the most by a linebacker in the conference.
Washington and Arizona State presented options for Jack during his recruitment, but the linebacker’s connection to Mora proved to be vital.
“It was definitely a tough decision. I spent four years of high school (in Washington). At the end of the day, I felt like this program was headed in the right direction,” Jack said. “(Mora) was recruiting just as hard as (Washington coach Steve) Sarkisian was. … I just felt like I had more trust in coach Mora.”
Sophomore wide receiver Jordan Payton echoed Jack’s sentiments in praising Sarkisian but ultimately sided with Mora at the end of his recruitment. Against what he expects to be a test of a Washington team, Payton squares off against talented, familiar faces that he almost played alongside as a Huskies commit.
“They’re fast, physical, aggressive. It’s funny because I know a lot of the guys,” Payton said. “Seeing them on film, it’s cool to see how much they’ve changed and gotten so good.”
Much has indeed changed since 2006, the year that Mora committed what he called one of his life’s great errors and the last time that UCLA completed back-to-back winning seasons. Unlike Jack and Payton, Mora never was sought out by Washington.
Yet, two seasons into revitalizing UCLA football, Mora does not figure to lose much sleep over the dream job that never was and the marquee spot that he may be creating.
