Rumors of Mora’s future swirl after UCLA football’s lackluster season
UCLA football coach Jim Mora is once again the subject of NFL coaching rumors. Mora’s 2015 team finished the year 8-5 with a bowl game loss to Nebraska. (Austin Yu/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Claire Fahy
Jan. 5, 2016 7:42 a.m.
A short rundown of the final week of 2015 for UCLA football looks something like this: The Bruins lose a bowl game for the first time since 2012, drop to 8-5 on the season and lose three key juniors to the 2016 NFL Draft. Suddenly, a team that was bound for the Pac-12 championship before Nov. 27 looks like a program in disarray.
To add to the chaos, rumors have surfaced that coach Jim Mora is the Miami Dolphins’ first choice for its head coaching position – and those whispers aren’t going away. After the Philadelphia Eagles fired Chip Kelly last weekend, the Twittersphere erupted with potential scenarios involving Kelly taking over at UCLA and Mora moving on to San Francisco, New Orleans or Miami.
Mora was an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers before taking on head coaching responsibilities with the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks a decade ago. UCLA hired Mora in 2011 and while he found moderate success early – a 9-4 record in his first season followed by back-to-back bowl wins in the 2013 and 2014 seasons – the coach has not managed to crack the top ranks of elite college football talent.
The Bruins already know they will be without a number of key players next season, as linebacker Myles Jack – who was gone early in the 2015 season – running back Paul Perkins and defensive lineman Kenny Clark have already announced plans to declare for the draft. But Mora still has his most prized recruit, Josh Rosen, for at least two more seasons – would he really walk away from Rosen?
The only thing strong enough to deter Mora from remaining at UCLA would be the intrigue of a coveted NFL coaching job. With plenty of shake-ups happening around the league, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how the situation will pan out.
If Mora stays, he has his work cut out for him in Westwood. There will be pressure on the coach to make program-wide overhauls of his coaching staff after a disappointing year. Texas A&M has reportedly come calling for offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, which would make that personnel decision easier.
The Bruins have questions surrounding their head coach and have lost key components to both their offensive and defensive schemes. The clock is ticking, and with one month left until National Signing Day, the UCLA football program is in serious flux.
Compiled by Claire Fahy, Bruin Sports senior staff.
