UCLA fires coach Jim Mora with one game left in 2017 season

Coach Jim Mora was fired Sunday morning following UCLA football’s loss to USC on Saturday.

Offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch will serve as interim head coach for 2017’s final regular season game against California on Friday.

Mora compiled a 46-30 record in his nearly six years in Westwood. He led the team to four consecutive bowl seasons to start his tenure, but went 6-12 in his final 18 games.

The former coach thanked athletics director Dan Guerrero, other members of the football coaching staff and the football players he coached in a statement released Sunday afternoon.

“Coaching student-athletes at UCLA has been the most rewarding experience of my career, and I know the future is bright for the program,” Mora said.

UCLA’s home attendance declined this year to by far its lowest mark in the Mora era and fans became increasingly vocal in calling for his firing, with some paying for planes to fly over the Rose Bowl on Nov. 11 with messages criticizing the program.

The firing comes just over a year after Mora and UCLA agreed to a two-year contract extension through 2021.

UCLA Athletics will use department-generated funds to honor the coach’s contract, which includes an $11 million buyout.

“(Mora) helped re-establish our football program, and was instrumental in so many ways in moving the program forward,” said Guerrero, who announced the move. “While his first four seasons at UCLA were very successful, the past two seasons have not met expectations.”

The search for a new head coach will begin immediately, with Scout.com reporting that UCLA is aiming to bring in former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly.

Guerrero will be assisted in the coaching search by former Bruin quarterback and NFL Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, Bruin alumnus and donor Casey Wasserman and Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Relations Josh Rebholz.

This post was updated November 19 at 2:21 p.m.