UCLA fires Mora late in 6th season
LOS ANGELES » Jim Mora’s tenure at UCLA began with three years of enormous promise. It ended with the school abruptly firing the coach late in his sixth season — and on his birthday, no less.
UCLA dismissed Mora on Sunday with one game left in the regular season. Athletic director Dan Guerrero announced the shocking move one day after rival Southern California’s 28-23 victory over the Bruins (5-6, 3-5 Pac-12), who have lost six of nine while going winless on the road this season.
Offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch will coach the Bruins in their regular-season home finale against California on Friday.
UCLA must pay more than $12 million to buy out the remainder of Mora’s contract, which runs through 2021. The school announced that Mora’s contract will be “honored by UCLA Athletics, exclusively using departmentgenerated funds.”
The extraordinary buyout indicates the depth of frustration in Westwood with Mora, whose program has declined precipitously since 2015. The Bruins even fired Mora on his 56th birthday.
“Jim helped re-establish our football program, and was instrumental in so many ways in moving the program forward,” Guerrero said in a statement. “While his first four seasons at UCLA were very successful, the past two seasons have not met expectations.”
Mora went 46-30 in his first significant collegiate coaching job, but the Bruins are on the brink of their second consecutive losing season despite a roster filled with elite recruits led by quarterback Josh Rosen.
Mora issued a warm statement through the school, thanking Guerrero for the opportunity.
“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.
Guerrero said his coaching search will be aided by wealthy Bruins booster Casey Wasserman and Hall of Famer and former UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman. UCLA opened the lavish Wasserman Football Center earlier this year, providing top-notch training facilities for the program.
Former Oregon and Eagles coach Chip Kelly is likely to be a top target for the Bruins, who had an incompetent offense last season before Fisch fixed it this fall.
Sooners’ Mayfield contrite after more antics vs. Kansas
LAWRENCE, KAN. » Baker Mayfield knows full well by now that the television cameras are always on him, part of the gig when you’re the starting quarterback at Oklahoma and the Heisman Trophy front-runner.
The downside to all that attention is what occurred on Saturday. After getting slighted during the coin toss by the captains from Kansas, the fiery Mayfield proceeded with a series of histrionics that forced him to apologize after the 41-3 rout to just about everyone: his teammates, fans, even the kids who wanted his autograph.
There was the near-constant jawing with the Jayhawks. The back-and-forth with fans seated behind the Oklahoma bench. The cursing at Kansas coaches and, ultimately, the lewd crotch grabbing.
“In the moment, you do something, you get caught up in the emotional stuff,” Mayfield said. “I talk about being a competitive player. When I realized the coaches said something, that’s when I realized that I really messed up.”
Sooners coach Lincoln Riley didn’t witness the lewd gesture, only hearing about it when the third-ranked Sooners returned to the postgame locker room. He praised Mayfield’s competitive nature but acknowledged he’d gone out of bounds, saying “we can’t have that and he can’t do that.”
AP Top 25:Boise State, Northwestern in
The top nine teams in The Associated Press poll have held onto their spots, led by No. 1 Alabama, while Northwestern and Boise State moved into the Top 25 for the first time this season.
Alabama, top ranked since the preseason, received 58 first-place votes on Sunday.
Michigan, North Carolina State and West Virginia all dropped out after losses. Northwestern, which has won six straight, is No. 23, and Boise State is No. 25. Virginia Tech returned to the rankings at No. 24.