Father of UConn’s Mora isn’t giving coaching advice
Jim L. Mora’s undertaking one of the country’s biggest rebuilding projects, trying to resurrect a program that’s gone 7-41 over the last four seasons and hasn’t been to a bowl since 2015.
Mora, not one to shy away from a challenge, is embracing all that entails.
“He’s that way. He’s definitely that way,” his father Jim E. Mora said. “And you’re not going to get a job where you don’t have to go uphill some. They don’t change coaches when you’re winning. Usually when you get a coaching job you go into a situation where they’ve been losing. He’s gone in and won where they’ve been losing a lot, for quite a while.
“I know he’s got a tough job ahead of him. But he’s ready for it. He’s not afraid of it. I guarantee you that. He’s fired up about it. Really fired up about it.”
Jim E. Mora, 86, coached 15 seasons in the NFL, 11 with the New Orleans Saints and four with the Indianapolis Colts. He won 125 games, authored one of the greatest postgame rants in history, and is enshrined in the Saints Hall of Fame.
Like any father, Jim E. Mora wants to see his son succeed.
“I’m excited about it because I know he’s a very good coach,” Jim E. Mora said. “I knew that he wanted to get back into it, and he now has another opportunity to get back into it in a situation that has not been good recently. It’s going to take a lot of hard work on his part and his staff.”
The younger Mora most recently coached at UCLA, where he posted a 46-30 record and made four bowl appearances between 201217. He proved to be an adept recruiter, producing 30 NFL draft picks during that time, more any other Pac-12 school.
When Jim L. Mora, who had been out of football and living in Idaho, landed the UConn job, his father congratulated him but shied away from giving him too much advice.
“He knows what he’s doing,” the elder Mora said. “He doesn’t need me to give him any advice, that’s for dang sure. I’ll put it this way, and I’m not just saying this, he’s a lot better coach than I was. I really believe that. A lot better.”
In what ways?
“I just feel that he is,” he continued. “That’s my feeling. I just think he’s a better coach than I was. I wasn’t
anything special. I was just a coach. I think he’s better. That’s all I know.”
Jim E. Mora has kept his pulse on football since his retirement in 2001. While he lives in Palm Desert, Calif., he can be seen every so often on the Saints pregame and postgame shows on WDSU New Orleans, the local NBC affiliate. He was at the Caesars Superdome Thursday, as one of his former players, Sam Mills, was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor.
He speaks to his son regularly, though most of their conversations aren’t about football.
“He wants to coach, he loves to coach,” Jim E. Mora said. “I think he’s a really good coach, and I’m glad he’s got another opportunity.”
Jim L. Mora’s been busy hiring a staff and connecting with high school coaches and recruits, with the start of the NCAA early signing period fast approaching on Dec. 15. He knows the roster needs an infusion of talent.
“They need to get better,” Jim E. Mora said. “They need better players. You win with good players. They need more good players. If you don’t have good players, you don’t win. Simple as that. You need good players to compete every week against good teams.”