UCLA Football: Time for Bruins to part ways with Mora?

If UCLA football wants to decide to go in a different direction than current head coach Jim Mora, it should do so during the off-season.

UCLA football enters Week 12 with a matchup against its biggest rival in the No. 11 ranked USC Trojans. Head coach Jim Mora and the Bruins are coming off a big win over a PAC-12 South opponent in the Arizona State Sun Devils, 44-37, at home.

The Bruins have a short travel to face USC and Mora would love to spoil the last chances that sophomore quarterback Sam Darnold and the Trojans have at the College Football Playoff. It will also be an interesting quarterback battle between Darnold and UCLA’s Josh Rosen.

If UCLA wins, they’ll guarantee bowl eligibility, and Mora would likely keep his job through the end of the regular season. Yet, if UCLA is embarrassed, it could anger the fan base enough to warrant an immediate firing of Mora. He entered the season on the hot seat and is still on it.

Carrying a record of 5-5 (3-4 PAC-12) is actually a better result than many expected from UCLA up to this point. Expectations were low for this squad entering the year. Yet, Rosen has kept this team in quite a few games it should not have been in.

The defense for UCLA, or lack thereof, could ultimately be the thing that costs Mora his job. UCLA has not allowed less than 31 points to an opponent since defeating the Colorado Buffaloes more than five games ago.

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It’s not time for the Bruins to give up on Mora yet. He has a legitimate shot to get UCLA to seven wins this year. That would be an above average finish, even though the PAC-12 is having a down season as a whole. UCLA could then re-evaluate its coaching options during the off-season with a fruitful open market.