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UCLA Football: 5 Candidates to replace Jim Mora

By Justin Dottavio

PASADENA, CA - NOVEMBER 19: Head Coach Jim Mora of the UCLA Bruins on the sidelines before the game against the USC Trojans at Rose Bowl on November 19, 2016 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - NOVEMBER 19: Head Coach Jim Mora of the UCLA Bruins on the sidelines before the game against the USC Trojans at Rose Bowl on November 19, 2016 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

5. Beau Baldwin

Beau Baldwin is my dark horse candidate to take over the reins of the UCLA Bruins. Baldwin is currently the Offensive Coordinator of the California Golden Bears. Cal is only 5-6 and has the 86th ranked offense per the S&P+ but Baldwin will be better known for his time as the head football coach at Eastern Washington playing the role of giant killer than his year at Cal.

Baldwin compiled an 85-32 overall record as a head coach including an FCS National Championship run back in 2010. Baldwin was the Eastern Washington Offensive Coordinator during their initial climb under Paul Wulff from 2000-2007 before taking over and building the Eagles into an FCS power.

Under Baldwin’s tutelage the Eastern Washington Eagles upset FBS foes like Washington State and Oregon State with far inferior talent and budgeting as an FCS school. Baldwin was twice the Big Sky coach of the year and five times the Big Sky Conference Champion as the head coach of the Eagles.

While the Eastern Washington roster was filled with in-state Washington players they also had a nice recruiting niche established in California and now at Cal the California recruits know his name and he does understand the pacific recruiting scene and the Pac-12.

The knock on Baldwin would be that this is UCLA and Jim Mora Jr was previously an NFL Head Football Coach, not an Offensive Coordinator at Cal, thus their administration may be looking for a bigger named hire. However, Clay Helton wasn’t a big name hire at USC and the Trojans have bested the Bruins the last few seasons.

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