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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 Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

3. Rocky Long

Rocky Long is my third best choice for the UCLA Bruins open head football coaching position. Long has head football coaching chops having served as a head coach from 1998-2008 and from 2011-present. He is a western area guy having been born in Provo, Utah, and he played at New Mexico.

Long has coached all over including the Canadian Football League, but he’s also coached at UCLA back from 1996-1997. Long has Pac-12 experience having served as the defensive coordinator at Oregon State as well as his time at UCLA. He has Southern California experience having been a defensive coordinator and head coach at San Diego State.

While head coach of the Aztecs, Long has compiled a 63-28 record including two double digit win seasons already and his 2017 SDSU squad currently sits at nine wins. Long has recruiting experience in California, he has knowledge of the Pac-12, and he has worked at UCLA in the past. The Bruins could use someone with familiarity to the program that has a winning track record and a sense of stability and maturity which Jim Mora was often accused of not having.

The knock on Rocky Long will be his age. Long is 67 years old and much like a presidential election his age will be used as a positive by his camp- he’s matured, a veteran, and committed to “one last job” versus a stepping stone to the NFL. However his detractors will say he’s too old and that they want someone that will be a Bruin for longer than Long can provide. In this modern society, any more than five years of expectation from either side, the school or the coach, seems ludicrous.

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