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UCLA Football: It was time for Jim Mora to go

By Matthew Bartlett

PASADENA, CA - NOVEMBER 11: Head coach Jim Mora looks on during the first half of a game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at the Rose Bowl on November 11, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - NOVEMBER 11: Head coach Jim Mora looks on during the first half of a game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at the Rose Bowl on November 11, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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UCLA football announced on Sunday that Jim Mora will no longer be the Bruins’ head coach. This is a parting of ways that needed to happen.

UCLA began the 2017 season with a thrilling come from behind win over Texas A&M at the Rose Bowl. Josh Rosen engineered a magical moment from a 34-point deficit. That win had all of the pieces of head coach Jim Mora’s tenure as the head coach of UCLA football. An elite quarterback carrying the team? Check. Porous defense? Check. Just plain weird circumstances? Check.

This year has been the worst season Mora has had at UCLA, and if it wasn’t for Josh Rosen and Brett Hundley before him the end would have been reached much quicker. That’s because no matter how many blue chip recruits Mora brought to campus he could not field a defense. Getting talent to Los Angeles is not difficult. Failing to do something with that talent is why Mora is now unemployed.

Mora took over as the Bruins’ coach in 2012. His defenses have ranked 58th, 35th, 77th, 54th, 59th and 121st in scoring from then until this year. In their best defensive season under Mora, 2013, the Bruins were led by Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr. Still, UCLA finished 10-3 with a Sun Bowl victory. That’s might be okay at Arizona State or Oregon State, but the bar is higher at places like UCLA.

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He finished with 46-30 record through his six years at UCLA, finishing as high as No. 10 in the nation in 2014. His teams haven’t finished the season ranked since then. Not many places have the depth and the resources that UCLA does. Three straight unranked finishes was more than enough to justify a change at the top for the Bruins.

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