Pac-12 Rival UCLA Fires Jim Mora, who else Could be Next?
Pasadena, CA- Big changes in Southern California are coming, as the UCLA Bruins fired head coach Jim Mora after six seasons.
The life of a college coach is never comfortable. The pressure to win reigns supreme, and for a program like UCLA, back-to-back tough seasons are what ultimately did in head coach, Jim Mora.
On Sunday, following their loss to rival USC Trojans, the school announced they would be parting ways with Mora.
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In six seasons with the Bruins, Mora went a combined 46-30, with four bowl appearances. However, his demise is perhaps how the Bruins’ under-performed the last few seasons.
Blame injuries, but despite having highly ranked recruiting classes, UCLA has gone just a combined 17-19 the past three seasons. That’s just not going to cut it in the Pac-12.
With Mora out, what does that mean for other Pac-12 teams, and what other coaches could be potentially next?
Before the season, the hot seat was incredibly warm for coaches like Mora, ASU’s Todd Graham, and Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez.
Fast forward a few months, and we have started to see the college coaching shake up. Oregon State’s Gary Anderson resigned in the middle of the season, and Mora is no longer with the Bruins.
Adversely, a Brandon Dawkins injury and the subsequent rise of one Khalil Tate has seemingly saved Rodriguez from a similar fate. Up the road in Tempe, Graham and the Sun Devils are now bowl eligible, but he could potentially be in a make or break game versus rival Arizona.
The Wildcats are in a unique position. On one side, you have fans who seem to understand Arizona is in a great position at the moment, considering this team was projected to finish last in the Pac-12 South. On the other hand, you have some that feel this team is still lacking, especially defensively, or in big games, and that falls on Rodriguez.
While that is certainly fair, you also have to give credit where credit is due. Tate has been nothing short of a God-send, and he [Rodriguez] deserves credit for recruiting Tate at QB. Additionally, it takes a team of individuals to compete week-in and week-out, and Rodriguez is the one who gets his team ready for games.
Winning seven games, with the potential to win another game or two, only magnifies the success of this season. Firing Rich Rod would just be damning to the program at this point.
Arizona isn’t UCLA, and UCLA will always get top-level talent, they always have. Attracting the right coach isn’t as difficult for them as it is for us. Things are far more challenging for Arizona.
You don’t fire a coach for exceeding expectations. Remember, this is was a team projected to finish last in the Pac-12 South, and could potentially win nine games.
With the landscape of college vacancies so far this year, hypothetically, if Arizona were to let Rodriguez go, the Wildcats would have to compete with UCLA, Tennessee and Florida, all more attractive positions, with better-recruiting ties and access to top-level talent.
Also letting Rodriguez go, could only set-up for a potential John Mackovic type of hire once again!
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At Zona Zealots, we are happy with the staff we got, and only hope they can continue to find success here in Tucson as long as they want to be here! Bear Down, Arizona!