The circle of Jim Mora’s career at UCLA is now complete.
When Dan Guerrero hired him following the 2011 season, it was a decision largely met with skepticism and/or outright laughter. Mora had no real college coaching experience, his NFL track record was iffy and his irascible personality seemed an odd fit in a profession where everything is about salesmanship.
But almost immediately, Mora defied those presumptions and built a new reputation; this time as an overachiever and immediate difference-maker who was about to unlock the long-revered potential of UCLA as a national power. Suddenly, he was beating Southern California with regularity, landing big-time recruits, pushing aside job inquiries from places such as Texas and launching UCLA into the conversation for preseason top-10 rankings.