 Mora in 2006 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Colorado State |
| Conference | Pac-12 |
| Record | 0–0 |
| Annual salary | $1.5 million[1] |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1961-11-19)November 19, 1961 (age 64) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1980–1983 | Washington |
| Positions | Defensive back,linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1984 | Washington (GA) |
| 1985 | San Diego Chargers (defensive QC) |
| 1986–1988 | San Diego Chargers (assistant DB) |
| 1989–1991 | San Diego Chargers (DB) |
| 1992–1996 | New Orleans Saints (DB) |
| 1997–1998 | San Francisco 49ers (DB) |
| 1999–2003 | San Francisco 49ers (DC) |
| 2004–2006 | Atlanta Falcons |
| 2007–2008 | Seattle Seahawks (AHC/DB) |
| 2009 | Seattle Seahawks |
| 2012–2017 | UCLA |
| 2021 | UConn (OA) |
| 2022–2025 | UConn |
| 2026–present | Colorado State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 73–53 (college) 31–33 (NFL) |
| Bowls | 3–3 |
| Tournaments | 1–1 (NFL playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1Pac-12 South Division (2012) | |
James Lawrence Mora (born November 19, 1961) is an Americanfootball coach who was thehead coach at theUniversity of Connecticut. He will become the head coach atColorado State University following the conclusion of the 2025 season, although he will coach Connecticut's bowl game. Prior to coaching UConn, he was the head coach of theUCLA Bruins of thePac-12 Conference from 2012 to 2017. Prior to taking the job at UCLA, Mora served as a head coach in theNational Football League (NFL), coaching theAtlanta Falcons from2004 to2006 andSeattle Seahawks in2009. He has also served as an analyst forNFL Network andFox Sports.
Mora playedcollege football with theWashington Huskies from 1980 to 1983, and began his coaching career there as agraduate assistant in 1984. He is the son of retired NFL head coachJim E. Mora. To avoid confusion with his father, Mora is sometimes called Jim Mora Jr.[2]
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As the son of an assistant coach in college football, Mora lived in various locations in theWest as a child: primarily inBoulder, Colorado (ages 7–12) and also inCalifornia, mostly in the Los Angeles area. When Mora was 12, his father leftColorado after the 1973 season to join the staff atUCLA under first-year head coachDick Vermeil.
After one season in Los Angeles, the elder Mora accepted a position at theUniversity of Washington under new head coachDon James, and the Moras moved north from Los Angeles to theSeattle area when the younger Mora was 13. His father coached the defensive line at UW for three seasons, then moved over to the pro ranks with theSeattle Seahawks in 1978, where he coached for four years underJack Patera. The younger Mora attended Hyak Junior High andInterlake High School inBellevue, and graduated in 1980.
Mora attended the University of Washington, where hewalked-on and was a reservedefensive back /linebacker for theHuskies from 1980 to 1983. He appeared in twoRose Bowls (January1981,1982) and was a member of theLambda Chi Alphafraternity. Mora graduated from Washington in 1984 and began his coaching career under James as a graduate assistant for the Huskies, then moved to the professional ranks the following year.
Mora hired on as a quality control coach with theSan Diego Chargers in1985, and moved up to assistant defensive backs coach the following year. He was promoted to defensive backs coach in1989. In1992, he went to theNew Orleans Saints to coach under his father, head coachJim E. Mora. In1997, the younger Mora moved to theSan Francisco 49ers to coach underSteve Mariucci, and became the 49ers'defensive coordinator in1999.[3]
In2004, Mora was hired by theAtlanta Falcons as their head coach with a five-year, $7.5 million contract.[4] He led the Falcons to a record of 11–5 and a first round bye in the playoffs. Atlanta hosted and defeated theSt. Louis Rams 47–17 in the divisional round and advanced to theNFC Championship Game where they lost 27–10 on the road to thePhiladelphia Eagles. For his efforts Mora was honored with the NFC Coach of the year award.[5]
In2005, the Falcons went 8–8 and Mora characterized the season as a "disappointing year." This non-winning season continued one of the NFL's strangest records – the Falcons had never had back-to-back winning seasons in the history of the franchise, a 40-year statistical oddity that no other modern professional team has matched. This record ended in 2009. Following the 2005 season, Mora signed a three-year contract extension with the Falcons, which guaranteed the final two years of his original five-year deal, and added a sixth in 2009.[6]
The national media and the Falcons fans had high expectations in the2006 season. While in the wild card race at 7–6 in December, Atlanta lost their final three games, including two at home, and missed the playoffs for a second straight year with a 7–9 record overall. On December 14, while the Falcons were still statistically alive in their quest for the playoffs, Mora said during a radio interview with Dave "Softy" Mahler and former Huskies teammate/roommateHugh Millen onSeattle sports-talk radio stationKJR-AM that, if it were offered, he would take the head coaching job at the University of Washington (a job that was not open),"even if [the Falcons] were in a playoff run."[7] He additionally said he was "dead serious" about his desire for the Washington job. While Mora later backpedaled and claimed that he was only kidding,[8] team ownerArthur Blank publicly expressed his disapproval of Mora's comments.[9]
Following the season, the Atlanta Falcons announced that they had fired Mora. Arthur Blank told the media,
This was an extremely difficult decision for us. We had the highest hopes and aspirations for a long run with Jim as our coach, but we feel this decision is in the best long-term interests of our franchise. I have great respect for Jim's passion for the game, and we wish Jim and his family all of the best.[10]
Mora turned to broadcasting after being fired from the Falcons when he became a contributor toNBC's playoff coverage.
TheSeattle Seahawks hired Mora as assistant head coach and defensive backs coach on January 21, 2007.[11] Following the 2007 season, Mora interviewed for theWashington Redskins head coaching job afterJoe Gibbs resigned, but Mora declined the position to stay with the Seahawks. Mora was announced as the successor toMike Holmgren prior to the2008 season and signed a five-year contract through the 2012 season, estimated at $4 million per year.[12][13]
Mora was officially named the seventh head coach in franchise history in 2009, upon Holmgren's retirement after the 2008 season.[14] His first official press conference as the new Seahawks head coach was given on January 13, 2009, where he enthusiastically shared his vision of bringing a Super Bowl championship to Seattle and having a championship parade from theSpace Needle to the Seahawks' stadium,Qwest Field.[15]
After going 5–11 in his only season as Seahawks head coach, Mora was fired on January 8, 2010, with three years and $12 million remaining on his contract.[16] Mora was replaced by formerUSC head coachPete Carroll.
On December 10, 2011, theUCLA Bruins announced the hiring of Mora as head coach, replacing alumnusRick Neuheisel. Mora signed a five-year contract for $12 million, plus incentives. He immediately went to work as the head coach by hiringAdrian Klemm,Steve Broussard,Demetrice Martin andEric Yarber as assistant coaches. Less than two months later, the results came early, as UCLA landed a consensus No. 12-ranked recruiting class in 2012 after having a class ranked in the high 40s at Rick Neuheisel's departure. In his first season as head coach, the 2012 UCLA team went 9–5, including a victory over rival USC by a score of 38–28 and clinching the Pac-12 South title for the second year in a row. Standout players that year included freshman quarterbackBrett Hundley, NFL first-round draft pick defensive endDatone Jones, and UCLA's all-time leading rusherJohnathan Franklin. Building on the team's success, Mora landed the No. 11-ranked recruiting class of 2013, UCLA's highest-ranked recruiting class in the last two decades. During the 2013 season, Mora and the Bruins finished 10–3 with notable wins over No. 23 ranked Nebraska (41–21) and No. 23 ranked USC (35–14), and a Sun Bowl win against Virginia Tech (42–12).[17][18] In2014, he led UCLA to their ninth 10-win season in school history, and just the third time in their history that they have won 10 games in consecutive seasons.[19] In 2015 he led the program to a 8-5 record, however they lost the Foster Farms Bowl to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.[20]
Because of his success at UCLA, Mora was courted by his alma mater, theUniversity of Washington, to fill their vacated head coaching position. During his time as head coach of theAtlanta Falcons, Mora jokingly described the position at the University of Washington as his "dream job."[8] However, Mora turned down a reputed offer and extended his contract with UCLA for another six years, stating that he wants to eventually "hopefully retire" as head coach of UCLA.[21][22] Weeks later, Mora reaffirmed his intent to remain UCLA's head football coach by turning down a reputed offer for the head coaching position with theUniversity of Texas.[23]
Jim Mora was fired on November 19, 2017, one day after UCLA's third consecutive loss to its crosstown rivalUSC. After going 29–11 through the first 3 seasons, he was 17–19 in the last 3 seasons.[24]
TheUniversity of Connecticut hired Mora as its head football coach on November 11, 2021. Interim head coachLou Spanos, finished out the 2021 season, with Mora serving as an offensive assistant in the meantime.[1] During his first season as head coach, on November 12, 2022, UConn beat AP-ranked #19Liberty 36–33 improving their record to 6–5; Mora led UConn to their first bowl appearance since2015.[25] They were defeated by theMarshall Thundering Herd in theMyrtle Beach Bowl. After a down year in 2023, Mora led UConn to one of their best seasons in years during the2024 season going 9-4 including a 27-14 win overNorth Carolina in theFenway Bowl. Marking the program's first bowl game win since 2009. At the end of the year Mora was named Coach of the year by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston, as well as Independent/PAC12 Coach of the Year by College Football Live.[26][27] In November 2025 in the midst of his second 9 win season in a row with UConn, Mora was hired as the head coach forColorado State.[28]
Following the Seahawks firing him after the 2009 season, Mora accepted a position as a commentator with theNFL Network.[29] During the 2010 seasonFox Sports announced that Mora would be serving as a color analyst on the network'sNFL coverage for the2010 season. He was a sideline reporter and teamed with play-by-play announcerDick Stockton and analystCharles Davis to call regional games.[30] During NFL Network'sThursday Night Football schedule, Mora, alongside analystsKurt Warner,Sterling Sharpe,Brian Billick,Jay Glazer, and hostFran Charles could be seen on Thursday Night Kickoff.[31] Mora and Billick could also be seen every Monday during the season onThe Coaches Show, providing a breakdown of the biggest storylines and decisions behind Sunday's matchups from a head coach's perspective.
Mora returned to the booth in 2018 following his termination from UCLA, joiningESPN'scollege football coverage.[32]
Mora has separated from his wife, Shannon.[33] They have a daughter, Lillia, and three sons, Cole, Ryder, and Trey.[23]
Mora has two brothers, Stephen, a mortgage broker inBend, Oregon and Michael, an architect in Seattle.[34] With the middle name Lawrence after his grandfather, Mora is not a junior, as his father's middle name is Ernest.[35][36][37]
The Moras run the Count On Me Family Foundation, an organization that targets children from low socio-economic backgrounds, children with mental and physical disabilities, and children deemed "at-risk," as well as those that lack stability or support in their lives.[38]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| ATL | 2004 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1st in NFC South | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toPhiladelphia Eagles inNFC Championship Game |
| ATL | 2005 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3rd in NFC South | – | – | – | – |
| ATL | 2006 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3rd in NFC South | – | – | – | – |
| ATL Total | 26 | 22 | 0 | .542 | 1 | 1 | .500 | |||
| SEA | 2009 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3rd in NFC West | – | – | – | – |
| SEA Total | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |||
| Total[39] | 31 | 33 | 0 | .470 | 1 | 1 | .500 | |||
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA Bruins(Pac-12 Conference)(2012–2017) | |||||||||
| 2012 | UCLA | 9–5 | 6–3 | 1st(South) | LHoliday | ||||
| 2013 | UCLA | 10–3 | 6–3 | T–2nd(South) | WSun | 16 | 16 | ||
| 2014 | UCLA | 10–3 | 6–3 | T–2nd(South) | WAlamo | 10 | 10 | ||
| 2015 | UCLA | 8–5 | 5–4 | 3rd(South) | LFoster Farms | ||||
| 2016 | UCLA | 4–8 | 2–7 | T–4th(South) | |||||
| 2017 | UCLA | 5–6[a] | 3–5 | 4th(South) | |||||
| UCLA: | 46–30 | 28–25 | |||||||
| UConn Huskies(NCAA Division I FBS independent)(2022–2025) | |||||||||
| 2022 | UConn | 6–7 | LMyrtle Beach | ||||||
| 2023 | UConn | 3–9 | |||||||
| 2024 | UConn | 9–4 | WFenway | ||||||
| 2025 | UConn | 9–3 | |||||||
| UConn: | 27–23 | ||||||||
| Total: | 73–53 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
