Before Jim Mora was unveiled to the UCLA family Tuesday afternoon, he whisked through a busy morning.
He met with the players for the first time since his hire. He met with the current assistant coaches, some of whom he’ll be interviewing for positions on his staff. Most importantly, he sat down and passed the test required for any NCAA coach to start recruiting.
Sporting a suit over his blue shirt and gold tie, the brand new UCLA football coach made his pitch to the assembled audience that he’ll be able to recruit, despite having no college coaching experience.
“It might be the thing I’m most looking forward to right now ““ getting out, getting into homes, getting in front of parents, getting in front of kids,” Mora said. “One of the things that was so appealing to me in coaching college football was the ability to have an impact on a young man’s life. Not only on the football field but measuring him into becoming the person you think he can become.
“I can’t wait to get going. I plan on starting today.”
The Mora era kicked off Tuesday at the J.D. Morgan Center with a brief introduction for UCLA’s 17th football coach, who is looking to bring the Bruins back from what he called “a tough decade for UCLA football.”
Surrounded by alumni, boosters, media, football players, other athletes, cheerleaders and Joe Bruin, Athletic Director Dan Guerrero unveiled the hire he made after a 12-day coaching search.
“There needs to be an identity in this program, and that identity has to be being tough, being physical, being organized,” said Guerrero, who traveled to Seattle to get Mora. “Jim brings all of those things to the table. It’s something we need, and now we have that.”
Mora, who went 31-33 in four seasons as an NFL head coach, was fired by the Seattle Seahawks after the 2009 season. He’s been working as a television analyst since then, but eagerly wanted to get back into coaching.
Guerrero said there was “mutual interest” between the two for the UCLA job, and both parties eventually agreed to a five-year contract worth $12 million plus incentives.
Guerrero, who said when he fired Rick Neuheisel that he was armed with extra funds for a new coach, is well on his way to rebuilding the UCLA football brand with the money. Mora received a greater per-year salary than Neuheisel, plus assurances that UCLA’s football facilities would be improved.
“I believe this administration is committed to doing what they can on this footprint that we have ““ it’s not like we have a lot of room to expand ““ but I believe they’re really committed to upgrading the facilities,” Mora said. “These facilities by no means are bad, but we’re going to make them as good as we possibly can.”
Guerrero bucked the recent trend of hiring from “within the Bruin family,” making Mora the first UCLA coach in more than 60 years with no previous experiences with UCLA.
“(UCLA history) really wasn’t a factor going into the other searches ““ as we went through the process we felt it was added value. This time, it was really about finding the person with qualities we felt we needed to bring to the table here,” Guerrero said.
Mora does have one UCLA tie: His father, retired longtime NFL coach Jim E. Mora, was a UCLA assistant coach in 1974. Jim L. Mora was 13 at the time.
“He’ll be the No. 1 UCLA Bruin fan in Palm Desert, Calif.,” Mora said of his father.
Mora won’t participate in the Bruins’ practices before the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on Dec. 31, choosing to focus instead on recruiting ““ first assistant coaches to fill out his staff, then players. But he relished his Tuesday morning chat with the team, especially after two years away from the profession.
“The meeting with the players was outstanding. I thought the reception they gave, the way they looked at me, showed an eagerness to get this thing going in the right direction and quickly. There was good energy in the room.
“I really enjoyed standing in front of a team again. I don’t feel like it’s my team yet, obviously, but it was a great feeling.”