Colorado State reportedly hires UConn’s Jim Mora as new head coach originally appeared on Sports news. Add The Sporting News as Favorite source by clicking here.
Colorado State is expected to hire UConn’s Jim Mora as its next head football coach, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The move comes as the Rams prepare to move up to the Pac-12.
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Mora, 64, comes to Fort Collins after back-to-back nine-win seasons at UConn. It’s the program’s first such streak since 2007. He guided the Huskies to three bowl appearances in his four seasons, in stark contrast to just one bowl bid in the 11 years before he was hired.
Mora’s team is currently 9-3 with a 2-1 record against ACC opponents, highlighted by wins over Duke and Boston College. UConn’s three losses all came in overtime, with no losses in regulation.
The veteran coach will become CSU’s fourth head coach since 2019, following the opt-outs of Mike Bobo, Steve Addazio and Jay Norvell. The school fired Norvell last month in the middle of his fourth season. Since 2017, Colorado State has only reached one bowl game and was dominated in the Rocky Mountain Showdown by Colorado State.
In fact, Mora’s father, Jim Mora Sr., worked at rival CSU starting in the mid-’60s under head coach Eddie Crowder. The Colorado connection places his youth in Boulder. This will also pit Deion Sanders against Mora in the RMS in 2029, if both coaches are still at their respective schools.
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Mora has a 73-53 record as a college head coach over 10 seasons, including six years at UCLA, where he won eight or more games in four of six seasons. He also led NFL franchises in Seattle and Atlanta starting in 2004, after nearly 20 years on NFL staff as a coordinator and assistant.
Colorado State enters the Pac-12 next season, giving new athletic director John Weber a big-name hire to pair with expanded financial ambition.
CSU opened its more than $200 million Canvas Stadium in the heart of campus in 2017.
