Jim L. Mora

Jim L. Mora

James Lawrence "Jim" Mora (born November 19,1961 in Los Angeles) is an American football coach. He is currently the assistant head coach and defensive backs coach for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. From 2004-06, Mora was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, where his regular season record was 26-22 (.542), and was 1-1 with a bye in the 2004 playoffs. On Februrary 5, 2008, the Seahawks signed Mora to a five year contract to become the team's next head coach when current head coach Mike Holmgren retires following the 2008 season.

Mora is the son of retired NFL head coach Jim E. Mora. To differentiate between the two, Jim Mora is often mistakenly referred to as "Jim Mora, Jr." by the media. However, the father and son do not share the same middle name.

Early years

As the son of an assistant coach in college football, Mora lived in various locations as a child: primarily in Boulder, Colorado (ages 7-12) and also in California, mostly in the Los Angeles area. When Jim was 12, his father left Colorado after the 1973 football season to join the coaching staff at UCLA.

After one season in Los Angeles, Mora accepted a position at the University of Washington under new head coach Don James, and the Moras moved north from Los Angeles to the Seattle area when the Jim was 13. His father would coach the defensive line at Washington for three seasons before moving over to the pro ranks with the Seattle Seahawks in 1978, where he coached for four years under Jack Patera. The younger Jim Mora attended Hyak Junior High and Interlake High School in Bellevue, where he graduated in 1980.

Mora was a member of the fraternity Lambda Chi Alpha and played defensive back at Washington from 1980-83, appearing in two Rose Bowls. He began his coaching career directly after college as a graduate assistant for the Huskies under head coach Don James in 1984, and began his pro football coaching career in 1985.

Assistant coach

Jim Mora hired on as a quality control coach with the San Diego Chargers in 1985, moving up to coach the secondary in 1989. In 1992, he moved to the New Orleans Saints to coach under his father, head coach Jim E. Mora. In 1997, the younger Mora moved to the San Francisco 49ers to coach under Steve Mariucci, and became the 49ers' defensive coordinator in 1999. He was retained by new head coach Dennis Erickson in 2003.

Head coach

In 2004, Jim Mora was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as their head coach. He led the Falcons to a record of 11-5 and a first round bye in the playoffs. Atlanta hosted and defeated the St. Louis Rams 47-17 in the divisional round, and advanced to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost 27-10 on the road to the Philadelphia Eagles.

In 2005, the Falcons went 8-8. Mora characterized the season as a "disappointing year." This non-winning season continued one of the NFL's strangest records - the Falcons have 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. Following the season, Mora signed a three-year contract extension with the Falcons, extending his contract through the 2009 season.

In 2006, the national media and the Falcons fans had high expectations. However, Mora led the Falcons to a 7-9 record, losing his final three games, including two at home, and missed the playoffs for a second straight year. In his second season as Falcons coach, when he was playing the Philadelphia Eagles in a rematch from the 2004 NFC Championship, Mora was seen smelling ammonia capsules on the sidelines during a Monday Night Football broadcast. John Madden noted that some coaches use the capsules during games, although they are mostly for players' use.

On December 14, 2006, 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/roommate Hugh Millen on Seattle sports-talk radio station KJR-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." While Mora later claimed that he was only kidding, he was criticized by many Falcons fans as well as members of the national media who claimed that making such comments was irresponsible. Team owner Arthur Blank publicly expressed his disapproval of Mora's comments.

Following the season, the Atlanta Falcons announced that they had fired Jim 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.

Mora turned to broadcasting after being fired from the Falcons when he became a contributor to NBC's playoff coverage.

The Seattle Seahawks announced on January 21, 2007, that Mora was joining their staff as assistant head coach and defensive backs coach.

Following the 2007 season, Mora interviewed for the Washington Redskins head coaching job after Joe Gibbs resigned, but Mora declined the position to stay with the Seahawks.

Mora has been named the successor to Seahawks Head Coach Mike Holmgren for the 2009 season.

External links

• NFL.com - Seattle Seahawks - assistant coaches
• Chasing Mora to the top - The Seattle Times - 09-Dec-2007
• Seahawks hire ex-Husky Mora - The Seattle Times - 22-Jan-2007
• Mora hires on with Seahawks - Tacoma News Tribune - 22-Jan-2007
• Atlanta Falcons.com - Falcons extend Mora's contract - 24-Mar-2006
• A moment with Jim Mora - Seattle Post-Intelligencer - 01-Jan-2005