College football “got over” on the NFL boys Tuesday as Jim Harbaugh was officially introduced as Michigan’s new head coach. Could it be time for the NFL to, once again, return the favor?
With the New York Jets finally ridding itself of the Rex Ryan circus, that organization is on the hunt for a new head coach. As part of that search, Jets consultant Charley Casserly has been charged with the task of reaching out to potential candidates for the job.
One of the camps Casserly’s reportedly reached out to? That of UCLA head coach Jim Mora. As noted by PFT, just because the Jets have reached out to Mora doesn’t mean that he’s been added to their pool of candidates, but it is a situation that bears watching.
This is far from the first time Mora’s name has been attached to an NFL opening, and likely won’t be the last.
Mora, who spent four combined seasons as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons (2004-06) and Seattle Seahawks (2009) before coming to UCLA in Dec. of 2011, was mentioned as a possibility to replace Harbaugh with the San Francisco 49ers even before the two sides officially parted ways. In January of last year, the San Diego Chargers reached out to gauge Mora’s interest in its vacancy.
In his three seasons with the Bruins, Mora’s posted an overall mark of 28-11 and an 18-9 record in Pac-12 play. He signed a six-year contract extension last December that would technically keep him with the football program through the 2019 season, although that, aside from the buyout, means next to nothing when it comes to bolting for another job.
In the original report on the Jets’ interest, it was noted that “Casserly... reached out to... Mora’s camp to inquire about buyout details in [his] contract.” Again, just something to file away for future use. Potentially.