A day after a report emerged that he would interview for the head-coaching job with the New York Jets, Jim Mora has not-so-unexpectedly attempted to throw cold water on the speculation.
During an interview on the Rich Eisen Show Tuesday morning, Mora denied that he has an interview scheduled with the Jets. He also went so far as to claim, the Orange County Register writes, “that neither he nor his agent, Jimmy Sexton, have made any overtures to NFL teams who happen to be searching for a new coach.”
The Bruins head coach then went on to bend over backward in espousing his love the game of college football in general and UCLA specifically.
“I’ve never wavered from saying I’m very happy at UCLA,” Mora said during the interview. “I love college football. I love coaching the UCLA Bruins. ...
“I love college football,” Mora said. “I really do. It fits me very, very well. I relate well to the players. they appreciate the emotion and the passion that I coach with. I love UCLA -- I think we’ve been able to do some good things. I love the young men I coach. When you make a commitment in recruiting to the families of the players you’re recruiting and say, ‘Listen, I’m going to be your coach’ -- I take that very seriously. It’s not something I want to run out on. I’m very happy at UCLA.”
In addition to the rumored Jets interest, Mora’s name has also been mentioned in connection to the San Francisco 49ers vacancy. In January of last year, the San Diego Chargers reached out to gauge Mora’s interest in its vacancy.
Mora 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. 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.