Benedict and Mora | Page 6 | The Boneyard
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Benedict and Mora

Nostical said:
I'd want to know how happy his wife Kathy is living here in Connecticut.
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I get the feeing they're a team. I think she's wants him happy and fulfilled at this point of their lives. I bet she will get to choose the next stage.
 
Look, Seattle is a great city, that’s for sure. But he did have his run in Seattle—not a fantastic run, mind you (although tbf, it was NFL not CFB). For him, his move to CT may have been moving on to greener pastures (and in the case of Storrs, quite literally greener pastures). But again, I’m not sure, and like all of us, I’m just speculating.
 
Another thing which wouldn't surprise me is pleasing to Mora is UConn's big name coaches not being a bunch of young up and comers looking for the next big paycheck.
It can be comforting to someone in Mora's position to have Auriemma, Hurley (and his dad), Penders, Cavanaugh all being older coaches who he can reach out to and chat peer to peer.
 
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Chin Diesel said:
Another thing which wouldn't surprise me is pleasing to Mora is UConn's big name coaches not being a bunch of young up and comers looking for the next big paycheck.
It can be comforting to someone in Mora's position to have Auriemma, Hurley (and his dad), Penders, Cavanaugh all being older coaches who he can reach out to and chat peer to peer.
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UConn has always been a school with incredible coaches that are respected in the community. It’s definitely a place with a really special coaching fraternity across many sports. Its probably one of the things that helps us retain them.
 
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I love the cohesion that has formed from Mora and the team’s success. He just visited the band for practice the other day and spoke his gratitude towards the band’s energy and spirit. Between that and comments from Hurley and Geno, it’s amazing to see.
 


-> Does it cross Mora’s mind how far he has taken UConn football from the barren place he found it? “No, not until the job is completed,” Mora said. “This is not completed. We play FAU a week from today, so any distractions that get in the way of our focus on that game are just unacceptable. If I’m going to preach that to the players, then I have be able to do it myself.”

How about stepping back, even just to exhale and admire the canvas on which he has been painting on for four years? “At some point, we’ll look and say, we’ve got something going here and we’ll keep building on it,” he said, “but honestly, it’s not something I’m capable of doing. I’ve learned it’s a poison.” <-

-> The mark Mora has made at UConn is real, it is unique, and he has never been shy about saying that he likes it here. Out of football four seasons after being fired at UCLA, Mora has been rejuvenated by UConn as much as the other way around. He should be able to coach the Huskies as long as he wants to, but may soon be faced with a decision. He has, in fact, earned that <-

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It's possible that Mora leaves. However It's notable that nowhere in this article, or anything else published thus far, is anything suggesting that Mora is looking to move at all. One assumes that Amore has enough sources that he would at least have an inkling or has heard anything. Or maybe he has and he's not reporting it yet. In either case, for Benedict the proactive move is to make Mora the highest paid G5 coach. It's something of an overpay because we are not there yet based on the results on the field, but we can see the path there assuming we lock in the coach.
 
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FightOnCT said:
I love the cohesion that has formed from Mora and the team’s success. He just visited the band for practice the other day and spoke his gratitude towards the band’s energy and spirit. Between that and comments from Hurley and Geno, it’s amazing to see.
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That’s funny. When down at JMU, talking to band parents, they said Cignetti was a jerk. Couldn’t have cared less and basically said so.
 
uconnyankee said:
That’s funny. When down at JMU, talking to band parents, they said Cignetti was a jerk. Couldn’t have cared less and basically said so.
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Yes let’s attack Cignetti again. Yes we get it Cignetti is a hard ass and you do not like him. I like Jim Mora but Cignetti is a better coach.
 
mike012 said:
It wouldn’t be a lateral move to some G5 team. Any P4 job will be a rebuild with a lot of stress. I feel like if UConn gives a reasonable raise he wouldn’t want to start over at his age. Who needs stress.
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Some people need stress to fire up their competitive juices. Can’t have diamonds without pressure to paraphrase. Bottom line is that none of us know except Coach Mora. I’ll enjoy the remainder of the season since everything else is out of our control but I sure hope he sticks around. See you road warriors at FAU.
 
I don’t think Mora gets approached by either SEC, BiG or upper echelon ACC or BigXII programs. He would be well qualified, but I think those types of programs feel they need bigger names to satisfy their fan base.

That still leaves a lot of places that might be interested, but does Mora want another rebuild at this stage? I think the bigger question is whether he believes he can continue building this program with the resources available at UCONN.
 
Wow!! Just a couple of weeks ago people were upset over overtime losses.
I can’t believe someone on here would bring up the UCLA job. How does that conversation start “Jim we are really sorry we fired you and had to pay your guaranteed contract but …. He is 64 years old and was fired from his previous 2 head coaching jobs.
He is making 2.5 times more than his first year at UCONN and can make up to another 1.2 million in bonuses. I personally think even if offered he stays. He knows if success continues he will be compensated as he has been and he knows what the exceptions are at UCONN.
 
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ThabeetDown said:
I don't necessarily view Washington as a threat to take Mora, but I do think there is a high probability that job opens up. I think they'll aim higher than Mora. Fisch makes $7.5m this year. That's multiple (multiple) levels higher than Mora.

IIRC one of the reasons Mora took this role, although far from Sun Valley, is that he has kids/grandkids in NYC area? That is probably a factor in this.

Coaching college football is a 24/7/365 job in today's era, so there really isn't a point being closer to Sun Valley for him, especially if he is going to a "bigger" job -- he simply won't have the time to get out there anyways. If, for some reason, that is a factor, there still really aren't gigs for him. Mora makes ~$2.2m:

Lateral at Best (so probably not worth it):
  • Oregon State $2m
  • Colorado State $2m
Will They Even Call (If Open)?
  • Boise $2m
  • UCLA $3.1m
  • UNLV $3.5m
  • Stanford (N/A but likely $3-4m+)
Honestly, Stanford is the most intriguing one for me. NFL guy running the show in Andrew Luck. Mora is a proven rebuilder and has experience coaching college ball in California. Plus it would be a very nice pay raise.

The other thing to look at with Mora is next year's team -- it's a mini-rebuild in a lot of ways. Yes, the foundation and culture is really strong -- and they have a lot more leverage to attract talent, but you still need to hit on at minimum a QB1 and WR1. You're losing two of the best players in the country. Going to be nearly impossible to replace to begin with, let alone hit on. So if I'm Mora, I would view this as the offseason to leave. I do think if he stays this cycle and granted things don't go south fast, this will be his last coaching gig.
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UW would want a bigger college name. Stanford is the opportunity that would scare me.
 
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businesslawyer said:
UW

UW would want a bigger college name. Stanford is the opportunity that would scare me.
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Stanford is the perfect fit. Checks all the boxes. As I’ve remarked he’s not winning any national championships and has a ceiling, but he’s an exceptionally good representative, does the right things and has done wonders for this program. It’s precisely why a Stanford would want him.
 
I have confidence in AD Dave. He will make sure we offer Mora a very competitive package to keep him at UConn. If that works, great! If not, AD Dave will have the money and backing to land a good coach - thanks to Mora's outstanding work resurrecting the program.
 
giddyup said:
Stanford is the perfect fit. Checks all the boxes. As I’ve remarked he’s not winning any national championships and has a ceiling, but he’s an exceptionally good representative, does the right things and has done wonders for this program. It’s precisely why a Stanford would want him.
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I think Stanford would be a good fit if it was the old PAC10/12. Stanford in the ACC is a different story. The travel is awful. I know its just a handful of games each year…but it’s a competitive disadvantage.
 
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HuskyAlum012 said:
I think Penn St fans would riot if they hired Jim Mora. Not that I agree, but their fanbase thinks they have a top 5 job in the sport (FYI, they dont).
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Just curious where you think Penn St falls in the hierarchy. I've been to State College when every person in the Stadium is on their feet chanting "We are Penn St", people show up on Wednesday in their RV's to set up for tailgating, its isolation makes it "different", they have plenty of money. Win there and you are a God. Michigan, Ohio St, Alabama, where else do you think there is a better situation? Florida should be, Georgia maybe??
 
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