Dom Amore: Like father, like son, both knew UConn football was a challenge Jim Mora couldn’t resist

[huskymedic]

-> Where some see only obstacles, a no-win situation, Jim Mora saw an opportunity. And so did his dad.

“He called me last Tuesday or Wednesday,” the new UConn coach football said Sunday in an empty XL Center hours before the women’s basketball opener, “and he said, ‘You know, I’ve been thinking. You’ve got to take that job. Guys like me and you, we’re bleepin’ competitors. We’ve got to bleepin’ compete.’ And he doesn’t usually cuss like that, especially to me.

“He doesn’t throw F-bombs around, and he goes, ‘This is what makes us who we are. You’ve got to go take that job.’ That fired me up.’” <-

-> “You’ll see a guy that really likes to coach,” his father said, “that really likes being around college athletes and football players, and they will like him and respect him. He’s tough on his players. He runs a tough program, a disciplined program, but he will do things within the community to let people know him. He’ll be tough on the players, and I’m glad he will be. You’ve got to be. You can’t be Mr. Buddy-Buddy, but he’ll show a love for them, a concern for them.” <-


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[uconnfan68]

Home run.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

This just feels different....this feels like real change. Good change. It feels like we have a real coach who will make a difference with the program. A confident, established, successful coach who isn't doing this just for a paycheck...but he sees this as a place where he can make a difference and be successful. I honestly think he could have coached elsewhere... probably for more money...probably in P5...but the UConn opportunity was the right fit for him. No one else wanted PP or RE2. Diaco wanted to be here, but couldn't do the job. Hopefully Mora wants to be here AND he can do the job.

I may be drinking the Kool aid....but I love his hire more every day.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Sounds like a football version of Danny Hurley.

That seems to be going OK so far.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

Like Mora Sr's assessment of the team: "the defense is respectable, the offense is bad, real bad". He sure didn't minced his words . He did told his son this is 3rd youngest team in the country so he got some pieces to work with. The first job is to keep all the guys you want to keep on the current team, and go from there.

This feels like a good hire, and a real good fit for a coach at right stage of his career and life. He won't get the ridiculous unrealistic pressure he had at UCLA, and he will be much appreciated if he can get us to 8-4 with the schedules we got in the coming years.

 

[Kolumbo]

This just feels different....this feels like real change. Good change. It feels like we have a real coach who will make a difference with the program. A confident, established, successful coach who isn't doing this just for a paycheck...but he sees this as a place where he can make a difference and be successful. I honestly think he could have coached elsewhere... probably for more money...probably in P5...but the UConn opportunity was the right fit for him. No one else wanted PP or RE2. Diaco wanted to be here, but couldn't do the job. Hopefully Mora wants to be here AND he can do the job.

I may be drinking the Kool aid....but I love his hire more every day.

I'm drunk on the kool aid. Either we are right and this guy is going to bring a monumental change to the program, or they are right and he is just here for the paycheck. Jim Mora, 60, the new 40, with his years experience in the NFL and NCAA, is not simply looking for a paycheck. I believe he is here for the challenge because that's what guys like him do.

 

[Kolumbo]

 

[UC1995]

This just feels different... He seems like a coach who knows what needs to get done but isn't afraid to not stick to what he has done in the past. The fact he has mentioned the transfer portal a million times is all I needed to hear. Edsall died on that hill of no transfers and it set this program back years.

 

[noeynox]

This just feels different... He seems like a coach who knows what needs to get done but isn't afraid to not stick to what he has done in the past. The fact he has mentioned the transfer portal a million times is all I needed to hear. Edsall died on that hill of no transfers and it set this program back years.

Love the profile pic. The university needs to incorporate that into a commercial somehow.

 

[HCCForever]

I'm drunk on the kool aid. Either we are right and this guy is going to bring a monumental change to the program, or they are right and he is just here for the paycheck. Jim Mora, 60, the new 40, with his years experience in the NFL and NCAA, is not simply looking for a paycheck. I believe he is here for the challenge because that's what guys like him do.

I too am drunk on the kool aid. During the Doug Gottlieb interview, Mora mentioned how fortunate he is to be able to learn from Geno. Doug mentioned that Danny would be a good source of information as well. Mora also mentioned that sometimes coaches can become too full of themselves and don't learn from their mistakes. I believe that Mora has learnt from any mistakes he made at UCLA and is open to any learning opportunities at UConn from Geno, Danny, Penders and anyone else. At UCLA, the campus was an hour away from the Rose Bowl so he understands the challenges of getting students to games as well. Granted, I am an optimistic person but I like what I have seen so far. See you at UCF.

 

[BugsyCT]

I'm being cautiously optimistic.

We've been through too many coaches offering hope & promising expectations and then left us with soul-crushing disappointments, frustration & apathy to go through this yet again. We've been at rock bottom for too dang long. I gotta see results on the field first before buying all in.

That being said, I'm happy with the hire and think DB made a good choice with this. Now let's see what Mora can do here.

 

[Waquoit]

This feels like a good hire, and a real good fit for a coach at right stage of his career and life.

That's what has me so excited, the "real good fit for a coach at right stage of his career and life". That's huge. I think we have someone who's all-in and knows what he's doing.

 

[DoctorWho85]

That's it. I'm all in. Even his dad is all in on him coming here. 14-0 next year.

 

[RioDog]

My wife just started a new job that's a great fit for he skill sets, a better work culture after a few horror shows at previous companies, and has increased her income by 30%. She comes home every day with a look of combined joy, apprehension, and disbelief like "Is this real? when will I wake up from the dream?" I kinda feel like that about the Mora hire. I think I'm as jacked by DB's process through this hire as I am about FHCJM's apparent qualities. The latter bodes well for the future of UConn football; the former bodes well for the future of UConn athletics.