Jim Mora FIU Postgame Presser

[Bongo Fury]

Somehow I think I missed the explanation of how Charlton was hired by Mora. So he already knew him? He was recommended by a respected friend? He found him on Indeed?
You think it’s the talent on Alabama or Miss St that has them struggling? No, it’s Tommy Rees the new OC at AL and Kevin Barbay the new OC in Starkville. They’ve misused their talent and called head scratching plays. It happens. And it’s happening in Storrs.

I’m guessing Charlton was interested in the head coaching job? Harasymiak was a potential candidate at the time.

 

[Dizzy21]

Yeah, to me it seems he is not turning the Colorado program around as much as he is bringing his Prime Time act to Boulder. If he stays, Colorado benefits. If he brings the act somewhere else, who knows how Colorado will do afterward. It's just as easy to move out as it is to move in. I personally hated his process, sending scholarship student-athletes packing, but kudos to Colorado for getting Ws this year. Perhaps Act II will be something like, "I'm gonna take my talents to South Beach and join the U!" or Tallahassee.

Why would he want to leave? His sons are in a position to get drafted, after that he does not have to worry about them at all. Boulder is one of the best places in the country to live. With the amount of revenue he has brought it, Colorado will pay him. He is building a community and football culture in a place that was a huge challenge. He is out to prove that he is the best coach and doing that at Colorado is the perfect place because no one can say "oh, anyone could do it at Alabama or whatever place that has done it before". He is in a great spot to prove that he is the best, with all the resources he needs, in a place that has been historically difficult to do that.

 

[superjohn]

Agreed, but after watching Edsall not care - this is better.

I also believe that Mora knows what he is doing. So I don't think he is going to sit by and watch this thing go back into a ditch. So I'm going to stop obsessing and just let him do his thing.

It's already in a ditch. I like the guy but if he truly knew what he was doing they probably wouldn't be in said ditch.

Again, I like him and give him the benefit of the doubt but he's led the hype train and the fans have been singing his praises and were hyped up for this season. It's a dud and that falls on Mora, Charlton is really bad as an OC and that falls on Mora.

I agree with you about not obsessing over UConn football.

 

[superjohn]

Why would he want to leave? His sons are in a position to get drafted, after that he does not have to worry about them at all. Boulder is one of the best places in the country to live. With the amount of revenue he has brought it, Colorado will pay him. He is building a community and football culture in a place that was a huge challenge. He is out to prove that he is the best coach and doing that at Colorado is the perfect place because no one can say "oh, anyone could do it at Alabama or whatever place that has done it before". He is in a great spot to prove that he is the best, with all the resources he needs, in a place that has been historically difficult to do that.

It has been done at Colorado before.

I agree with you that there's no reason for him to leave.

 

[Dizzy21]

It has been done at Colorado before.

I agree with you that there's no reason for him to leave.

Yeah, I know it technically was done before. But I am referring to BCS and CFP era where things are perhaps a bit less ambiguous and the top two teams are intended top teams are at least intended to play each other. I suppose regardless, currently it isn't a job where recruiting is easy because of the school, but rather you have to do something special.

 

[HCCForever]

It's already in a ditch. I like the guy but if he truly knew what he was doing they probably wouldn't be in said ditch.

Again, I like him and give him the benefit of the doubt but he's led the hype train and the fans have been singing his praises and were hyped up for this season. It's a dud and that falls on Mora, Charlton is really bad as an OC and that falls on Mora.

I agree with you about not obsessing over UConn football.

Criticism of an OC can happen anywhere. Alabama fans are criticizing Tommy Rees after their "disastrous" start. Most football experts think that Saban know what he is doing.

 

[Marbles90]

Criticism of an OC can happen anywhere. Alabama fans are criticizing Tommy Rees after their "disastrous" start. Most football experts think that Saban know what he is doing.

My 83 yr old father and 1961 Notre Dame grad went on and on about how awful Rees is as an OC. Once Kelly left (an offensive HC) and was replaced by Freeman (a defensive HC), Rees was exposed. My father did a happy dance when Rees went Alabama. Maybe my dad knows more than Sagan?

 

[Hogoff]

My 83 yr old father and 1961 Notre Dame grad went on and on about how awful Rees is as an OC. Once Kelly left (an offensive HC) and was replaced by Freeman (a defensive HC), Rees was exposed. My father did a happy dance when Rees went Alabama. Maybe my dad knows more than Sagan?

Maybe more than Saban, but not more the Sagan. That man was a genius.

 

[Marbles90]

Maybe more than Saban, but not more the Sagan. That man was a genius.

You are correct. He was a genius:

“Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.”

Great. I was already depressed after Saturday’s loss. Now I am not sure why we even bother caring about football. We are so insignificant...

 

[Kolumbo]

My 83 yr old father and 1961 Notre Dame grad went on and on about how awful Rees is as an OC. Once Kelly left (an offensive HC) and was replaced by Freeman (a defensive HC), Rees was exposed. My father did a happy dance when Rees went Alabama. Maybe my dad knows more than Sagan?

perhaps. but can he ride a no-handed wheelie up Alpe d'Huez?

 

[king conn]

You are correct. He was a genius:

“Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.”

Great. I was already depressed after Saturday’s loss. Now I am not sure why we even bother caring about football. We are so insignificant...

We are the only ones in tune with the universe so there's that

We have an insignificant football program

 

[UConnJim]

Why would he want to leave? His sons are in a position to get drafted, after that he does not have to worry about them at all. Boulder is one of the best places in the country to live. With the amount of revenue he has brought it, Colorado will pay him. He is building a community and football culture in a place that was a huge challenge. He is out to prove that he is the best coach and doing that at Colorado is the perfect place because no one can say "oh, anyone could do it at Alabama or whatever place that has done it before". He is in a great spot to prove that he is the best, with all the resources he needs, in a place that has been historically difficult to do that.

He won't jump for any job, but he would jump for some jobs. That said, would his personality work at many schools? Probably not. Colorado seems like a good fit because they were an after thought in football and willing to take a risk and they struck gold with the hiring of Prime.

 

[Hoophound]

He won't jump for any job, but he would jump for some jobs. That said, would his personality work at many schools? Probably not. Colorado seems like a good fit because they were an after thought in football and willing to take a risk and they struck gold with the hiring of Prime.

This. He can recruit anywhere. They’ll pay a shocking amount of money to retain him in Boulder. I don’t think there’s really a better job. Any job that will pay him is a great job. He can recruit everything he needs whether he’s at Colorado, Ohio St or LSU.

 

[SwingDog]

my heart is with coach Mora. This situation sucks, but I still am appreciative of him coming here at this point in our history. He didnt' need to, and UConn is a tough sell. As cheesy as it sounds, i hope we can support him. I'm fine with firing who needs to be fired otherwise.

also, though, as some others have pointed out, he is historically an average coach. Even so, he is by far the biggest name and best option this school could attach itself to, at this time. I never had illusions of having a cinderalla 13-0 season; Jim Mora's not that good. But I do think he can deliver respectability and a new "floor" of success, which I know is what so many of you have wanted. It's reasonable and not impossible.

Im a new fan so maybe my patience isn't yet tried like the Boneyard old guard, but I am sticking with coach JM for at least this year + 2-3 more to see what happens. That is... if he chooses to stay that long

I love all of what you said however I really feel Mora has a higher ceiling than his record suggests. He has a winning mindset and focus and has that championship spirit- and he relishes the challenge UConn represents. It's just something I see, feel, and and sense from him. There is a passion and commitment there that is undeniable. He's a student of the game, literally grew up on football, and I just believe he's the right man to bring this program to heights it has not yet seen.

 

[J187Money]

It's already in a ditch. I like the guy but if he truly knew what he was doing they probably wouldn't be in said ditch.

Again, I like him and give him the benefit of the doubt but he's led the hype train and the fans have been singing his praises and were hyped up for this season. It's a dud and that falls on Mora, Charlton is really bad as an OC and that falls on Mora.

I agree with you about not obsessing over UConn football.

We lost two games we were supposed to lose. We only looked bad in one of them. This week was bad - we were home, and favored. Clearly he made the wrong choice in Fagnano - but NONE of these QBs were locks. I'm not suggesting that we are in a good place, or that he isn't responsible. And it may be too late to do anything about it this season. But this was a team that was supposed to go 3-9 so I'm not freaking out like Bengals fans should be at 0-2 and Burrow playing like crap.

 

[UConnJim]

Clearly he made the wrong choice in Fagnano - but NONE of these QBs were locks.

In hindsight, Fagnano and Turner participated in Spring practice and Roberson did not. Roberson is coming off a major knee injury and to my eye, he does not seem to be 100% yet. And, before FIU, Roberson had not played a full football game since high school in 2018. So, I can see why they went with the more experienced and healthy Fagnano, but I agree that it didn't work out.

 

[J187Money]

In hindsight, Fagnano and Turner participated in Spring practice and Roberson did not. Roberson is coming off a major knee injury and to my eye, he does not seem to be 100% yet. And, before FIU, Roberson had not played a full football game since high school in 2018. So, I can see why they went with the more experienced and healthy Fagnano, but I agree that it didn't work out.

As the old saying goes - if you have more than 1 QB, you have none.

Turner might actually be the best in the scope of being competitive this year, even if he has a limited ceiling. Although that ship might have sailed. I was excited about Fagnano given the connection to Charlton, but that didn't work at all. At this point (if I had a time machine) I would go back to week 1 and play ZT.

 

[Hoophound]

As the old saying goes - if you have more than 1 QB, you have none.

Turner might actually be the best in the scope of being competitive this year, even if he has a limited ceiling. Although that ship might have sailed. I was excited about Fagnano given the connection to Charlton, but that didn't work at all. At this point (if I had a time machine) I would go back to week 1 and play ZT.

I’m dying to see Tucker McDonald take some snaps. The kid has a canon for an arm and by many accounts, regularly looks the best of all of them.

 

[Skies2018]

I’m dying to see Tucker McDonald take some snaps. The kid has a canon for an arm and by many accounts, regularly looks the best of all of them.

Why do you think they aren’t giving him a chance? They said they had a real QB competition this summer and I would assume he was a part of that. If he was clearly the best I don’t know why they wouldn’t have started him or placed him higher on the depth chart.

Not disagreeing with you just more curious on your thoughts.

 

[J187Money]

I’m dying to see Tucker McDonald take some snaps. The kid has a canon for an arm and by many accounts, regularly looks the best of all of them.

Maybe so - I don't follow recruiting really so I have no idea what this kid is about. I'm also not against playing him, I just didn't see any film on him so that's why I said what I said. Hard for me to believe a true freshman is going to be much better. But if he is - f it lets go!

 

[Hoophound]

Maybe so - I don't follow recruiting really so I have no idea what this kid is about. I'm also not against playing him, I just didn't see any film on him so that's why I said what I said. Hard for me to believe a true freshman is going to be much better. But if he is - f it lets go!

I’m not sure he would be better than Zion. My point is that, we seem to lack talent at QB. If McDonald is in fact the most talented, we should let him learn on the field. I have a big fear of sitting talented guys and trying to develop them in practice. The portal creates an easy opportunity for them to leave and go somewhere they’ll play. I think the days of developing players slowly are over. Especially, for guys with a lot of natural talent.

We threw Zion into the fire, why not take the opportunity to get a look at McDonald too. He’s got 4 games to play without losing his redshirt. We need to find a real QB. It’s pretty obvious we don’t have great options. Zion and Tucker must both be frustrated as hell sitting there watching this.

 

[Hoophound]

Why do you think they aren’t giving him a chance? They said they had a real QB competition this summer and I would assume he was a part of that. If he was clearly the best I don’t know why they wouldn’t have started him or placed him higher on the depth chart.

Not disagreeing with you just more curious on your thoughts.

I think it’s the old, “let’s develop him” strategy. Maybe he just isn’t good enough, I don’t know. All I know is that options 1 and 2 aren’t the answer. Last season, Zion was ok, but his reads were slow and his running it was meh. Might as well try the remaining guy for a little bit and see if we have something.