Mora Mid Season Grade

[ZooCougar]

We have three wins, and almost got our fourth last week. I think we have another win or two on the schedule.

The team has been decimated by injuries. We’ve won three games once in ten years.

I think Mora has exceeded expectations already and the season isn’t even over. This is a drastic improvement - anyone giving less than an A is lying to themselves.

I go A- to give room for improvement only because I forgot A+++ is a grade.

 

[Waquoit]

I'm sure all the coaches are going to start hiring bad DCs to coach their players throughout the preseason, install a bad defense and just before the season fire them and have to change the defense the first few weeks in order to get that positive advantage Mora did.

How much credit are you giving for all the good hires? None, it appears.

 

[Dizzy21]

How much credit are you giving for all the good hires? None, it appears.

I give him tons. Other defensive coaches appear to be heroes, offensive line coach is a miracle worker. Charlton needs to be seen with more talent, but has done some really good things and some not so great things. The comment was made that it was a positive and his grade should be higher because he lost his defensive coordinator a week before the season. By any account, Spanos lasting that long and being in that bad situation is Mora's fault and a negative, not a positive and recovering from said mistake did have some negative impacts on the team.

 

[Dizzy21]

It was more like Lou back as a last resort when he struck out on other candidates, BUT when it was apparent it was not going to work he sent him packing. That should be applauded .

He didn't even send him packing. Spanos is still a coach and being paid. If you went to work made a mistake and then fixed it in a way that was detrimental to your company, but favorable to your buddy, would they see that as a positive?

 

[Lippy1]

B ...a win last week the grade would be a A-

 

[gsmooth]

We have three wins, and almost got our fourth last week. I think we have another win or two on the schedule.

The team has been decimated by injuries. We’ve won three games once in ten years.

I think Mora has exceeded expectations already and the season isn’t even over. This is a drastic improvement - anyone giving less than an A is lying to themselves.

Exactly. Is Mora perfect? No. Will he make more mistakes in the future? Absolutely. But getting to 3 wins already with low rated 2nd and 3rd stringers at the offensive skill positions is a great accomplishment. They should be at 4 wins IMO-they should've beaten Ball State.

 

[Bongo Fury]

Exceeded my expectations. Honestly I was not up on his coaching career but enjoyed his interviews with Mark Packer. Seems to have taken a GM approach and is also the DC.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

B ...a win last week the grade would be a A-

On a “B” considering the FCS crap show he inherited???

 

[noeynox]

He didn't even send him packing. Spanos is still a coach and being paid. If you went to work made a mistake and then fixed it in a way that was detrimental to your company, but favorable to your buddy, would they see that as a positive?

Isn't it standard procedure to pay the coach that year's salary? Your reaching really hard to knock Mora.

 

[ZooCougar]

He didn't even send him packing. Spanos is still a coach and being paid. If you went to work made a mistake and then fixed it in a way that was detrimental to your company, but favorable to your buddy, would they see that as a positive?

Is that you Randy?

 

[DoctorWho85]

Brown should hire Whipple to run the offense.

Whipple was the best coach UMass had in the FBS. Easily. They were at least scoring

 

[Madmannsucks]

I don't care about the grade. This team is actually watchable again.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I don't have a problem with the grade. The team could have been a lot worse with a different coach, but it is still pretty bad.

Don't think of that B as a 2022 "everyone gets a trophy" caliber B. Think of it as a 1990's caliber B in an intro Calc or Chem weed out class to clear the decks of the jokers who thought they could be Engineering majors at UConn. These were the classes where 1/4 of the kids (and probably quite a few posters on this board) failed.

Mora's B is a solid B.

 

[Waquoit]

I don't have a problem with the grade. The team could have been a lot worse with a different coach, but it is still pretty bad.

Don't think of that B as a 2022 "everyone gets a trophy" caliber B. Think of it as a 1990's caliber B in an intro Calc or Chem weed out class to clear the decks of the jokers who thought they could be Engineering majors at UConn. These were the classes where 1/4 of the kids (and probably quite a few posters on this board) failed.

Mora's B is a solid B.

You know the team is on an upswing when muntz starts returning to form.

 

[businesslawyer]

Isn't it standard procedure to pay the coach that year's salary? Your reaching really hard to knock Mora.

This. Spanos had a one year contract. Not being a good coach, or not working well with a team, isn’t “cause” for early termination. Fired or on leave, Spanos was going to be paid for the season.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

It’s amazing how many people still think Lou was the 1st choice for DC.

Was he fired, or was it for personal reasons? I know he lives in South Carolina, so maybe it was a Family thing.

 

[BlueandOG]

Really all of this grading talk is kinda pointless without a rubric...

Love it! You must be a teacher. I totally agree with you...usually. In this case, Mora gets an A with a 1 (top score) for effort and a 1 for conduct. Plus, I want to have a conference with his parents to tell them how great he's doing.

 

[BlueMAB]

Was he fired, or was it for personal reasons? I know he lives in South Carolina, so maybe it was a Family thing.

Officially, he took a leave of absence. Unofficially, he was fired.

 

[BlueMAB]

By any account, Spanos lasting that long

This is the point you're missing.

Check the title of the thread:

"Mora Mid Season Grade".

The 2022-23 season if you're still unsure.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Officially, he took a leave of absence. Unofficially, he was fired.

I agree...this feels like what happened....but why didn't they just say he was fired? Was it out of respect for Spanos? And does this really show more respect for Spanos than just saying he had moved on?

It just seems odd. But... whatever. Should be interesting to see who they hire to replace him. It's pretty obvious that Mora has his hands all over the defense (which I am ok with), so I wouldn't be surprised if it's someone already on staff because they know it's going to be Mora's show.

Also...it will probably save a few bucks it they hire internal that we may need to keep Charlton. I know the offense has been spotty at best, but I think he has talent you want to keep happy. Plus being a former head coach allows Mora to trust him with managing that side of the ball.

 

[RioDog]

Love it! You must be a teacher. I totally agree with you...usually. In this case, Mora gets an A with a 1 (top score) for effort and a 1 for conduct. Plus, I want to have a conference with his parents to tell them how great he's doing.

Guilty. Was college faculty and loved it but sold out to the man so I have a chance of being able to afford to retire. Am a project manager now. Fun so far and WAY better money.

 

[Alum1620]

I agree...this feels like what happened....but why didn't they just say he was fired? Was it out of respect for Spanos? And does this really show more respect for Spanos than just saying he had moved on?

It just seems odd. But... whatever. Should be interesting to see who they hire to replace him. It's pretty obvious that Mora has his hands all over the defense (which I am ok with), so I wouldn't be surprised if it's someone already on staff because they know it's going to be Mora's show.

Also...it will probably save a few bucks it they hire internal that we may need to keep Charlton. I know the offense has been spotty at best, but I think he has talent you want to keep happy. Plus being a former head coach allows Mora to trust him with managing that side of the ball.

I think Mora even said that the offense has not been able to do some ideas due to the injury situation that has occur in the skill positions

 

[Kolumbo]

The Coleumn: The Revolution’s road ahead

I meant to write this Coleumn last week after the UConn Huskies football team came up short against the Ball State Cardinals 25-21 in Muncie, Indiana. But thanks to the bye week, there is still time to write my thoughts about the team thus far. Through this article, I want to focus on the game...

dailycampus.com

"The best place to start is by evaluating the team after eight games — UConn has exceeded my predictions. I expected approximately three to four wins, but a two-possession lead in the first quarter of the season as well as an upset win against the Fresno State Bulldogs earlier this month proved that the Huskies would be very different than they were in 2021. Because of that, I had high hopes that UConn would enter their bye at 4-4 and on a three-game winning streak. "

 

[noeynox]

I agree...this feels like what happened....but why didn't they just say he was fired? Was it out of respect for Spanos? And does this really show more respect for Spanos than just saying he had moved on?

It just seems odd. But... whatever. Should be interesting to see who they hire to replace him. It's pretty obvious that Mora has his hands all over the defense (which I am ok with), so I wouldn't be surprised if it's someone already on staff because they know it's going to be Mora's show.

Also...it will probably save a few bucks it they hire internal that we may need to keep Charlton. I know the offense has been spotty at best, but I think he has talent you want to keep happy. Plus being a former head coach allows Mora to trust him with managing that side of the ball.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's McClendon to be honest. He's very young but something about him. The unit has shown so much growth, and he replaced Dottin-Carter who I thought was the best coach of the previous staff by a lot.

 

[Kolumbo]

I can't understand why anyone would give Coach Mora less than an A. Is HC Don Brown so awful that he deserves an F, or is part of UMass's problem the roster? The Fresno State win alone lets HCJM ride the curve to an A. There is a buzz we haven't heard in a long time and there is only one reason for it.