The View From Section 241 -- Jim Mora

[businesslawyer]

At the Pru Center yesterday, someone asked whether I was going to ever expound upon my less than balloons and unicorns view of the Mora signing when it happened. So, burned out from work and with the Giants being destroyed, and with time having passed, I thought now was a good time to set forth my feelings on the hire.

1. Without any argument Jim Mora is not just the most accomplished football coach we have ever hired at UConn, but a far more accomplished football coach than anyone could have reasonably expected us to hire. I probably should have been prepared for the overwhelmingly favorable reaction that followed the hiring, whether I was ready to jump on the bandwagon or not. And, to the extent you can say an AD did a good job before seeing how it works out, I would absolutely say Benedict at the price he paid did a good job.

2. In the time since he's been here, we've seen some of the "general manager" type skills that everyone should have assumed an accomplished football coach like Mora would possess. The ability to deal with the media. The ability to get himself in the news by becoming the Governor's new "best friend." Putting a staff together. Establishing social media. No one should have doubted that a man as accomplished as Mora is shouldn't have been able to get high grades in all that, and he has gotten high grades. All good things.

3. Maybe there are some people who want to play competitive football again more than I do. Maybe there are some people who want to win more than I do. But in each case, there aren't many of them. I have put a lot of emotion and energy into this project and have sat through more than a decade of an unacceptable product. And half that time where just getting someone to go with me has become as difficult as winning football games. If Jim Mora makes us competitive again, I will be thrilled and no one has any right to doubt that.

4. By no means is this a bad hire. I would go so far as saying, based on my first point alone, this is a good hire and Benedict deserves credit for it. So, why am I still not thrilled, but cautiously wary? Why am I not jumping on the Boneyard bandwagon where every trivial tweet is met with praise like we just brought in Lou Saban or Urban Meyer? Because that is where I am today. The hiring took me by surprise, not just because we hired a more accomplished coach than we should have hoped for, but because for all his qualities Mora did not have either of the two qualities that I would have valued the most highly.

5. So what were the two qualities I would have wanted to see? One was the ability to recruit in the Northeast. I don't think our country is uniform in many respects at the moment, and I don't think selling west coast kids to play at UCLA bears a great resemblance to selling New Jersey and Pennsylvania kids to go to Storrs. Yes, some of the people skills are exactly the same, but I'm not sure that an understanding of what players and their coaches are looking for is the same. I hope to be 100% wrong on this. And while I won't pretend that every kid that signs means that Mora is a genius and we've turned the corner, like some of you, I also won't bash him in two months if we have a below average even for us class. Talk to me in 15 months and we can attempt to begin to judge him fairly. Same thing on the portal. Did HCRE not adjust to the new reality? Totally fair criticism, with which I fully agree. But are we getting players who couldn't make it at good P5 schools, or players from Delaware and the MAC? Again, I will give Mora time to rebuild our player pool, probably more than many of you expecting a quick and amazing turnaround. But will he be able to get us back to the players we were bringing in between 2005 and 2010? Don't know.

6. Second, Mora was never tasked with turning around a dumpster fire. UCLA was underperforming, and he did a good, solid job making it better, but it was not Cal or Oregon State either. Or Rutgers in the early 2000s. And in the NFL, everyone is pulled to average over time. There really isn't a comparable situation to what he faces here. We are a dumpster fire. I would have taken a coach who turned around a dumpster fire from nothing. Like coaches at JMU, or Coastal Carolina, or as someone here wanted, Kent State.

7. Those were the two things I was looking for. What I was given, instead, is a more accomplished coach than I could have hoped for, but without my two key qualities. No doubt, Mora will be far better than what I wanted at tons of soft skills. But winning tweets, while a good thing and something that can, indirectly, over time, help with the key things, is not directly related to getting better players to come to this dumpster fire in New England or coaching seasons and games. I fully hope that in three years it will be clear that I was just beaten down by the years of losing and will be too conservative on this hire. And people like Pudge, whose judgment I respect, will be right with their optimism. And again, I'm not in any way against this hire. But I would have gone in a different direction. And while I'm not always right, I normally assume I am because my track record isn't bad. (Well, and because I think highly of myself but that's another matter entirely.)

So we'll see. I will not constantly go forward throwing rain on the parade some of you have joined. I have said my piece and will now root for him and the team the same way I would have if they hired based on my two criteria and will be more than fair to him. And hopefully some of you will forgive me that I don't throw my panties at the guy every time he posts something on social media or we get a recruit that isn't any different than the types we've been getting anyway. Enjoy the end of your weekend.
.

 

[uconnfan68]

At the Pru Center yesterday, someone asked whether I was going to ever expound upon my less than balloons and unicorns view of the Mora signing when it happened. So, burned out from work and with the Giants being destroyed, and with time having passed, I thought now was a good time to set forth my feelings on the hire.

1. Without any argument Jim Mora is not just the most accomplished football coach we have ever hired at UConn, but a far more accomplished football coach than anyone could have reasonably expected us to hire. I probably should have been prepared for the overwhelmingly favorable reaction that followed the hiring, whether I was ready to jump on the bandwagon or not. And, to the extent you can say an AD did a good job before seeing how it works out, I would absolutely say Benedict at the price he paid did a good job.

2. In the time since he's been here, we've seen some of the "general manager" type skills that everyone should have assumed an accomplished football coach like Mora would possess. The ability to deal with the media. The ability to get himself in the news by becoming the Governor's new "best friend." Putting a staff together. Establishing social media. No one should have doubted that a man as accomplished as Mora is shouldn't have been able to get high grades in all that, and he has gotten high grades. All good things.

3. Maybe there are some people who want to play competitive football again more than I do. Maybe there are some people who want to win more than I do. But in each case, there aren't many of them. I have put a lot of emotion and energy into this project and have sat through more than a decade of an unacceptable product. And half that time where just getting someone to go with me has become as difficult as winning football games. If Jim Mora makes us competitive again, I will be thrilled and no one has any right to doubt that.

4. By no means is this a bad hire. I would go so far as saying, based on my first point alone, this is a good hire and Benedict deserves credit for it. So, why am I still not thrilled, but cautiously wary? Why am I not jumping on the Boneyard bandwagon where every trivial tweet is met with praise like we just brought in Lou Saban or Urban Meyer? Because that is where I am today. The hiring took me by surprise, not just because we hired a more accomplished coach than we should have hoped for, but because for all his qualities Mora did not have either of the two qualities that I would have valued the most highly.

5. So what were the two qualities I would have wanted to see? One was the ability to recruit in the Northeast. I don't think our country is uniform in many respects at the moment, and I don't think selling west coast kids to play at UCLA bears a great resemblance to selling New Jersey and Pennsylvania kids to go to Storrs. Yes, some of the people skills are exactly the same, but I'm not sure that an understanding of what players and their coaches are looking for is the same. I hope to be 100% wrong on this. And while I won't pretend that every kid that signs means that Mora is a genius and we've turned the corner, like some of you, I also won't bash him in two months if we have a below average even for us class. Talk to me in 15 months and we can attempt to begin to judge him fairly. Same thing on the portal. Did HCRE not adjust to the new reality? Totally fair criticism, with which I fully agree. But are we getting players who couldn't make it at good P5 schools, or players from Delaware and the MAC? Again, I will give Mora time to rebuild our player pool, probably more than many of you expecting a quick and amazing turnaround. But will he be able to get us back to the players we were bringing in between 2005 and 2010? Don't know.

6. Second, Mora was never tasked with turning around a dumpster fire. UCLA was underperforming, and he did a good, solid job making it better, but it was not Cal or Oregon State either. Or Rutgers in the early 2000s. And in the NFL, everyone is pulled to average over time. There really isn't a comparable situation to what he faces here. We are a dumpster fire. I would have taken a coach who turned around a dumpster fire from nothing. Like coaches at JMU, or Coastal Carolina, or as someone here wanted, Kent State.

7. Those were the two things I was looking for. What I was given, instead, is a more accomplished coach than I could have hoped for, but without my two key qualities. No doubt, Mora will be far better than what I wanted at tons of soft skills. But winning tweets, while a good thing and something that can, indirectly, over time, help with the key things, is not directly related to getting better players to come to this dumpster fire in New England or coaching seasons and games. I fully hope that in three years it will be clear that I was just beaten down by the years of losing and will be too conservative on this hire. And people like Pudge, whose judgment I respect, will be right with their optimism. And again, I'm not in any way against this hire. But I would have gone in a different direction. And while I'm not always right, I normally assume I am because my track record isn't bad. (Well, and because I think highly of myself but that's another matter entirely.)

So we'll see. I will not constantly go forward throwing rain on the parade some of you have joined. I have said my piece and will now root for him and the team the same way I would have if they hired based on my two criteria and will be more than fair to him. And hopefully some of you will forgive me that I don't throw my panties at the guy every time he posts something on social media or we get a recruit that isn't any different than the types we've been getting anyway. Enjoy the end of your weekend.
.

The last thing we want is for you to be throwing your panties at anyone, anytime.

 

[businesslawyer]

The last thing we want is for you to be throwing your panties at anyone, anytime.

That's fair. LOL.

 

[Pudge]

BULLETPOINTS

Mora gets how good UCONN is as a Public University. He was at the #1 Public University - UCLA ... and I think he has drilled right into what the parents of the recruiting needs to hear. WE are going to be a solid football Program. And we have everything for the academic need of that kid. Thus: Choate & Loomis Chaffee & AOF & Cheshire. We stand firm and sell football with a path to degrees that are meaningful to our blossoming Prep neighborhood.

In Process on Staff. But I am not handwringing. He is not going to scraping to get the DC or last few pieces. He is networked and has a Plan. Exhibit A is Charlton. That one is researched and vetted. It is obvious he has a regional buzz. Marinelli gets us a lot; Barthel/Hilliard are 2 solid youthful hunter gatherers.

The Fairfield County targeting into Westchester feels novel. It just is the right guy and energy devoted to where it should be.

The Guys. I look over the Roster and still see Kevon Jones, Lwal Uguak, Ian Swenson, Jackson Mitchell, lots of DBs, Cam Ross - Keelan Marion - Kevin Clercius - Matt Drayton. I think we actually have the guys I would have really gone to sell them on Mora; and they are in. (don't jinx it bud) Good RBs will be there.

We are going to get a Veteran QB. There are just too many options not to pluck one ... and that's on Charlton/Mora. Pick the right one and we are good for 1 or 2 years at the most important position. Phommachanh is gonna be a great piece; glad that Krajewski is still on roster. We are going to get a solid QB as a newby FR. I think that Hugh Millen's kids - either Clay or Cade - may be here in EH; it is on Mora - he is that tight with the father. The older one was a State record holder and Oregon top prospect (who washed out). And I bet we have our choice of a handful of other QBs who are just out of HS.

OLine? I think it was Edsall (ooops ... but I think I was right) who said that he loved intelligent OLinemen. And yes - All Ivy qualified 4 year degrees are interesting. Can they play our level? We know they can. We have seen this enough.

I think what we are all feeling ... it's like we went away for a few months and someone did an amazing cleaning job and painted the place. We are amazed at the bright shiny look. I feel ... many of us are gonna spend our Xmas money on next years schedule's season tickets.

 

[huskysupporter]

Very fair and I am pretty much with you on every point.

Hoping for the best.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

BL, how are things going my friend?

I will start by repeating what I told my son when he asked my opinion if the Mora hire: "It was a far bigger splash than I ever expected. Time will tell if it ends up being a good hire".

I won't question anyone who is hesitant to claim this is a great move. We've been beaten so thoroughly for such an extended time as a fan base, it would be ludicrous to expect joy from those of us who have endured this solely because of a few headlines. Any one of us has the right to say "prove it".

Mora has done quite a bit more for morale than I ever could have expected. I personally believe that he has higher aspirations for the program than any of his predecessors. That said, until he wins the jury will be out.

I am cautiously optimistic but find myself lagging far behind many here in terms of enthusiasm and a bit ahead of a few. I try to bite my tongue here but I am very concerned about the importance we are allegedly putting into in state recruiting. Yes, it will benefit the program to have a positive relationship with in state high school coaches but there is far too little talent here to impact a roster of ~100 players, with all but about 16 on scholarship. I truly hope that this is far more of a political move than Mora is claiming.

 

[businesslawyer]

BULLETPOINTS

Mora gets how good UCONN is as a Public University. He was at the #1 Public University - UCLA ... and I think he has drilled right into what the parents of the recruiting needs to hear. WE are going to be a solid football Program. And we have everything for the academic need of that kid. Thus: Choate & Loomis Chaffee & AOF & Cheshire. We stand firm and sell football with a path to degrees that are meaningful to our blossoming Prep neighborhood.

In Process on Staff. But I am not handwringing. He is not going to scraping to get the DC or last few pieces. He is networked and has a Plan. Exhibit A is Charlton. That one is researched and vetted. It is obvious he has a regional buzz. Marinelli gets us a lot; Barthel/Hilliard are 2 solid youthful hunter gatherers.

The Fairfield County targeting into Westchester feels novel. It just is the right guy and energy devoted to where it should be.

The Guys. I look over the Roster and still see Kevon Jones, Lwal Uguak, Ian Swenson, Jackson Mitchell, lots of DBs, Cam Ross - Keelan Marion - Kevin Clercius - Matt Drayton. I think we actually have the guys I would have really gone to sell them on Mora; and they are in. (don't jinx it bud) Good RBs will be there.

We are going to get a Veteran QB. There are just too many options not to pluck one ... and that's on Charlton/Mora. Pick the right one and we are good for 1 or 2 years at the most important position. Phommachanh is gonna be a great piece; glad that Krajewski is still on roster. We are going to get a solid QB as a newby FR. I think that Hugh Millen's kids - either Clay or Cade - may be here in EH; it is on Mora - he is that tight with the father. The older one was a State record holder and Oregon top prospect (who washed out). And I bet we have our choice of a handful of other QBs who are just out of HS.

OLine? I think it was Edsall (ooops ... but I think I was right) who said that he loved intelligent OLinemen. And yes - All Ivy qualified 4 year degrees are interesting. Can they play our level? We know they can. We have seen this enough.

I think what we are all feeling ... it's like we went away for a few months and someone did an amazing cleaning job and painted the place. We are amazed at the bright shiny look. I feel ... many of us are gonna spend our Xmas money on next years schedule's season tickets.

My friend, I fully agree with every fact you've laid out. As to your opinions/predictions/expectations, we'll see. But where we differ -- maybe where I differ with tons here -- is I'm beyond being placated or excited by shiny paint. Nothing short of wins will do it for me. I will be fair waiting for better football and wins -- my immediate expectations for next year are far less than what many are hoping for -- but I will be waiting for better football and wins. I was happy with the Diaco hire at the time and with Edsall 2. Now it will take better football.

 

[Waquoit]

The last thing we want is for you to be throwing your panties at anyone, anytime.

And the answer to the obvious question is: since his wife found a pair in the glove compartment.

 

[hardcorehusky]

While I am excited for Mora, the 3 things where he will make the most impact will take time.
I am concerned about recruiting thus far. I don't see a bump in the type of kids RE had comitted in this class.
(1) However, I think where he will "make his money" is in the transfer portal. But the staff won't prioritize that until after this first signing period. So we wait.

The second area is coaching. I truly believe our OL, RB and QB coach as well as OC were well below standard. I expect the bump in coaching will make a huge difference on existing personnel. But we won't see that until we start playing next year.

The 3rd area of improvement is that the young pups who will be coached better will also be a little bit older. That is huge as we can't be one of the youngest teams in FBS once again.

 

[Waquoit]

5. So what were the two qualities I would have wanted to see? One was the ability to recruit in the Northeast.

Hasn't he already shown he has a plan for that? He has commits from NE kids already.

I don't agree with you but credit must be given for putting your stand in writing.

 

[Palatine]

First how can point 6 be second?

I was thrilled we hired a true professional. That said, I'm well past anything but wins on the football. The rest is meaningless.

 

[Kolumbo]

At the Pru Center yesterday, someone asked whether I was going to ever expound upon my less than balloons and unicorns view of the Mora signing when it happened. So, burned out from work and with the Giants being destroyed, and with time having passed, I thought now was a good time to set forth my feelings on the hire.

1. Without any argument Jim Mora is not just the most accomplished football coach we have ever hired at UConn, but a far more accomplished football coach than anyone could have reasonably expected us to hire. I probably should have been prepared for the overwhelmingly favorable reaction that followed the hiring, whether I was ready to jump on the bandwagon or not. And, to the extent you can say an AD did a good job before seeing how it works out, I would absolutely say Benedict at the price he paid did a good job.

2. In the time since he's been here, we've seen some of the "general manager" type skills that everyone should have assumed an accomplished football coach like Mora would possess. The ability to deal with the media. The ability to get himself in the news by becoming the Governor's new "best friend." Putting a staff together. Establishing social media. No one should have doubted that a man as accomplished as Mora is shouldn't have been able to get high grades in all that, and he has gotten high grades. All good things.

3. Maybe there are some people who want to play competitive football again more than I do. Maybe there are some people who want to win more than I do. But in each case, there aren't many of them. I have put a lot of emotion and energy into this project and have sat through more than a decade of an unacceptable product. And half that time where just getting someone to go with me has become as difficult as winning football games. If Jim Mora makes us competitive again, I will be thrilled and no one has any right to doubt that.

4. By no means is this a bad hire. I would go so far as saying, based on my first point alone, this is a good hire and Benedict deserves credit for it. So, why am I still not thrilled, but cautiously wary? Why am I not jumping on the Boneyard bandwagon where every trivial tweet is met with praise like we just brought in Lou Saban or Urban Meyer? Because that is where I am today. The hiring took me by surprise, not just because we hired a more accomplished coach than we should have hoped for, but because for all his qualities Mora did not have either of the two qualities that I would have valued the most highly.

5. So what were the two qualities I would have wanted to see? One was the ability to recruit in the Northeast. I don't think our country is uniform in many respects at the moment, and I don't think selling west coast kids to play at UCLA bears a great resemblance to selling New Jersey and Pennsylvania kids to go to Storrs. Yes, some of the people skills are exactly the same, but I'm not sure that an understanding of what players and their coaches are looking for is the same. I hope to be 100% wrong on this. And while I won't pretend that every kid that signs means that Mora is a genius and we've turned the corner, like some of you, I also won't bash him in two months if we have a below average even for us class. Talk to me in 15 months and we can attempt to begin to judge him fairly. Same thing on the portal. Did HCRE not adjust to the new reality? Totally fair criticism, with which I fully agree. But are we getting players who couldn't make it at good P5 schools, or players from Delaware and the MAC? Again, I will give Mora time to rebuild our player pool, probably more than many of you expecting a quick and amazing turnaround. But will he be able to get us back to the players we were bringing in between 2005 and 2010? Don't know.

6. Second, Mora was never tasked with turning around a dumpster fire. UCLA was underperforming, and he did a good, solid job making it better, but it was not Cal or Oregon State either. Or Rutgers in the early 2000s. And in the NFL, everyone is pulled to average over time. There really isn't a comparable situation to what he faces here. We are a dumpster fire. I would have taken a coach who turned around a dumpster fire from nothing. Like coaches at JMU, or Coastal Carolina, or as someone here wanted, Kent State.

7. Those were the two things I was looking for. What I was given, instead, is a more accomplished coach than I could have hoped for, but without my two key qualities. No doubt, Mora will be far better than what I wanted at tons of soft skills. But winning tweets, while a good thing and something that can, indirectly, over time, help with the key things, is not directly related to getting better players to come to this dumpster fire in New England or coaching seasons and games. I fully hope that in three years it will be clear that I was just beaten down by the years of losing and will be too conservative on this hire. And people like Pudge, whose judgment I respect, will be right with their optimism. And again, I'm not in any way against this hire. But I would have gone in a different direction. And while I'm not always right, I normally assume I am because my track record isn't bad. (Well, and because I think highly of myself but that's another matter entirely.)

So we'll see. I will not constantly go forward throwing rain on the parade some of you have joined. I have said my piece and will now root for him and the team the same way I would have if they hired based on my two criteria and will be more than fair to him. And hopefully some of you will forgive me that I don't throw my panties at the guy every time he posts something on social media or we get a recruit that isn't any different than the types we've been getting anyway. Enjoy the end of your weekend.
.

All fair points. To your two key qualities. I don't think anyone can be pegged to have those qualities. It is certainly going to take someone with experience and a certain persona. So far I like what I see and yes, time will tell. It is going to be an entire team effort so his coaches are going to be just as important as he is.

 

[Waquoit]

First how can point 6 be second?

It's really 5a. It's the second quality he wanted to see.

 

[businesslawyer]

BL, how are things going my friend?

I will start by repeating what I told my son when he asked my opinion if the Mora hire: "It was a far bigger splash than I ever expected. Time will tell if it ends up being a good hire".

I won't question anyone who is hesitant to claim this is a great move. We've been beaten so thoroughly for such an extended time as a fan base, it would be ludicrous to expect joy from those of us who have endured this solely because of a few headlines. Any one of us has the right to say "prove it".

Mora has done quite a bit more for morale than I ever could have expected. I personally believe that he has higher aspirations for the program than any of his predecessors. That said, until he wins the jury will be out.

I am cautiously optimistic but find myself lagging far behind many here in terms of enthusiasm and a bit ahead of a few. I try to bite my tongue here but I am very concerned about the importance we are allegedly putting into in state recruiting. Yes, it will benefit the program to have a positive relationship with in state high school coaches but there is far too little talent here to impact a roster of ~100 players, with all but about 16 on scholarship. I truly hope that this is far more of a political move than Mora is claiming.

Also a well balanced take. Happy Holidays.

 

[businesslawyer]

First how can point 6 be second?

LMAO. Well played!!!!!

 

[businesslawyer]

Hasn't he already shown he has a plan for that? He has commits from NE kids already.

I don't agree with you but credit must be given for putting your stand in writing.

But those aren't kids who, on paper, are any different than the kids we were getting. But again, on recruiting, I'm not willing to say or judge anything negative on this year's class. He's coming in and doing the best he can.

If I remember correctly, happy holidays to you and your wife and I wish our program was good enough that instead of the season being over we were all back in a Toronto steakhouse playing wingman for Pudge again and waiting for the next day's Bowl. I never thought at the time that period would be so fleeting.

 

[CL82]

TL;DR:
Biz would have restricted gotten a coach from JMU or Costal Carolina.

Okay then.

 

[mikedog10]

If I remember correctly, happy holidays to you and your wife and I wish our program was good enough that instead of the season being over we were all back in a Toronto steakhouse playing wingman for Pudge again and waiting for the next day's Bowl. I never thought at the time that period would be so fleeting.

The International Bowl was an awesome time.

 

[RSTuthill]

At the Pru Center yesterday, someone asked whether I was going to ever expound upon my less than balloons and unicorns view of the Mora signing when it happened. So, burned out from work and with the Giants being destroyed, and with time having passed, I thought now was a good time to set forth my feelings on the hire.

1. Without any argument Jim Mora is not just the most accomplished football coach we have ever hired at UConn, but a far more accomplished football coach than anyone could have reasonably expected us to hire. I probably should have been prepared for the overwhelmingly favorable reaction that followed the hiring, whether I was ready to jump on the bandwagon or not. And, to the extent you can say an AD did a good job before seeing how it works out, I would absolutely say Benedict at the price he paid did a good job.

2. In the time since he's been here, we've seen some of the "general manager" type skills that everyone should have assumed an accomplished football coach like Mora would possess. The ability to deal with the media. The ability to get himself in the news by becoming the Governor's new "best friend." Putting a staff together. Establishing social media. No one should have doubted that a man as accomplished as Mora is shouldn't have been able to get high grades in all that, and he has gotten high grades. All good things.

3. Maybe there are some people who want to play competitive football again more than I do. Maybe there are some people who want to win more than I do. But in each case, there aren't many of them. I have put a lot of emotion and energy into this project and have sat through more than a decade of an unacceptable product. And half that time where just getting someone to go with me has become as difficult as winning football games. If Jim Mora makes us competitive again, I will be thrilled and no one has any right to doubt that.

4. By no means is this a bad hire. I would go so far as saying, based on my first point alone, this is a good hire and Benedict deserves credit for it. So, why am I still not thrilled, but cautiously wary? Why am I not jumping on the Boneyard bandwagon where every trivial tweet is met with praise like we just brought in Lou Saban or Urban Meyer? Because that is where I am today. The hiring took me by surprise, not just because we hired a more accomplished coach than we should have hoped for, but because for all his qualities Mora did not have either of the two qualities that I would have valued the most highly.

5. So what were the two qualities I would have wanted to see? One was the ability to recruit in the Northeast. I don't think our country is uniform in many respects at the moment, and I don't think selling west coast kids to play at UCLA bears a great resemblance to selling New Jersey and Pennsylvania kids to go to Storrs. Yes, some of the people skills are exactly the same, but I'm not sure that an understanding of what players and their coaches are looking for is the same. I hope to be 100% wrong on this. And while I won't pretend that every kid that signs means that Mora is a genius and we've turned the corner, like some of you, I also won't bash him in two months if we have a below average even for us class. Talk to me in 15 months and we can attempt to begin to judge him fairly. Same thing on the portal. Did HCRE not adjust to the new reality? Totally fair criticism, with which I fully agree. But are we getting players who couldn't make it at good P5 schools, or players from Delaware and the MAC? Again, I will give Mora time to rebuild our player pool, probably more than many of you expecting a quick and amazing turnaround. But will he be able to get us back to the players we were bringing in between 2005 and 2010? Don't know.

6. Second, Mora was never tasked with turning around a dumpster fire. UCLA was underperforming, and he did a good, solid job making it better, but it was not Cal or Oregon State either. Or Rutgers in the early 2000s. And in the NFL, everyone is pulled to average over time. There really isn't a comparable situation to what he faces here. We are a dumpster fire. I would have taken a coach who turned around a dumpster fire from nothing. Like coaches at JMU, or Coastal Carolina, or as someone here wanted, Kent State.

7. Those were the two things I was looking for. What I was given, instead, is a more accomplished coach than I could have hoped for, but without my two key qualities. No doubt, Mora will be far better than what I wanted at tons of soft skills. But winning tweets, while a good thing and something that can, indirectly, over time, help with the key things, is not directly related to getting better players to come to this dumpster fire in New England or coaching seasons and games. I fully hope that in three years it will be clear that I was just beaten down by the years of losing and will be too conservative on this hire. And people like Pudge, whose judgment I respect, will be right with their optimism. And again, I'm not in any way against this hire. But I would have gone in a different direction. And while I'm not always right, I normally assume I am because my track record isn't bad. (Well, and because I think highly of myself but that's another matter entirely.)

So we'll see. I will not constantly go forward throwing rain on the parade some of you have joined. I have said my piece and will now root for him and the team the same way I would have if they hired based on my two criteria and will be more than fair to him. And hopefully some of you will forgive me that I don't throw my panties at the guy every time he posts something on social media or we get a recruit that isn't any different than the types we've been getting anyway. Enjoy the end of your weekend.
.

Exactly where I am with perhaps a slight change in emphasis on a couple of points.

But I would add one other thing which you touched on obliquely. Since 2010, the realignments have followed each other one after another. So have rules changes like the portal and NIL. With hugely enhanced mobility now available to the players, heightened by the NIL change, it is not clear that a university without a lucrative conference connection will be able to compete. A lot of structural things have happened during the last decade that may make it impossible.

So that is why I am also wary although that is not quite how I would put it. Rather I find myself consciously trying to curb my enthusiasm. Take a step back and see what happens when almost everyone else is gushing like it is the start of the season when the BY poll responses show a majority think UConn will win at least six. Well, lets see. Unless the results are immediately spectacular, it will probably take five years to get to a winning record. If it doesn't, then that simply means that the landscape of CFB has changed even more than we thought. And there is a definite possibility that UConn might not get there.

See y'all at the blue-white game unless it is cancelled again.

 

[uconndogs]

It's been a brutal run, so caution if not skepticism is certainly understandable. The straw that just about broke my back was watching Randy Edsall come in and just do really stupid stuff like hire Crocker and then keep him for a second season. Then, not having the kids ready to go this season against Holy Cross of all indignities. I don't think Randy's heart was in it.

Mora comes with an impressive background and he looks to me to be a good administrator. These football programs are complex organizations, so you have to have good management skills, leadership and then know the Xs and Os. Hopefully Mora brings all that. I don't think the roster is all that far away from being competitive. If Edsall did anything he recruited much better than whatever it was that Diaco was trying to do. There is some speed on this roster. If Mora is a smart guy, and I'm sure he is, he's looking to get one or two QB transfers in here that can play right away. Same with the OL.

We'll just have to see.

 

[Chin Diesel]

At the Pru Center yesterday, someone asked whether I was going to ever expound upon my less than balloons and unicorns view of the Mora signing when it happened. So, burned out from work and with the Giants being destroyed, and with time having passed, I thought now was a good time to set forth my feelings on the hire.

1. Without any argument Jim Mora is not just the most accomplished football coach we have ever hired at UConn, but a far more accomplished football coach than anyone could have reasonably expected us to hire. I probably should have been prepared for the overwhelmingly favorable reaction that followed the hiring, whether I was ready to jump on the bandwagon or not. And, to the extent you can say an AD did a good job before seeing how it works out, I would absolutely say Benedict at the price he paid did a good job.

2. In the time since he's been here, we've seen some of the "general manager" type skills that everyone should have assumed an accomplished football coach like Mora would possess. The ability to deal with the media. The ability to get himself in the news by becoming the Governor's new "best friend." Putting a staff together. Establishing social media. No one should have doubted that a man as accomplished as Mora is shouldn't have been able to get high grades in all that, and he has gotten high grades. All good things.

3. Maybe there are some people who want to play competitive football again more than I do. Maybe there are some people who want to win more than I do. But in each case, there aren't many of them. I have put a lot of emotion and energy into this project and have sat through more than a decade of an unacceptable product. And half that time where just getting someone to go with me has become as difficult as winning football games. If Jim Mora makes us competitive again, I will be thrilled and no one has any right to doubt that.

4. By no means is this a bad hire. I would go so far as saying, based on my first point alone, this is a good hire and Benedict deserves credit for it. So, why am I still not thrilled, but cautiously wary? Why am I not jumping on the Boneyard bandwagon where every trivial tweet is met with praise like we just brought in Lou Saban or Urban Meyer? Because that is where I am today. The hiring took me by surprise, not just because we hired a more accomplished coach than we should have hoped for, but because for all his qualities Mora did not have either of the two qualities that I would have valued the most highly.

5. So what were the two qualities I would have wanted to see? One was the ability to recruit in the Northeast. I don't think our country is uniform in many respects at the moment, and I don't think selling west coast kids to play at UCLA bears a great resemblance to selling New Jersey and Pennsylvania kids to go to Storrs. Yes, some of the people skills are exactly the same, but I'm not sure that an understanding of what players and their coaches are looking for is the same. I hope to be 100% wrong on this. And while I won't pretend that every kid that signs means that Mora is a genius and we've turned the corner, like some of you, I also won't bash him in two months if we have a below average even for us class. Talk to me in 15 months and we can attempt to begin to judge him fairly. Same thing on the portal. Did HCRE not adjust to the new reality? Totally fair criticism, with which I fully agree. But are we getting players who couldn't make it at good P5 schools, or players from Delaware and the MAC? Again, I will give Mora time to rebuild our player pool, probably more than many of you expecting a quick and amazing turnaround. But will he be able to get us back to the players we were bringing in between 2005 and 2010? Don't know.

6. Second, Mora was never tasked with turning around a dumpster fire. UCLA was underperforming, and he did a good, solid job making it better, but it was not Cal or Oregon State either. Or Rutgers in the early 2000s. And in the NFL, everyone is pulled to average over time. There really isn't a comparable situation to what he faces here. We are a dumpster fire. I would have taken a coach who turned around a dumpster fire from nothing. Like coaches at JMU, or Coastal Carolina, or as someone here wanted, Kent State.

7. Those were the two things I was looking for. What I was given, instead, is a more accomplished coach than I could have hoped for, but without my two key qualities. No doubt, Mora will be far better than what I wanted at tons of soft skills. But winning tweets, while a good thing and something that can, indirectly, over time, help with the key things, is not directly related to getting better players to come to this dumpster fire in New England or coaching seasons and games. I fully hope that in three years it will be clear that I was just beaten down by the years of losing and will be too conservative on this hire. And people like Pudge, whose judgment I respect, will be right with their optimism. And again, I'm not in any way against this hire. But I would have gone in a different direction. And while I'm not always right, I normally assume I am because my track record isn't bad. (Well, and because I think highly of myself but that's another matter entirely.)

So we'll see. I will not constantly go forward throwing rain on the parade some of you have joined. I have said my piece and will now root for him and the team the same way I would have if they hired based on my two criteria and will be more than fair to him. And hopefully some of you will forgive me that I don't throw my panties at the guy every time he posts something on social media or we get a recruit that isn't any different than the types we've been getting anyway. Enjoy the end of your weekend.
.

All fair and reasoned points.

Biggest thing I've seen with recruiting is Mora zeroing in on Prep schools in Northeast. He has done a great job in a short period of time of making inroads there. Edsall (And Diwacko and PP) never seemed to embrace that. We know PP was tight with HS coaches, kinda, but he never went hard in to the prep schools. I am now projecting but I think RE almost looked at prep school players like transfers- damaged for some reason. I think RE liked the younger players he could redshirt and mold more than a 19 or even 20 year old coming out of prep. Projecting and guessing but we do know over two stints RE never was successful getting prep school players at a high rate nor did we hear much about recruiting prep schools.

That ability to identify and get in to prep schools as a previous underperforming area of recruiting is room for optimism. It's different than the just doing the same thing only better approach of going after HS kids in northeast.

 

[Bongo Fury]

RE seemingly brought in some potentially good building blocks but we’ll never know since many left before they were ripe. Every year was a restart.

 

[coachcap]

One month post-hire, I am giddy about the Jim Mora hire because of the change in script that it has caused. There is buzz about the football program at an unprecedented level. HCJM is the antithesis of Randy: engaging, media savvy, winning track record, & having a clear vision for the program's future. He didn't just apply for the UConn head coaching position, he actively sought it out, which means that he's hungry & invested in positive results.
As to an immediate turnaround with at least 6 wins next season, I am cautious but hopeful for the following reasons. Coach Mora was able to see the 2021 team in action after his hire, to assess those players that can contribute in future seasons, & clear the roster of those who, in his opinion, won't see playing time on the field. He has espoused actively employing use of the transfer portal to fill gaps in all areas with players who he feels can play at an FBS level until such time as he can offer scholarships, sign, & season players that fit his vision. He has mended fences with area high school & prep coaches, which serves a dual purpose: a better chance of signing area FBS level recruits & creating a positive publicity vibe, thereby enhancing chances of increased ticket sales, & increased interest of admission to the University by non-athlete high school & prep students.
Finally, as I have witnessed across the college landscape, there are certain coaches who, after their hire, have turned the fortunes of their new teams in a short period of time (e.g. Luke Fickell). From what he's shown in the short period of time since his hire, Coach Mora is exhibiting the same qualities & assertiveness that will deliver similar results in the near future.
The first step next season will be to win games such as this season's Vandy & Wyoming games, not just compete in them. I think the HCJM & his staff give UConn a better chance to do so. Fingers crossed.

 

[pepband99]

Exactly where I am with perhaps a slight change in emphasis on a couple of points.

But I would add one other thing which you touched on obliquely. Since 2010, the realignments have followed each other one after another. So have rules changes like the portal and NIL. With hugely enhanced mobility now available to the players, heightened by the NIL change, it is not clear that a university without a lucrative conference connection will be able to compete. A lot of structural things have happened during the last decade that may make it impossible.

I have the exact opposite view, actually.

Despite all of the movements and changes, the true power in football has consolidated at a massive scale. We've spent a tremendous amount of time worrying about each individual move or change, but the big move has been at the top. Come every November 1, about 96% of the "power 5" is completely irrelevant. Whole conferences eliminated from the national conversation, despite on-field results not always matching up with perception. Basically the same 4-6 teams in the playoff every year. It's boring, and drawing the sport down.

We still have better geographical reach than most of the Power 5. We're the flagship in a top-30 market, with significant penetration into the #1 market. We have great facilities. We can and should be able to leverage NIL in a positive way, comparative to some of these podunk hanger-ons in the P5.

But, the best part of being an indy, given the consolidation above? We're 100% self-deterministic. We already commit to playing what's now a "bag game" for money. Win one of those, which is an attainable goal (if not realistic), and this thing takes off again. The G5 schools have to play a dangerous game to get one big OOC game, and win it, to be nationally relevant. We have no such pretence. Any gains we make are measured only by us.

 

[giddyup]

Honeymoons are fun but short lived. I’ll enjoy it while it lasts. September rolls around fast, and we’ll see whether we have an FBS program building or not. Agree, Mora has no salvage experience.