Jim L. Mora Formally Introduced As New UCLA Football Coach
By Derek Hart
Athletic Director Dan Guerrero held a press conference at the Morgan Center on UCLA’s campus yesterday to officially introduce Jim L. Mora as the Bruins’ new head football coach, with spirit squad members, former players, and the mascot, Joe Bruin, all in attendance.
In meeting with Mora, the current Bruins got a sense that the new coach is “…a little more hard-nosed,” according to quarterback Kevin Prince. “He’s a little more old school. I think it will be a good changeup for us.”
Backup QB Richard Brehaut concurred with Prince’s assessment of the Mora as being hard-nosed, saying, “When he tells you to do something, he is going to expect you to do it. He’s going to be hard-nosed about that.”
“He wants hard-nosed guys…he didn’t yell or anything like that, but you could feel the intense vibe,” commented defensive lineman Datone Jones.
One can easily see the common hard-nosed theme here, which is what the Bruins need badly if they are to return to the upper echelon of the Pac-12 and the country.
Despite popular opinion, Guerrero insisted that Mora was on “our short list” and was the first person interviewed for the job. “…this program needs to be tough, physical and organized. Jim brings all those things to the table,” he stated.
“I have been away from coaching for two years, but the second I stepped up in front of that team (when speaking to them), the emotion and passion all came back,” Mora enthusiastically said.
Click on this link below for the complete press conference and Mora’s statements and comments on being the new head man in Westwood, courtesy of YouTube and uclabruins.com: