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UCLA Football: Jim Mora Introduces Jedd Fisch, Embarasses Self and Program

ByNathan Eberhardt|
Sep 17, 2016; Provo, UT, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora reacts after a play in the first quarter against the Brigham Young Cougars at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Provo, UT, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora reacts after a play in the first quarter against the Brigham Young Cougars at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
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Nov 19, 2016; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora looks on before the game against the USC Trojans at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2016; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora looks on before the game against the USC Trojans at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Mora Introduces Jedd Fisch, Cont.

In the BCS/CFP era, here are the national title winners:

  • 1998: Tennessee – pro-style
  • 1999: Florida State – pro-style
  • 2000: Oklahoma – proto-spread concepts
  • 2001: Miami – pro-style
  • 2002: Ohio State – pro-style
  • 2003: LSU – pro-style
  • 2004: USC* – pro-style
  • 2005: Texas – spread
  • 2006: Florida – spread
  • 2007: LSU – pro-style
  • 2008: Florida – spread
  • 2009: Alabama – pro-style
  • 2010: Auburn – spread
  • 2011: Alabama – pro-style
  • 2012: Alabama – pro-style
  • 2013: Florida State – pro-style
  • 2014: Ohio State – spread
  • 2015: Alabama – spread
  • 2016: Alabama – spread (OR) Clemson – spread

That’s eight of the last 19 national champions that ran a spread offense, and five of the last ten. Urban Meyer‘s entire career has been about pioneering the spread in the SEC and the Big Ten, to resounding success.

Ohio State and Alabama, each of whom won with a pro-style offense, have both switched to the spread and have dominated the last three years of college football with it. It would be one thing if all spread success had happened while Mora was focused on the NFL – it would still be an ignorant comment, mind you, but understandable – but more titles have been won by spread teams than not since he entered the college game.

It’s possible that Mora does not understand what the spread is, that he thinks it’s narrowly defined as a Mike Leach-style Air Raid pass attack (even then, Leach designed the offense with which Oklahoma won the title in 2000).

But that level of ignorance about the sport in which he coaches is concerning, even from the perspective of a defensive coach, who needs to understand the intricacies of offense in order to plan how to stop a variety of opponents.

Ultimately, the biggest concern I have about this gaffe is not that it has caused the college football world to point and laugh, nor that Mora doesn’t know his college football history or even terminology.

No, what concerns me most that it reveals how committed Mora is to retreating to his comfort zone. He’s an NFL guy through and through, and NFL culture is all about playing it safe, not overextending, and minimizing risk. It’s how he calls his defense (give up 10 yards in order to prevent being beaten over the top), it’s how he handles his own personnel moves, and it’s how he envisions his offense.

The trend among all but the best coaches in the game is to have their greatest success in years two and three of a job and then either sink into a rut or respond to adversity by playing things safe and focusing on not getting fired.

Next: Mique Juarez Could Return to the Bruins

This is why I jokingly called this gaffe a fireable offense: it reveals how unwilling and unprepared Mora is to do the work to reverse the negative trend of the last two seasons. It leaves me with no confidence that he can turn this thing around.

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