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UCLA Football: The Athletic Department is showing some fight, fight, fight

By Mike Regalado

WESTWOOD, CA - APRIL 02: UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero addresses the audience prior to introducing Steve Alford as UCLA's new head men's basketball coach on April 2, 2013 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
WESTWOOD, CA - APRIL 02: UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero addresses the audience prior to introducing Steve Alford as UCLA's new head men's basketball coach on April 2, 2013 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /
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In an uncharacteristic move, UCLA Football is now without Jim Mora who was unexpectedly fired Sunday morning by Atheltic Director Dan Guerrero. A bold move for an AD not known for making bold moves with coaching decisions.

UCLA Football is now without a coach as Jim Mora has been fired. This came as a shock to the Bruin fan base. Not necessarily that it happened, but that it happened so quickly and at this point in the season.

RELATED: Jim Mora has been fired from UCLA 

UCLA football still has one more game (maybe two if they beat Cal this Friday and become bowl eligible) and the nature of the UCLA Athtletic Department in these situations has been to wait out the bad season, weigh the options and either keep the struggling coach (and see if he can turn it around the next year, which never goes according to plan) or fire him and commence with an uninspired coaching search.

At least that is what has been done in recent history.

Related Story: Does no Mora mean no more Rosen?

In 2007, Karl Dorrell had been fired after five seasons after he went 6-7 two years after going 10-2. The writing was on the wall, but UCLA waited until the end of the regular season to get a new coach to replace Dorrell who went 35-28 as the Bruins’ coach. It did not get any better.

UCLA then hired Rick Neuheisel who went 4-8, 7-6 and 4-8 after three seasons. Many thought he should be fired after year three. Nope. He stayed on for one last painful ride to go 6-8. Both Dorrell and Neuheisel were fired before the bowl game in their final season, though it seems they were kept around longer than they needed to be.

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That is what makes Mora’s firing so shocking. After only nine wins in the last two seasons and his third consecutive loss to USC, Mora was not allowed to finish this season.

This was an extremely bold move for UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero who has not been known for pulling the trigger so quickly with these kind of decisions. He has essentially been a “wait and see” type of AD. Not today.

Today a decision had been made, executed and now we are in the next era of UCLA football. This decision should appease Bruin fans, especially those that have been looking forward to this day.

Last week, planes flying banners appeared over the Rose Bowl displaying messages calling out Mora and Guererro. The AD seems to have answered the call and given the fans what they want. He might be able to improve his standing with the fans even more if he handles the new coaching search to the standard the fans desire.

Next: Jim Mora’s time at UCLA has run its course

It has been speculated that UCLA will go hard after Chip Kelly. If Guerrero can get him to Westwood, then he will look very good and his legacy will take a positive upturn. Guerrero will be retiring within the next two years and after the heat he has been taking the last decade, this is a brilliant and strategic move in regards to his legacy. Either way, the bold decisions need to continue. If UCLA wants to be a contendor, they need to fight, fight, fight.