UCLA Football: Jim Mora's discrepancy between wins and the NFL Draft

The 2018 NFL Draft once again showed that the UCLA football team has the ability to send several players to the pros, which shows how former coach Jim Mora mishandled the program considering his record in Westwood.

Let me start off by saying that Jon Wilner of the Mercury News already wrote the article I was planning to write in regards to UCLA football (CURSE YOU, WILNER!). But since he is the best source for anything and everything Pac-12 sports, I really cannot be upset.

The fact that this take is so obvious (I also saw some posts on social media similar to this idea), it is shows how former Bruin head coach Jim Mora clearly mishandled the program.

So with Wilner doing all the hard work (which you should read before you continue with this piece), I will simply add to his article, One Measure of Pac-12 Coaching: Compare Conference Win Totals to the Number of NFL Draft Picks Produced. So let us start off with some of the statistics he presents.

First off, Wilner looks at five different results for all 12 conference teams: (1) six-year conference win totals, (2) conference win percentage, (3) five-year draft totals, (4) percentage of Pac-12 draft picks and (5) win total relative to draft picks. Wilner looks at the entire Pac-12, but for obvious reasons, I will stick with UCLA.

The Bruins have both exciting and depressing numbers, depending on what stat you are looking at, so let us start with the stats that make you go, “AH YEAH!”

UCLA draft picks from 2013-17: 25 (1st among all Pac-12 schools)

Percentage of total Pac-12 draft picks from 2013-17: 13% (1st among all Pac-12 schools)

Now let us look at the stats that make you go “@#&*($%!”

Conference wins from 2012-17: 29 (6th among all Pac-12 schools)

Win percentage in conf. games form 2012-17: 53.7% (6th among all Pac-12 schools)

Imagine that, UCLA sent the most players to the NFL, yet is 6th in conference wins and percentage. Something is clearly not right here.

The way Wilner puts it, “…it’s difficult to make the case that the Bruins maximized their personnel over the course of the Jim Mora era. That they could have four times more draft picks than Washington State but only three more conference wins is a staggering statement on the level of player development within the two programs.”

You can stop shaking your head now.

Now mind you, things did not start off badly. The Mora era began with 9, 10 and 10 overall wins. The next (and last) three resulted in 8, 4 and 5. A combination of inept coaching hires and a lack of player development solidified his downfall which eventually led to his termination back in November.

Mora did a fine job of having the “Bruin Revolution” take off, he just did not give it a landing spot. Instead, he executed conservative football and relied on his players to win games. That was apparent by the way the defense was run (I really hope this is the last time I write “bend but don’t break”). It also did not help that he had three offensive coordinators in three years, all of which brought different styles. Not only did that bring inconsistency to every offensive position group, but it did not help set a much needed foundation.

Hiring Jedd Fisch in his final season was a good move and the new OC did a hell of a job turning around the offense, but it was too late. Not only was the defense suffering, but Mora did not change his coaching tendencies like making halftime adjustments or playing aggressive when opponents were on the ropes.

Next: The 30 Greatest UCLA Football Players of All-Time

This is not intended to be another article to rail on Mora. He is gone and Chip Kelly is in, but it does serve as a reminder of how things can go south when details are not paid attention to. That is something we will most likely not see in the Kelly era. Hopefully.

(P.S. Thank you for the jumping off point, Jon Wilner.)

UCLA Football: Jim Mora’s discrepancy between wins and the NFL Draft

By Mike Regalado | Apr 30, 2018

The 2018 NFL Draft once again showed that the UCLA football team has the ability to send several players to the pros, which shows how former coach Jim Mora mishandled the program considering his record in Westwood.