After nearly four years away from coaching college football, former UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora Jr. is back on the sidelines — this time with the UConn Huskies.
Welcome to UConn, Coach Mora! 🤝
📰 » https://t.co/B89ReXFSyK | #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/5YFGjuCE2S
— UConn Football (@UConnFootball) November 11, 2021
Mora, who coached the Bruins from 2012 to 2017, will not immediately take over the job, however. He will start his head-coaching stint for UConn later this month, as the successor of Lou Spanos, who is the interim head coach of the team following the departure of Randy Edsall.
Mora will be designated as an assistant coach through the end of the 2021 UConn football season, allowing for him to carry out various duties, including recruiting responsibilities, through November 27. Mora will officially begin his tenure as head football coach on November 28.
He is set to be the sideline boss of UConn football until the end of the 2026 season on the strength of a five-year agreement between the two sides.
Mora and the University have agreed to a five-year deal through the 2026 season, and he will earn $1.5MM during his first year. The agreement also includes the opportunity for Mora to earn an additional $200,000 annually in performance incentives.
The Huskies are definitely in need of a boost, something that they hope Mora will inject into the program that has not finished a season with a winning record since 2010. UConn has also appeared in just one bowl game since then.
In six seasons with the Bruins, Mora collected a 46-30 overall record and a 2-2 slate in bowl games before getting succeeded by Chip Kelly.