Jim Mora tosses some grenades at the Falcons
Atlanta Falcons coach Jim Mora, right, and quarterback Michael Vick (7) watch from the sideline late in the second half as the Green Bay Packers seal their 33-25 victory at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005. (AP Photo/Ric Feld)
Lil’ Jimmy Mora is already running off his mouth in his new post at UCLA.
In an interview with Mike Carvell of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mora took some not-so -veiled shots at the current regime.
“The bottom line is this: The last time the Falcons won a playoff game, I was the head coach,” Mora told the AJC. “Kids remember that game, the 47-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams. A lot of kids around Atlanta, the state of Georgia and the Southeast follow the Falcons. They know that was the last time that the Falcons have won a playoff game.
“So kids are interested with that connection to the Falcons, and the parents are interested in that, too. They all wonder why the Falcons haven’t won a playoff game since, and I can’t answer that question. For all the success that the Falcons have had since we left, they still haven’t won a playoff game — and that resonates with people”
“When we recruit kids around there, people remember me as the coach that led the Falcons to the NFC championship game, and the coach who coached Mike Vick. So I think things like that are very helpful when recruiting in that area.”
Really?
No, really?
Mora took credit coaching Michael Vick. The same player who admitted to basically freesytling and to not bothering to read his game plan. Vick was the same player that he let run around the field dangling the ball around like a hand grenade. (BTW, he called it athletic arrogance. Others called it poor fundamental mechanics.)
Mora is correct. He is the last coach to guide the Falcons to a playoff win.
But he’s also the last Falcons coach to start the season 6-2 and finish 2-6 in 2005. He’s also the franchise’s last coach to coach a full season and post a losing record.
After going 11-5 in his first season, he went 8-8 and 7-9 before getting fired. His final record was 28-23 (.549) and 1-1 (.500) in the playoffs.
Smith, who took over after Vick was sent to federal prison and Bobby Petrino bolted under the cover of darkness, is 43-21 (.671). Smith is 0-3 (.000) in the playoffs.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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124 comments Add your comment
CD Falcon
February 13th, 2012
10:44 am
What is Jim MORON doing at UCLA… is this another stop to his DREAM JOB as Washington?
Big Crimson 75
February 13th, 2012
10:45 am
Poop — the guy that came after him was no Lombardi either.
Just Sayin.....
February 13th, 2012
10:53 am
Mora was not bashing the Falcons. He was at a recruiting event in the Atlanta area and he was just stating a fact that he was the last coach to win in the post season in Atlanta. What is he supposed to say to pursuade recruits to play for his team?
You guys should be angry with the coach that is 0-3 in the playoffs, which Mora had nothing to do with.
Mora Jr./John Harbaugh/Rex Ryan/Mike Smith all were rookie coaches, but Mike Smith was the only one not to win a playoff game.
Why so much anger towards Mora?
Falcon James
February 13th, 2012
11:05 am
Nice work DLED! We don’t needs some NFL “has been” coach telling us that we havent won a playoff game. The Falcon got better the minute Mora was not the coach anymore. He was a pitiful coach at best with the Falcon and a less than pitiful coach for the Seahawk. Glad he gone.
mark
February 13th, 2012
11:09 am
Mora is a classless idiot, the organization that gave him is first head coaching job he wants to take a shot at? What a moron, he must have power pointed his way to greatness again in the interview with UCLA. Hey Jr remember Tampa that was a great coaching job! Jim Mora making Lane Kiffin look like a stand up guy.
PMC
February 13th, 2012
11:11 am
Caption this picture would be good for this blog: “I’m the freaking coach killer? Can you believe his freaking guy?”
aj
February 13th, 2012
11:18 am
Why all the venom? Its just grown men getting paid obscene amounts of money to put on stretchy britches and play a game.Mora makes all you southern fried goobers mad because he speaks the truth,not the current regime’s feel good hooey.Newsflash:they got destroyed,murdered,annihilated by the Giants.
Frank Wren
February 13th, 2012
11:26 am
I think Jim is a great coach. Wonder if he would ever consider joining us here at Turner field….
Ueeediot
February 13th, 2012
11:27 am
Jim Who?
Pete E. Tong
February 13th, 2012
11:27 am
Troll harder, aj. You don’t have to be “mad” to point out utter lunacy.
Adam
February 13th, 2012
11:34 am
@ Markmjtx
in all reality, the biggest obstacle he will face at his new gig is himself
hbcuclassics
February 13th, 2012
11:53 am
Falcons 2012 Draft Easy Button 1.0
1.22 – Cleveland Browns- Julio Jones, WR, Ala
2.55 – Cordy Glenn, OL, 6′6, 345, UGA
– Remington Finalist, Outland Watch List, plug/play
3.87 – Ben Jones, C, 6′3, 305, UGA
-Remington Finalist, Outland Watch list, plug/play
4.109 – Cleveland Browns – Julio Jones, WR, Ala
5.133 – Chris Rainey, RB, 5′8, 178, Fla.
– 4.36/40 – speed back missing since Norwood
6. 165 – Christian Thompson, FS, 6′1, 213, SCSU
– Auburn transfer – combo safety w return skills
7. 197 – Lamont Bryant, TE, 6′6, 230, MSU
– Former QB, sleeper, 4.6/40, super athletic
Summary:
Georgia OL immediate upgrade; bring chemistry, top shelf talent;
while others scrambling for DBs, Falcons set anchors.
Rainey is lightning in a bottle we’ve missed since Norwood;
teams will be wary of his size, we won’t.
Thompson is big hitting, big playmaker at safety, Auburn transfer;
St. Thomas Aquinas grad provides immediate options.
Bryant is the small school stud nobody but hbcuclassics have heard of;
see Ricardo Lockett, Seattle Seahawks.
Pete E. Tong
February 13th, 2012
11:59 am
Stop spamming your craptastic site, hbcu.
Sid
February 13th, 2012
12:04 pm
Shoes, Life Insurance, Omaha Steaks from the back of a freezer truck…….Junior is an excellent salesman and both Arthur and UCLA bought into the sales pitch (I can’t explain Seattle). It’s kinda like selling frying pans door to door, you hand it to them handle first so it feels heavy and offers the sensation they won’t get burned. SIZZLE!
Sid
February 13th, 2012
12:07 pm
aj
February 13th, 2012
11:18 am
********************************************
You sound tired of all them big legged women up North.
Remedial Studies 1980
February 13th, 2012
12:20 pm
Pups national title in 1980 was like being champs of the penal league. Half of those idiots can’t tie their shoes, and couldn’t graduate from Kindergarten.
Anyway, Jim Mora is an arrogant d-bag. He could’ve won a super bowl here if he were a COACH, and not tried to be the Jim Rome of the coaching world…..a jock sniffing goon. Enjoy getting creamed in the Pac-12. Bye bye!
A decent draft pick please!
February 13th, 2012
12:23 pm
Forget all those fat Ugag OL, draft Coby Fleener from Stanford. We need a TE, and the guy is amazing. He’d be a perfect 2nd round pick, and will learn from the best in the game. Next, we need a corner and go grab some OL in the late rounds along with a DE while concentrating on our biggest needs in free agency.
Mako
February 13th, 2012
12:33 pm
GTChamps…would you Yellow Yaks please stop bragging about a 1/2 title….it’s so demeaning to Colorado….I mean it’s kinda like kissing your Great Aunt Bessie and she reaches down to check your package….you wouldn’t brag about that would ya….well, on second thought maybe a Techie would!
yo mama
February 13th, 2012
12:51 pm
cant blame the coaches for the poor playoff performance by the players. simply put, players win games, coaches coach. the dreadful offense in new york, would have gotten the OC fired if he didnt leave here. blame the players. it makes sense. eli performed, their d showed up. blame the players, they are the ones getting paid to lose.
I Remember
February 13th, 2012
12:55 pm
Jim Mora was just another hot dog on the FALCONS team when he was here. DeAngelo was his boy, and we all know what a big hot dog he was. There were some good FALCONS players, but Hot Dog Mora had nothing to do with signing them or developing them. Mora had nothing to do with the team going to the playoffs. Mora will be a short timer at UCLA.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
February 13th, 2012
1:00 pm
Pete E. Tong — Good point.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
February 13th, 2012
1:05 pm
Sid – You get that sales tip from Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite?
Mora less Petrino
February 13th, 2012
1:30 pm
Mora and Petrino are the low point of Blank’s ownership of the team. Both are DA’s. How long did Moron last in Seattle? Guess he will not be recruiting in Washington using his logic. Let him talk, he is the Bruins problem now.
shawn
February 13th, 2012
1:31 pm
If you look at what Jim Mora has done in NFL (Falcons and Seattle), it is clear that he does not belong in NFL. If I were Jim Mora, I would be quite especially since I have been fired twice (Falcons & Seattle)…Mora, please go away…
Andy
February 13th, 2012
1:36 pm
These are d-bag comments made by a d-bag. No one should be surprised.
N
February 13th, 2012
1:51 pm
Nice one DLed! Enjoyed it. Take Smitty over Mora any day of the week. Reeves too for that matter.
dsgbncali
February 13th, 2012
1:51 pm
I’m in agreement with dirtyo11. In the end it all comes down to winning and we haven’t done that. But we are closer to a SB with Coach Smitty and TD then we have ever been. I still hold out faith that I will see our team get the confetti bath and holler about going to Disneyland real soon.
drew
February 13th, 2012
3:24 pm
I’m just thrilled that I won’t have to listen to Mora’s dumbass comments during NFL games. He’s a worse analyst than he is a coach.
pcole
February 13th, 2012
3:28 pm
Hey DooDoo, the only reason GT was a split championship is because Colorado got 5 downs to score a touchdown. Otherwise they would have had one loss, to an un-ranked team at that.
Smith and this regime has definitely elevated the Falcons status. Championship is just around the corner.
keepinitreal
February 13th, 2012
3:33 pm
The playoffs are all about matchups. Mora got lucky to face an 8-8 Rams team at home in the playoffs. Every one of Smitty’s teams would have won that game, too.
It’s a little silly how big a deal we make out of playoff records. If the Bucs don’t lose a home game to Detroit late last season, Aaron Rodgers would still be 0-fer in the postseason.
Puma
February 13th, 2012
3:34 pm
Bottom line with Mora – the most success he has had anywhere as a coach was with the Falcons – and even that wasn’t that great.
TDF
February 13th, 2012
3:42 pm
GTChamps
February 13th, 2012
6:56 am
You mean the split title that no one give you credit for but techies???? hahahahahahahaha run along little boy, we all know that the champs in 1990 was Colorado!
TDF
February 13th, 2012
3:43 pm
Remedial Studies 1980
February 13th, 2012
12:20 pm
ahahahahhaha jealousy at its finest. Run along little techie stop being jealous you cant us.
TDF
February 13th, 2012
3:44 pm
cant beat us
TDF
February 13th, 2012
3:45 pm
A decent draft pick please!
February 13th, 2012
12:23 pm
Fat????? wow you must not know a lot about them. they are very athletic with size you cant teach clown.
TDF
February 13th, 2012
3:49 pm
pcole
February 13th, 2012
3:28 pm
botom line 1990 champs = colorado NOT TECH clown
Joe Tess Fish House
February 13th, 2012
3:53 pm
Funny looking at that pix U can aslo see Matt Schwaub another QB 2 get away from the Flacons.
Good wrok Mr Blanks. One QB wins palyoff games and you turn UR back on him the oter QB has several Pro Bowel Years after you cut him.
TDF
February 13th, 2012
4:00 pm
@ Joe Tess Fish House
did the absolute right thing by turning his back on the dog killer, I would have turned in all my falcons gear had he been allowed back to the team.
Schaub on the other hand was completely mishandeled and should have been our QB.
crazydi
February 13th, 2012
4:22 pm
Morehead you have THE NERVE to talk about the current regime, GROW UP you little pansy! Stay in the collegiate ranks, where you belong! Grow some hair on your face or something already ..
Mike Franklin
February 13th, 2012
4:26 pm
Amazing how we tend to forget how much we all liked this guy at one time. Not trying to justify everything he said but… he wasn’t a bad coach. Anyone who has followed this team for more than a few years, knows that much. Mora was outspoken and the players liked him as much as the fans did.
He’s called a few Falcons games from the booth and it’s always been clear that he is still a fan of this team. He just stated what he believes… and everything he said about being the last coach to lead us to a playoff win is true. I mean, he didn’t make it up.
I don’t think he was really taking any shots at the Falcons… I think he felt like he was fired prematurely and that had he stayed, things might be different.
hiramsaint
February 13th, 2012
4:29 pm
no wonder y’all are so bitter-it has been a long long long time !
SimpleDawg
February 13th, 2012
4:37 pm
Lil’ Jimmy Mora……really? He’s running his mouth about how great he was, er is…..really?
UCLA will rue the day they even considered him, much less hired him.
Really? Lil’ Jimmy?
ZACK
February 13th, 2012
4:44 pm
LIL MORA GO DO YOURSELF YOU DAMN TOOL! NOBODY MISSES YOUR PUNK AZZ!
ASHCAN
February 13th, 2012
4:44 pm
Dumb topic,Its easy to post what coach mora said and post it on a atlanta blog and get kudos and combat remarks.Fact is you post it nationally and all the other 49 states will agree with mora.
ASHCAN
February 13th, 2012
4:49 pm
Another fact,falcons won’t win with a weak arm QB.What’s the use of having speedy recievers when you under throw to them.DC’s are hip to the dink and donk throws to there recievers.This team don’t have any playmakers on either side of the ball.
yellowfever
February 13th, 2012
4:51 pm
GEORGIA TECH RUNS THIS STATE. Herschel Walker (1) NC, uga (0)
Buzz
February 13th, 2012
4:52 pm
1990 is more recent than 1980. Who was the team that did not LOSE that year? You UGA guys are ass clowns
J-Lo
February 13th, 2012
4:53 pm
Mike Smith has gotten to more playoff games, and has never lost a playoff game to a team that didn’t either win the superbowl, or come within seconds of doing so (Arizona). Jim Mora knows this but claims ignorance, and I hope that players coming out of Georgia aren’t as ignorant as he claims to be.
J-Lo
February 13th, 2012
4:53 pm
oh, and, what a classy guy!
yellowfever
February 13th, 2012
4:53 pm
TDF, nice spelling you uga grad