Ping: Atlanta Falcons fans

[dawgfan]

There are rumors going around the Seattle area that Jim Mora Jr. might be reconsidering his stance and taking a 2nd look at the possibility of talking to the UW about the open head-coaching job.

For those that are wondering why he would even consider this, he grew up in the area (Jim Mora Sr. was on Don James' first Husky coaching staff, and he then moved on to the Seahawks' staff), attended and played football at the UW and married a local Seattle-area girl who also graduated from the UW. When Rick Neuheisel was fired 2 summers ago, Mora Jr. would've jumped at the chance to take the job.

Now, let's assume for a moment this rumor has some truth to it, and Mora would consider returning to the UW to coach - how do you think fans would react to Mora leaving, especially if he announced his decision prior to the end of the NFL season? How do you think the players and the management of the Falcons would react?

The UW would obviously be interested in having Mora, but the timing is bad - by the time his season ends, the signing day for recruiting would potentially be just a couple of weeks, possibly even days away depending on how far the Falcons get in the playoffs. I'm having a hard time imagining that Mora would be able to get away with announcing in the next couple of weeks that he's a lame-duck coach - I would suspect Falcons' management would be furious, and many of the players would be stunned and upset.

Discuss...

[Sharpieman]

Mora would be crazy to take that job. Although he may have history with that university he also likes the same thing a lot of us like $$$$$$$$$. You just can't get the kind of cash in the NFL that you get in college-he will stay.

[Tekneek]

He is 9-3 in his rookie head coaching year in the NFL. I cannot imagine him leaving for any job right now.

[FBPro]

He is 9-3 in his rookie head coaching year in the NFL. I cannot imagine him leaving for any job right now.

Ditto..

[dawgfan]

I agree it's a longshot at best. But consider, Al Groh left the Jets after 1 season (he was 9-7) to return to his alma mater, Virginia. There is a precedent.

Regarding money, my understanding is that Mora is making around $1.5M with the Falcons. The UW would probably be willing to pay him close to $2M to come home. Now, if Mora continued to have success in the NFL, he would certainly be able to renegotiate and make more money there, but by the same token the NFL is a bigger coaching carousel than college - he probably stands a better chance of staying at the UW long-term than he would Atlanta, and as such he could very easily make more money over the length of his career at the UW than he would bouncing around various NFL jobs.

[JonInMiddleGA]

how do you think fans would react to Mora leaving, especially if he announced his decision prior to the end of the NFL season? How do you think the players and the management of the Falcons would react?

Just for the sake of discussion, I'd say you're about right concerning the ownership & player reaction. As for the fans, other than being superficially pissed off at him, I don't know if there's a significant number of people who'd really care. Heck, I'm not sure how many people in Atlanta could accurately identify who the head coach is.

[ISiddiqui]

Management and players would be royally pissed. The fans would also be pissed, even if they don't know who he really is, because you'd have a coach of a 12-4, or 13-3, etc. jumping ship to go to a college team that was 1-10 this year.

[dawgfan]

That's what I figured, which is why, even if the UW is his 'dream job' as some close to him have said, I have a hard time seeing him jump-ship from the Falcons right now. The timing is just all wrong.

Any opinions from Falcon fans on how good of a coach he is?

[GrantDawg]

That's what I figured, which is why, even if the UW is his 'dream job' as some close to him have said, I have a hard time seeing him jump-ship from the Falcons right now. The timing is just all wrong.

Any opinions from Falcon fans on how good of a coach he is?
Well, we are 9-3. How much can we complain? :)

My only complaint so far is handling the media. He has been evasive at some points and down-right rude at others with members of the media. I hope he gets better at media releations, because when the team hits a skid (whether this year or next, eventually they are going to lose a few in a row) the media is going to tear him apart if he doesn't learn how to deal with them.

[wbatl1]

Well, we are 9-3. How much can we complain? :)

My only complaint so far is handling the media. He has been evasive at some points and down-right rude at others with members of the media. I hope he gets better at media releations, because when the team hits a skid (whether this year or next, eventually they are going to lose a few in a row) the media is going to tear him apart if he doesn't learn how to deal with them.

Well, this was part of his plan coming in to the season as a first year coach. He wanted to get back to the days where the media didn't know every little thing going on in the organization. Although he could better handle himself in front of the media, I do like his limiting availiabity of players to the media. And I think that Rich McKay also is a fan of that style.

[Ben E Lou]

I like his style of dealing with the media. They don't understand the kinds of problems and pressures bein' a football coach come wit'.