FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — The 91-year-old coach soaked in the scene from the back of the room as he wore a Colorado State hat and matching shirt.
For more than three hours on Saturday night, Jim E. Mora watched his son's coaching debut for the Rams through the dual lens of a father and longtime coach.
The dad in him couldn't have been more proud as Jim L. Mora led the Rams to a 35-13 win over Wyoming. The coach in him, though, felt nervous and uneasy
at times before Colorado State pulled away in the second half.
Once a coach, always a coach.
“I was really worried today,” the father said after the game, “until all that good stuff happened.”
Which he knew it would because he knows his son, who takes after his father. The younger Mora followed in his father's footsteps, learning lessons and tips from him, before branching out. They constantly talk about all things football.
Between the two of them, they've been a head coach for north of 500 games on the college and pro levels. That's not even counting all those games as an assistant coach, defensive coordinator, grad assistant, quality control coach, consultants or any other football job. Just as head coaches.
The son: NFL head coaching stints with Atlanta and Seattle, along with NCAA jobs at UCLA, UConn and now Colorado State.
The father: NFL head coaching tours with New Orleans and Indianapolis — including one iconic “Playoffs?” rant — along with a USFL job with the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars and at Occidental College.
“He works hard at coaching. He’s smart. He knows the job,” the father said. “He knows what he needs to do to be successful. He is a good coach for the players to play for. He’s very demanding.”
All traits that the younger Mora just so happened to inherit from dad. Which is why it meant so much for the son to have family at the game and attend his postgame news conference.
“This family’s played a lot of football, been involved in a lot of football,” said the son, who arrived at Colorado State after a four-year run at UConn. “These are special moments where you get to walk in here and see your mom and your dad and your wife and your kids and their spouses and your cousins and your best friends. It’s awesome. It’s unique, it's rare, it’s humbling.”
The younger Mora grew up learning the game down the road in Boulder, Colorado, where his father served as an assistant coach for the Buffaloes. He's pleased his son ended up back in the state.
“I’ve always loved Colorado,” the elder Mora said. “I love working in the city, in the state, in the mountains.”
He's certainly planning to spend more time in Fort Collins and dispensing advice any way he can.
It's welcomed input, too. Asked how much it mean to share the victory with the “old guy," the younger Mora didn't miss a beat.
“He ain’t old,” the 64-year-old son cracked. “I’ve been doing this since the day that my mom gave birth to me. This is what we do. This is what our family has done.”
About that tough stretch in the game toward halftime that carried into the third quarter, when Wyoming turned a 14-3 deficit into a 14-13 nail-biter: “I was worried,” the dad said. “I didn’t think they were playing as good.”
Colorado State, led by quarterback Hauss Hejny, reeled off 21 straight points to take back control.
“They came on strong,” the dad said. “I was excited about that.”
The Rams started on the right note as they made their football debut as members of the Pac-12. It's a conference the Mora family knows well. The elder Mora was a longtime assistant when it was the Pac-8. The son played in the league as a defensive back for Washington when it was the Pac-10 and coached in it at UCLA as part of the Pac-12.
His father has no doubts his son will find success in the foothills of Fort Collins.
“Jim is a good man to work for and work with,” the father said. "He loves coaching football.”
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