Jim E. Mora
Encyclopedia
James Earnest Mora is the former head coach of the USFL's Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars and the NFL's New Orleans Saints
and Indianapolis Colts
. He played football at Occidental College
where he was also a member of the Alpha Tau Omega
fraternity. His son Jim L. Mora
is the former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons
and the Seattle Seahawks
.
As an NFL
coach, Mora is best known for turning two of the NFL's consistently losing franchises into perennial post-season contenders, his lack of success once he got his teams to the playoffs, and his often impassioned post-game tirades and press conferences, including his oft-quoted "Chocolate pudding stories", "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda," "Diddly Poo," "Ding-a-ling-a dong bong" and "Playoffs?" tirades.
in 1950 and was presented the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award
as an adult by the Boy Scouts of America
. Mora was a tight end
at Occidental College
, graduating in 1957. His college roommate was Jack Kemp
, an all star quarterback
with the Buffalo Bills
, U.S congressman for 18 years and presidential candidate in 1988. After playing three years of service football in the United States Marines
Mora became an assistant coach at his alma mater
in 1960. He moved up to head coach of Occidental a few years later and led the team for three seasons (1964–66) compiling an 18-9 record.
Mora received a master's degree
in education
in 1967 and left Occidental to serve as an assistant coach at Stanford
for the 1967 season. He then spent five seasons at Colorado
, one at UCLA
and three at Washington
. In 1978 he moved to the professional ranks as the defensive line coach for the NFL's
Seattle Seahawks
under head coach Jack Patera
.
came into existence and Mora became head coach of the Philadelphia Stars (who moved to Baltimore in 1985). During his tenure the team compiled a 48-13-1 (.782) record, appeared in all three USFL championship games and won two of them. Mora was named Coach of the Year in 1984 and is considered by many observers to be the best coach in the short history of the USFL. Soon after the Stars won the 1985 USFL title, Mora was named head coach of the NFL's New Orleans Saints
. The USFL would eventually be forced out of business after only winning $3 in an antitrust suit against the NFL.
to turn around the franchise largely viewed as the NFL's most inept. In its first 20 seasons, New Orleans had never achieved a winning record, and only twice had reached .500, in 1979 and 1983. In late 1984, then-owner John Mecom Jr. threatened sell the team to a group of investors who planned to move the franchise to Jacksonville, Florida
if he could not find an owner or group of owners who would buy the team and keep them in New Orleans.
Mecom sold the Saints to Tom Benson
in May 1985 for $70 million. Benson, who grew up in the city's Ninth Ward
, pledged to keep the team in New Orleans. The Saints limped along to a 5-11 record in 1985, and coach Bum Phillips
resigned with four games remaining. Benson hired Finks in January 1986 and charged the former Vikings and Bears executive with the task of hiring the new coach.
Mora spent his first off-season remaking the Saints roster. He convinced several players from the USFL to come to New Orleans. The imports included linebackers Sam Mills
and Vaughan Johnson
, who went on to form the inside tandem of the legendary "Dome Patrol" linebacking corps with veteran Rickey Jackson
and draftee Pat Swilling
on the outside. Mora inherited quarterback Bobby Hebert
and receiver Eric Martin from Phillips, and drafted running back Reuben Mayes and tackle Jim Dombrowski
.
After a 7-9 record his first season, Mora led the Saints to a 12-3 record in 1987
. That was the Saints' first season over .500 and its first playoff appearance. In week 6 of the 1987 season the Saints lost a 24-22 game to the San Francisco 49ers
, missing a last-second field goal. After the game Mora launched what became known as his "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda" speech. In his postgame press conference, Mora angrily said the following:
The Saints responded by winning their last 9 games. The team's 12–3 record in the 1987 season was the second-best in the NFL that year. Unfortunately for them, the 49ers had the league's best record (13–2), and also played in the NFC West. Therefore, the Saints were a wild-card team (since 1987 was a strike-shortened season with replacement games, it should be noted that the Saints and 49ers had identical 10–2 records in regular season non-replacement games). Nonetheless, the Saints were able to play their first playoff game at home, which they lost 44–10 to the Minnesota Vikings
. Mora received the NFL Coach of the Year Award
.
Mora's Saints finished 10–6 in 1988
, and were part of a three-way tie for first in the NFC West with the San Francisco 49ers
and Los Angeles Rams. However, the 49ers won the division on tie-breakers, and the Saints lost the wild-card tiebreaker with the Rams and missed the playoffs. In 1989
, the Saints again had a winning record (9–7) but finished 3rd in the NFC West and missed the playoffs.
Thereafter his Saints teams made the playoffs three more times. In 1990
, the Saints only finished 8–8, but managed to make the playoffs as a wild card. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Chicago Bears
, 16–6.
In 1991
, Mora's Saints finished 11-5 and won the team's first division title. However, the Saints lost again in the first round of the playoffs. They lost at home to the Atlanta Falcons
27-20, in spite of finishing one game ahead of the Falcons in the NFC West during the regular season.
In 1992
, Mora led the Saints to its second 12-win season in 6 years, finishing 12-4. They were a wild card again, however, as the San Francisco 49ers
finished 14-2. But for the second time in two years, the Saints were upset at home in the first round the playoffs, as the Philadelphia Eagles
defeated the Saints, 36–20. This would be the Saints' last playoff game during Mora's tenure, leaving Mora with an 0–4 playoff record in New Orleans. The Saints would not win a playoff game until 2000.
1993
marked the beginning of the decline of Mora's Saints. The team started the season 5–0 and appeared to be headed to the postseason again; however, after the Saints' bye week, the team went into a tailspin and went only 3–8 in the final 11 games, including losing 4 out of their last 5 games. 1993 was Mora's last season of .500 or better in New Orleans. In the Week 16 game against the New York Giants
, quarterback Wade Wilson was injured on Monday Night Football
and fans were cheering that fact, earning an angry retort:
After two 7–9 seasons in 1994
and 1995
, Mora appeared increasingly frustrated with his team's situation in New Orleans. The Saints' defense went into a steep decline, negating the passing heroics of quarterback Jim Everett
, acquired from the division rival Rams
in 1994 for a seventh-round draft choice. Everett came to the Saints shortly before his infamous incident with Jim Rome
on ESPN2
when Rome insulted the quarterback by calling him Chris Evert
, a reference to Jim Everett's lack of toughness.
The 1996
season started off very badly. The Saints lost their first five games, including an embarrassing 28-14 loss at home to the then-winless Arizona Cardinals
in which LeShon Johnson
rushed for 214 yards, a Cardinals franchise record which has since been broken by Beanie Wells in 2011. Following a road loss to the Baltimore Ravens
, the Saints won back-to-back home games vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars
and Chicago Bears
, but the turnaround was a mirage.
After the Saints were beaten 19–7 by the Carolina Panthers
, a loss which put them at 2–6 midway through the season, Mora walked out of the postgame press conference in disgust after a profanity-laced tirade. His outburst became famous on sports highlight reels for years to follow, largely because of Mora's use of the phrase "Diddley Poo
." On the Saints' performance, Mora said the following:
The next day, Mora unexpectedly resigned his position as head coach and was replaced by interim coach Rick Venturi
. The Saints finished the season at 3–13, their worst season since going 1-15 in 1980
. Venturi was replaced by veteran Chicago Bears
coach Mike Ditka
.
in 1997, and in 1998
he replaced Lindy Infante
as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. The team struggled to a 3–13 mark in his first year with a rookie Peyton Manning
learning the ropes at quarterback
, but had an amazing turnaround to 13-3 in 1999
, thanks in large part to the addition of rookie running back Edgerrin James
. At the time, this turnaround was the "largest" in NFL history. The Colts lost their first playoff game in the AFC Divisional Playoffs (the team received a first-round bye to advance to the Divisional Playoffs) to the Tennessee Titans
, which dropped Mora's all-time NFL postseason record to 0-5.
The Colts finished 10–6 in 2000
and made the playoffs once again, but the team lost a wild-card round playoff game to the Miami Dolphins
by a score of 23-17 in overtime. This defeat dropped Mora's overall postseason record to 0-6. Coincidentally, just hours after Mora lost what would be the sixth and final playoff game of his career, his former team, the New Orleans Saints, won their first-ever playoff game.
On November 25, 2001
, after a loss to the San Francisco 49ers
that dropped the Colts to 4–6, Mora made his famous "Playoffs?" tirade. Of the Colts' performance, Mora said:
Later in the press conference, in response to a reporter's question about the Colts' chances for making the playoffs, Mora said in a high-pitched, incredulous tone:
His "Playoffs" sound byte is regularly played back as a joke on a number of sports radio talk shows when discussing mediocre NFL teams or playoffs of other sports. The tirade would go on to be featured in a Coors Light
commercial in 2006 as part of an ad campaign that recreated NFL coaches' infamous press conferences with twenty-something male actors asking the coaches inane and unrelated non-football questions about the beer. In an appearance on the Best Damn Sports Show in 2003, Mora talked about going to autograph signings and having a kid come up to him and ask him to say "playoffs" in lieu of an autograph. He's also had some fun with the remark, saying the Playoffs? line during a media session to the New York Giants
in the days leading up to Super Bowl XLII
in Arizona
. More fun was had during 2007 training camp when he talked to his son Jim L. Mora
, then an assistant with the Seattle Seahawks
, via satellite feed on the NFL Network
and Marcus Pollard
, a former member of Mora's Colts, spoofed Mora Sr's "Playoffs?" rant.
Hampered by a defense that allowed the most points in the league (30.4 per game), Indianapolis only won two more games that year. Some sources believed that Mora could have saved his job if he fired one (or more) of his coordinators (especially defensive coordinator
Vic Fangio
) but he refused to do so. Mora was fired after the season and replaced by Tony Dungy
who led the Colts to win the Super Bowl
in 2006 before leaving the Colts after the 2008 season.
" linebacking corps. This unit consisting of Rickey Jackson
, Sam Mills
, Vaughan Johnson
, and Pat Swilling
became known as one of the best four-man linebacking corps in NFL
history. Those same Saints teams also had a strong running game, mostly led by Rueben Mayes
and Dalton Hilliard
, as well as a conservative but efficient passing game led by quarterback Bobby Hebert
and wide receiver Eric Martin.
Despite his solid regular season record (125–106), the biggest criticism of Mora has been his NFL teams' inability to win any playoff games in six appearances. His critics, both among regular fans and media reporters, often blamed his lack of success in the postseason to his conservative approach. Outwardly, Mora did not appear to take the criticisms seriously, as evidenced in another famous Mora quote from a press conference during his years in New Orleans.
Nevertheless, critics continued to argue that this conservative approach prevented his teams from closing out big games against good teams, not unlike the Marty Ball
approach Marty Schottenheimer
used during his coaching career. The most frequent complaint was that his teams' offenses would no longer be aggressive late in these football games. They accused him of trying the run out the clock and not make mistakes, and over-relying on his defense to hold the lead (instead of trying to build on the lead and score more points). More often than not, critics argued that this aspect of his conservative strategy backfired on him. For example, they point to the fact that his teams had second-half leads in four of his six playoff games, but won none of them. In three of those games, Mora's teams also had leads in the fourth quarter.
In an NFL Network
program naming Jim Mora the #10 "Coach Who Never Won a Championship," former Philadelphia Eagles
offensive lineman Brian Baldinger said of the Saints' playoff loss to the Eagles in 1992, "We beat 'em. But that's only because they called the dogs off. Whatever reason, they called the dogs off in the second half. I don't know what Jim Mora was thinking about that day." In that game, the Saints led 17-7 at halftime and 20-10 after the 3rd quarter. However, the Eagles scored 26 unanswered points in the 4th quarter and won the game 36-20.
, the primary analysis show on the newly-launched NFL Network
, a job he holds to this day.
Mora was a sports radio
commentator
for Fox Sports
's GameTime Saturday and GameTime Sunday with Dan Moriarty. On Thanksgiving Thursday, November 23, 2006
, Mora made some critical comments about the Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick
which became controversial because the Falcons were coached at the time by Mora's son, Jim L. Mora
. Craig Shemon of Fox Sports Radio
called Vick a "coach killer" and Mora quickly agreed with that assessment, saying that Vick was not a good passer and expressing concern for his son's prospects of keeping his head coaching job while the popular Vick was the team's quarterback.
On Wednesday, December 6, 2006
, according to ESPN and confirmed by FOX, Mora quit his radio show on FOX because of the controversy he caused with his comments about Vick.
Currently, Mora does game analysis for Saints games that either air on NBC or ESPN for WDSU
in New Orleans.
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
and Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
. He played football at Occidental College
Occidental College
Occidental College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887, Occidental College, or "Oxy" as it is called by students and alumni, is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast...
where he was also a member of the Alpha Tau Omega
Alpha Tau Omega
Alpha Tau Omega is a secret American leadership and social fraternity.The Fraternity has more than 250 active and inactive chapters, more than 200,000 initiates, and over 7,000 active undergraduate members. The 200,000th member was initiated in early 2009...
fraternity. His son Jim L. Mora
Jim L. Mora
James Lawrence "Jim" Mora is an American former NCAA defensive back and National Football League head coach. As of 2010, he is currently an analyst for the NFL Network....
is the former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
.
As an NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
coach, Mora is best known for turning two of the NFL's consistently losing franchises into perennial post-season contenders, his lack of success once he got his teams to the playoffs, and his often impassioned post-game tirades and press conferences, including his oft-quoted "Chocolate pudding stories", "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda," "Diddly Poo," "Ding-a-ling-a dong bong" and "Playoffs?" tirades.
Early career
As a youth Mora became an Eagle ScoutEagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
in 1950 and was presented the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award
Distinguished Eagle Scout Award
The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America . It is awarded to an Eagle Scout for distinguished service in his profession and to his community for a period of at least 25 years after attaining the level of Eagle Scout...
as an adult by the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
. Mora was a tight end
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
at Occidental College
Occidental College
Occidental College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887, Occidental College, or "Oxy" as it is called by students and alumni, is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast...
, graduating in 1957. His college roommate was Jack Kemp
Jack Kemp
Jack French Kemp was an American politician and a collegiate and professional football player. A Republican, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, having previously served nine terms as a congressman for Western New York's 31st...
, an all star quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
with the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, U.S congressman for 18 years and presidential candidate in 1988. After playing three years of service football in the United States Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Mora became an assistant coach at his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
in 1960. He moved up to head coach of Occidental a few years later and led the team for three seasons (1964–66) compiling an 18-9 record.
Mora received a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
in 1967 and left Occidental to serve as an assistant coach at Stanford
Stanford Cardinal football
The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with an FBS program, has a highly successful football tradition. The...
for the 1967 season. He then spent five seasons at Colorado
Colorado Buffaloes football
The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado at Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, having previously been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference. Before joining the Big 12,...
, one at UCLA
UCLA Bruins Football
The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll...
and three at Washington
Washington Huskies football
College football has a long history at the University of Washington. The Washington Huskies have won 15 Pacific-10 Conference championships, seven Rose Bowl titles, and three national championships. Washington's all-time record of 653-398-50 ranks 20th by all-time winning percentage and 21st by...
. In 1978 he moved to the professional ranks as the defensive line coach for the NFL's
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
under head coach Jack Patera
Jack Patera
John Arlen "Jack" Patera is a former American football player and coach in the National Football League. He played for the Baltimore Colts, Chicago Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys. He was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings. Patera was the first head...
.
USFL
In 1983 the United States Football LeagueUnited States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
came into existence and Mora became head coach of the Philadelphia Stars (who moved to Baltimore in 1985). During his tenure the team compiled a 48-13-1 (.782) record, appeared in all three USFL championship games and won two of them. Mora was named Coach of the Year in 1984 and is considered by many observers to be the best coach in the short history of the USFL. Soon after the Stars won the 1985 USFL title, Mora was named head coach of the NFL's New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
. The USFL would eventually be forced out of business after only winning $3 in an antitrust suit against the NFL.
New Orleans Saints
Mora was hired by new Saints General Manager Jim FinksJim Finks
James Edward Finks was an American sports executive, primarily for American Professional Football.-Biography:...
to turn around the franchise largely viewed as the NFL's most inept. In its first 20 seasons, New Orleans had never achieved a winning record, and only twice had reached .500, in 1979 and 1983. In late 1984, then-owner John Mecom Jr. threatened sell the team to a group of investors who planned to move the franchise to Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
if he could not find an owner or group of owners who would buy the team and keep them in New Orleans.
Mecom sold the Saints to Tom Benson
Tom Benson
See also Tom Benson and Tom Benson for the Northern Ireland Unionist.Tom Benson is the owner of the New Orleans Saints. He is currently the owner of several automobile dealerships in the Greater New Orleans and San Antonio areas...
in May 1985 for $70 million. Benson, who grew up in the city's Ninth Ward
Ninth Ward of New Orleans
The Ninth Ward or 9th Ward is a distinctive region of New Orleans, Louisiana that is located in the easternmost downriver portion of the city. It is geographically the largest of the 17 Wards of New Orleans....
, pledged to keep the team in New Orleans. The Saints limped along to a 5-11 record in 1985, and coach Bum Phillips
Bum Phillips
Oail Andrew "Bum" Phillips is a retired American football coach and the father of Wade Phillips, the Defensive Coordinator for the Houston Texans...
resigned with four games remaining. Benson hired Finks in January 1986 and charged the former Vikings and Bears executive with the task of hiring the new coach.
Mora spent his first off-season remaking the Saints roster. He convinced several players from the USFL to come to New Orleans. The imports included linebackers Sam Mills
Sam Mills
Samuel Davis "Sam" Mills, Jr. was an American football linebacker who played twelve seasons in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers.-Early life:...
and Vaughan Johnson
Vaughan Johnson
Vaughan Monroe Johnson is a retired American football linebacker.Johnson played college football at North Carolina State University. After college, he went to play in the USFL with the Jacksonville Bulls. Afterwards, he would go on to the NFL and play for the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia...
, who went on to form the inside tandem of the legendary "Dome Patrol" linebacking corps with veteran Rickey Jackson
Rickey Jackson
Rickey Anderson Jackson is a former American football linebacker in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers . In 1997, Jackson was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame. Jackson won a Super Bowl ring with the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX one year before retiring...
and draftee Pat Swilling
Pat Swilling
Patrick Travis Swilling is a former American football linebacker in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and a delegate in the Louisiana House of Representatives. He earned five Pro Bowl appearances.-College career:...
on the outside. Mora inherited quarterback Bobby Hebert
Bobby Hebert
Bobby Joseph Hebert Jr., is an American sportscaster who is best known as a retired Pro bowl American football quarterback of the New Orleans Saints. He played professionally in the USFL and NFL from 1983 to 1996 for the Michigan Panthers, Oakland Invaders, New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta Falcons...
and receiver Eric Martin from Phillips, and drafted running back Reuben Mayes and tackle Jim Dombrowski
Jim Dombrowski
James Matthew Dombrowski was an American football guard and tackle in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints. Dombrowski attended Williamsville South High School and the University of Virginia where his Jersey number 73 was retired...
.
After a 7-9 record his first season, Mora led the Saints to a 12-3 record in 1987
1987 NFL season
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...
. That was the Saints' first season over .500 and its first playoff appearance. In week 6 of the 1987 season the Saints lost a 24-22 game to the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, missing a last-second field goal. After the game Mora launched what became known as his "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda" speech. In his postgame press conference, Mora angrily said the following:
The Saints responded by winning their last 9 games. The team's 12–3 record in the 1987 season was the second-best in the NFL that year. Unfortunately for them, the 49ers had the league's best record (13–2), and also played in the NFC West. Therefore, the Saints were a wild-card team (since 1987 was a strike-shortened season with replacement games, it should be noted that the Saints and 49ers had identical 10–2 records in regular season non-replacement games). Nonetheless, the Saints were able to play their first playoff game at home, which they lost 44–10 to the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
. Mora received the NFL Coach of the Year Award
NFL Coach of the Year Award
The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disposal. Currently, the most widely recognized award is presented by the...
.
Mora's Saints finished 10–6 in 1988
1988 NFL season
The 1988 NFL season was the 69th regular season of the National Football League. The Cardinals relocated from St. Louis, Missouri to the Phoenix, Arizona area becoming the Phoenix Cardinals but remained in the NFC East division....
, and were part of a three-way tie for first in the NFC West with the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
and Los Angeles Rams. However, the 49ers won the division on tie-breakers, and the Saints lost the wild-card tiebreaker with the Rams and missed the playoffs. In 1989
1989 NFL season
The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement...
, the Saints again had a winning record (9–7) but finished 3rd in the NFC West and missed the playoffs.
Thereafter his Saints teams made the playoffs three more times. In 1990
1990 NFL season
The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period...
, the Saints only finished 8–8, but managed to make the playoffs as a wild card. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, 16–6.
In 1991
1991 NFL season
The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills....
, Mora's Saints finished 11-5 and won the team's first division title. However, the Saints lost again in the first round of the playoffs. They lost at home to the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
27-20, in spite of finishing one game ahead of the Falcons in the NFC West during the regular season.
In 1992
1992 NFL season
The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League.Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots–Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that...
, Mora led the Saints to its second 12-win season in 6 years, finishing 12-4. They were a wild card again, however, as the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
finished 14-2. But for the second time in two years, the Saints were upset at home in the first round the playoffs, as the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
defeated the Saints, 36–20. This would be the Saints' last playoff game during Mora's tenure, leaving Mora with an 0–4 playoff record in New Orleans. The Saints would not win a playoff game until 2000.
1993
1993 NFL season
The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time in league history, all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new...
marked the beginning of the decline of Mora's Saints. The team started the season 5–0 and appeared to be headed to the postseason again; however, after the Saints' bye week, the team went into a tailspin and went only 3–8 in the final 11 games, including losing 4 out of their last 5 games. 1993 was Mora's last season of .500 or better in New Orleans. In the Week 16 game against the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, quarterback Wade Wilson was injured on Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
and fans were cheering that fact, earning an angry retort:
After two 7–9 seasons in 1994
1994 NFL season
The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...
and 1995
1995 NFL season
The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
, Mora appeared increasingly frustrated with his team's situation in New Orleans. The Saints' defense went into a steep decline, negating the passing heroics of quarterback Jim Everett
Jim Everett
James Samuel Everett III is a retired professional American football quarterback who played for twelve seasons in the National Football League ....
, acquired from the division rival Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
in 1994 for a seventh-round draft choice. Everett came to the Saints shortly before his infamous incident with Jim Rome
Jim Rome
Jim Rome is an American sports radio talk show host syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications....
on ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
when Rome insulted the quarterback by calling him Chris Evert
Chris Evert
Christine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world number 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. She was the year-ending World No...
, a reference to Jim Everett's lack of toughness.
The 1996
1996 NFL season
The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...
season started off very badly. The Saints lost their first five games, including an embarrassing 28-14 loss at home to the then-winless Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in which LeShon Johnson
LeShon Johnson
LeShon Eugene Johnson is a former American football player who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 1994 NFL Draft....
rushed for 214 yards, a Cardinals franchise record which has since been broken by Beanie Wells in 2011. Following a road loss to the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
, the Saints won back-to-back home games vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, but the turnaround was a mirage.
After the Saints were beaten 19–7 by the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
, a loss which put them at 2–6 midway through the season, Mora walked out of the postgame press conference in disgust after a profanity-laced tirade. His outburst became famous on sports highlight reels for years to follow, largely because of Mora's use of the phrase "Diddley Poo
Shit
Shit is usually considered vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun it refers to fecal matter and as a verb it means to defecate or defecate in; in the plural it means diarrhea...
." On the Saints' performance, Mora said the following:
The next day, Mora unexpectedly resigned his position as head coach and was replaced by interim coach Rick Venturi
Rick Venturi
-External links:...
. The Saints finished the season at 3–13, their worst season since going 1-15 in 1980
1980 NFL season
The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League.After the league declined to approve the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles, the team along with the Los Angeles Coliseum sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws...
. Venturi was replaced by veteran Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
coach Mike Ditka
Mike Ditka
Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head...
.
Indianapolis Colts
Mora served as a color analyst for NBCNFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...
in 1997, and in 1998
1998 NFL season
The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...
he replaced Lindy Infante
Lindy Infante
Gelindo "Lindy" Infante is a former American college football player and assistant coach, who became an offensive coordinator and head coach in both the National Football League and the United States Football League...
as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. The team struggled to a 3–13 mark in his first year with a rookie Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...
learning the ropes at quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
, but had an amazing turnaround to 13-3 in 1999
1999 NFL season
The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season...
, thanks in large part to the addition of rookie running back Edgerrin James
Edgerrin James
Edgerrin Tyree James is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts fourth overall in the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Miami....
. At the time, this turnaround was the "largest" in NFL history. The Colts lost their first playoff game in the AFC Divisional Playoffs (the team received a first-round bye to advance to the Divisional Playoffs) to the Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
, which dropped Mora's all-time NFL postseason record to 0-5.
The Colts finished 10–6 in 2000
2000 NFL season
The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants.Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000...
and made the playoffs once again, but the team lost a wild-card round playoff game to the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
by a score of 23-17 in overtime. This defeat dropped Mora's overall postseason record to 0-6. Coincidentally, just hours after Mora lost what would be the sixth and final playoff game of his career, his former team, the New Orleans Saints, won their first-ever playoff game.
On November 25, 2001
2001 NFL season
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day...
, after a loss to the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
that dropped the Colts to 4–6, Mora made his famous "Playoffs?" tirade. Of the Colts' performance, Mora said:
Later in the press conference, in response to a reporter's question about the Colts' chances for making the playoffs, Mora said in a high-pitched, incredulous tone:
His "Playoffs" sound byte is regularly played back as a joke on a number of sports radio talk shows when discussing mediocre NFL teams or playoffs of other sports. The tirade would go on to be featured in a Coors Light
Coors Light
Coors Light is a light beer produced by the Coors Brewing Company. It was first produced in 1978.The beer has a "Cold Certified" label which turns the mountains on the label from white to blue when the beer's temperature is lowered to 4 degrees Celsius .- Promotions :In 2008, Coors Light became...
commercial in 2006 as part of an ad campaign that recreated NFL coaches' infamous press conferences with twenty-something male actors asking the coaches inane and unrelated non-football questions about the beer. In an appearance on the Best Damn Sports Show in 2003, Mora talked about going to autograph signings and having a kid come up to him and ask him to say "playoffs" in lieu of an autograph. He's also had some fun with the remark, saying the Playoffs? line during a media session to the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the days leading up to Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. More fun was had during 2007 training camp when he talked to his son Jim L. Mora
Jim L. Mora
James Lawrence "Jim" Mora is an American former NCAA defensive back and National Football League head coach. As of 2010, he is currently an analyst for the NFL Network....
, then an assistant with the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, via satellite feed on the NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
and Marcus Pollard
Marcus Pollard
Marcus LaJuan Pollard is a former American football tight end.-College career:Pollard attended Bradley University, where he played basketball. Bradley did not have a football program at the time he matriculated there...
, a former member of Mora's Colts, spoofed Mora Sr's "Playoffs?" rant.
Hampered by a defense that allowed the most points in the league (30.4 per game), Indianapolis only won two more games that year. Some sources believed that Mora could have saved his job if he fired one (or more) of his coordinators (especially defensive coordinator
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
Vic Fangio
Vic Fangio
Vic Fangio is an American football coach. He is the current defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. Prior to being named the 49ers Defensive Coordinator, Fangio was defensive coordinator for the Stanford Cardinal, linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens and defensive coordinator for...
) but he refused to do so. Mora was fired after the season and replaced by Tony Dungy
Tony Dungy
Anthony Kevin "Tony" Dungy [DUN-jee] is a former professional American football player and coach in the National Football League. Dungy was head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 2001, and head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2002 to 2008...
who led the Colts to win the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
in 2006 before leaving the Colts after the 2008 season.
Coaching philosophy
Mora favored a conservative approach to the game, relying on a strong running game and solid defensive play. Perhaps more than any other teams, the Saints teams of the late 1980s embodied his coaching style. Those teams were led by the "Dome PatrolDome Patrol
The Dome Patrol was the nickname of the New Orleans Saints football team's linebacker corps of the late 1980s and the early 1990s. The Dome Patrol was rated by NFL Network as the #1 linebacker corps of all-time.Its members were:...
" linebacking corps. This unit consisting of Rickey Jackson
Rickey Jackson
Rickey Anderson Jackson is a former American football linebacker in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers . In 1997, Jackson was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame. Jackson won a Super Bowl ring with the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX one year before retiring...
, Sam Mills
Sam Mills
Samuel Davis "Sam" Mills, Jr. was an American football linebacker who played twelve seasons in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers.-Early life:...
, Vaughan Johnson
Vaughan Johnson
Vaughan Monroe Johnson is a retired American football linebacker.Johnson played college football at North Carolina State University. After college, he went to play in the USFL with the Jacksonville Bulls. Afterwards, he would go on to the NFL and play for the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia...
, and Pat Swilling
Pat Swilling
Patrick Travis Swilling is a former American football linebacker in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and a delegate in the Louisiana House of Representatives. He earned five Pro Bowl appearances.-College career:...
became known as one of the best four-man linebacking corps in NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
history. Those same Saints teams also had a strong running game, mostly led by Rueben Mayes
Rueben Mayes
Rueben Mayes is a Canadian who played in the National Football League from 1986 to 1993.He first gained notoriety as a running back at North Battleford Comprehensive High School in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. In 1980 Mayes led the NBCHS Vikings to an undefeated season and the SHSAA 3A...
and Dalton Hilliard
Dalton Hilliard
Dalton Hilliard is a former professional American football running back for the New Orleans Saints from 1986-1993. He played his entire NFL career for the Saints and was a Pro Bowl selection in 1989...
, as well as a conservative but efficient passing game led by quarterback Bobby Hebert
Bobby Hebert
Bobby Joseph Hebert Jr., is an American sportscaster who is best known as a retired Pro bowl American football quarterback of the New Orleans Saints. He played professionally in the USFL and NFL from 1983 to 1996 for the Michigan Panthers, Oakland Invaders, New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta Falcons...
and wide receiver Eric Martin.
Despite his solid regular season record (125–106), the biggest criticism of Mora has been his NFL teams' inability to win any playoff games in six appearances. His critics, both among regular fans and media reporters, often blamed his lack of success in the postseason to his conservative approach. Outwardly, Mora did not appear to take the criticisms seriously, as evidenced in another famous Mora quote from a press conference during his years in New Orleans.
Nevertheless, critics continued to argue that this conservative approach prevented his teams from closing out big games against good teams, not unlike the Marty Ball
Marty Ball
Marty Ball is a philosophy of football associated with and named after former NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer. In simple terms, it means a focus on the running game, with passing used only to further the running game....
approach Marty Schottenheimer
Marty Schottenheimer
Martin Edward "Marty" Schottenheimer is the current head coach of the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. Over his career, he has served as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers. He has the most wins of any NFL coach...
used during his coaching career. The most frequent complaint was that his teams' offenses would no longer be aggressive late in these football games. They accused him of trying the run out the clock and not make mistakes, and over-relying on his defense to hold the lead (instead of trying to build on the lead and score more points). More often than not, critics argued that this aspect of his conservative strategy backfired on him. For example, they point to the fact that his teams had second-half leads in four of his six playoff games, but won none of them. In three of those games, Mora's teams also had leads in the fourth quarter.
In an NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
program naming Jim Mora the #10 "Coach Who Never Won a Championship," former Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
offensive lineman Brian Baldinger said of the Saints' playoff loss to the Eagles in 1992, "We beat 'em. But that's only because they called the dogs off. Whatever reason, they called the dogs off in the second half. I don't know what Jim Mora was thinking about that day." In that game, the Saints led 17-7 at halftime and 20-10 after the 3rd quarter. However, the Eagles scored 26 unanswered points in the 4th quarter and won the game 36-20.
Head coaching record
| Team | |Regular Season | NOR 1986 New Orleans Saints season The 1986 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 20th as a member of the National Football League. They bested their previous season's output of 5–11, winning seven games. Despite being in the NFL for twenty seasons, the team still had yet to qualify for the playoffs.-Staff:-Schedule:-References:... |
1986 1986 NFL season The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos to win their first league title in 30 years.-Major rule changes:... |
7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4th in NFC West | - | - | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR 1987 New Orleans Saints season The 1987 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints' 21st season. The Saints qualified for the postseason for the first time, riding largely on a nine-game winning streak to close the season... |
1987 1987 NFL season The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players... |
12 | 3 | 0 | .800 | 2nd in NFC West | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Minnesota Vikings 1987 Minnesota Vikings season -Schedule:Note: The October 18 game against Tampa Bay was originally scheduled to played in Minneapolis. The game was switched with the November 15 game due to Game 2 of the World Series... in NFC Wild-Card Game. |
||
| NOR 1988 New Orleans Saints season The 1988 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 22nd as a member of the National Football League. They were unable to match their previous season's output of 12–3, winning only ten games and failing to qualify for the playoffs.-Staff:-Schedule:... |
1988 1988 NFL season The 1988 NFL season was the 69th regular season of the National Football League. The Cardinals relocated from St. Louis, Missouri to the Phoenix, Arizona area becoming the Phoenix Cardinals but remained in the NFC East division.... |
10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3rd in NFC West | - | - | - | - | ||
| NOR 1989 New Orleans Saints season -NFL Draft:-Staff:-Schedule:-External links:**... |
1989 1989 NFL season The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement... |
9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 3rd in NFC West | - | - | - | - | ||
| NOR 1990 New Orleans Saints season The 1990 New Orleans Saints season saw the Saints qualify for the postseason. The Saints became the 5th team in NFL history at or below .500 to qualify for postseason play.-NFL Draft:-Staff:-Roster:-Schedule:-Playoffs:-External links:**... |
1990 1990 NFL season The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period... |
8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in NFC West | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Chicago Bears 1990 Chicago Bears season The 1990 Chicago Bears season was their 71st regular season and 20th postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 11–5 record, and lost in the NFC Divisional playoffs to the New York Giants.-NFL Draft:-Roster:-Schedule:... in NFC Wild-Card Game. |
||
| NOR 1991 New Orleans Saints season The 1991 New Orleans Saints season saw the Saints win their first ever division title.-NFL Draft:-Staff:-Roster:-Schedule:-Playoffs:-NFC Wild Card Game:... |
1991 1991 NFL season The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills.... |
11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1st in NFC West | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Atlanta Falcons 1991 Atlanta Falcons season -Roster:-Schedule:-NFC Wild Card Game:Falcons quarterback Chris Miller completed the game-winning 61-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Haynes with 2:41 left in the contest... in NFC Wild-Card Game. |
||
| NOR 1992 New Orleans Saints season The 1992 New Orleans Saints season saw the Saints qualify for the postseason.-Offseason:The team entered 1992 with great expectations after its NFC West division title season of 1991. It was the franchise's first division championship since entering the NFL in 1967... |
1992 1992 NFL season The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League.Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots–Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that... |
12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 2nd in NFC West | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Philadelphia Eagles 1992 Philadelphia Eagles season The 1992 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 60th in the league. The team improved upon their previous output of 10–6, winning eleven games and qualifying for the playoffs.-Offseason:... in NFC Wild-Card Game. |
||
| NOR 1993 New Orleans Saints season The 1993 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 27th as a member of the National Football League. They were unable to match their previous season's output of 12–4, winning only eight games. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in four years.-Staff:-Schedule:-References:... |
1993 1993 NFL season The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time in league history, all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new... |
8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in NFC West | - | - | - | - | ||
| NOR 1994 New Orleans Saints season The 1994 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 28th as a member of the National Football League. They were unable to match their previous season's output of 8–8, winning only seven games. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second straight year.-Staff:-Schedule:-References:... |
1994 1994 NFL season The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season... |
7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 2nd in NFC West | - | - | - | - | ||
| NOR 1995 New Orleans Saints season The 1995 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints 29th season in the NFL.-Staff:-Schedule:-Awards and records:*Jim Everett, Franchise Record, Most Passing Yards in One Season, 3,970 yards... |
1995 1995 NFL season The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars... |
7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 5th in NFC West | - | - | - | - | ||
| NOR 1996 New Orleans Saints season The 1996 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 30th as a member of the National Football League. They were unable to match their previous season's output of 7–9, winning only three games. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth straight year.-Staff:-Schedule:-References:... |
1996 1996 NFL season The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end... |
2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| NOR Total | 93 | 74 | 0 | .556 | 0 | 4 | .000 | |||||
| IND 1998 Indianapolis Colts season The 1998 Indianapolis Colts season was the 46th season for the team in the National Football League and 15th in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League's 1998 season with a record of 3 wins and 13 losses, and finished fifth in the AFC East division.-NFL... |
1998 1998 NFL season The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS... |
3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 5th in AFC East | - | - | - | - | ||
| IND 1999 Indianapolis Colts season The 1999 Indianapolis Colts season was the 47th season for the team in the National Football League and 16th in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League's 1999 season with a record of 13 wins and 3 losses, and won the AFC East... |
1999 1999 NFL season The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season... |
13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 1st in AFC East | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Tennessee Titans 1999 Tennessee Titans season The 1999 Tennessee Titans season was the Titans' 40th season and their 30th in the National Football League. It was the first season for the club under the moniker "Titans," while the nickname "Oilers" was retired by the NFL... in AFC Divisional Game. |
||
| IND 2000 Indianapolis Colts season The 2000 Indianapolis Colts season was the 48th season for the team in the National Football League and 17th in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League's 2000 season with a record of 10 wins and 6 losses, and finished second in the AFC East... |
2000 2000 NFL season The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants.Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000... |
10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 2nd in AFC East | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Miami Dolphins 2000 Miami Dolphins season The 2000 season was the 33rd in franchise history. Dave Wannstedt was named the fourth head coach in franchise history on January 16, 2000.-NFL Draft:-Preseason:-Schedule:-Standings:-Playoffs:-Awards and honors:... in AFC Wild-Card Game. |
||
| IND 2001 Indianapolis Colts season The 2001 Indianapolis Colts season was the 49th season for the team in the National Football League and 18th in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League's 2001 season with a record of 6 wins and 10 losses, and finished fourth in the AFC East division... |
2001 2001 NFL season The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day... |
6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 4th in AFC East | - | - | - | - | ||
| IND Total | 32 | 32 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 2 | .000 | |||||
| Total | 125 | 106 | 0 | .541 | 0 | 6 | .000 | |||||
Life after coaching
In 2003, Mora became an on-air analyst for NFL Total AccessNFL Total Access
NFL Total Access is a television news program on the NFL Network.The network treats it as the league's "show of record" and bills it as the only year-round show dedicated to the National Football League, despite the ESPN show NFL Live running year round as well.NFL Total Access is primarily hosted...
, the primary analysis show on the newly-launched NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
, a job he holds to this day.
Mora was a sports radio
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
commentator
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
for Fox Sports
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
's GameTime Saturday and GameTime Sunday with Dan Moriarty. On Thanksgiving Thursday, November 23, 2006
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
, Mora made some critical comments about the Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick
Michael Vick
Michael Dwayne Vick is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League...
which became controversial because the Falcons were coached at the time by Mora's son, Jim L. Mora
Jim L. Mora
James Lawrence "Jim" Mora is an American former NCAA defensive back and National Football League head coach. As of 2010, he is currently an analyst for the NFL Network....
. Craig Shemon of Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
called Vick a "coach killer" and Mora quickly agreed with that assessment, saying that Vick was not a good passer and expressing concern for his son's prospects of keeping his head coaching job while the popular Vick was the team's quarterback.
On Wednesday, December 6, 2006
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
, according to ESPN and confirmed by FOX, Mora quit his radio show on FOX because of the controversy he caused with his comments about Vick.
Currently, Mora does game analysis for Saints games that either air on NBC or ESPN for WDSU
WDSU
WDSU, virtual channel 6, is the NBC-affiliated television station for the New Orleans, Louisiana television market. It is owned by Hearst Television, which in turn is wholly owned by the Hearst Corporation. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel 43...
in New Orleans.
External links
- Playoffs? on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Diddley Poo on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Top 10 Most Embarrassing TV/Radio Interview moments by SI.com.
- Jim Mora Post Game Rants on Postgamerants.com