Word began to break late last night that UConn's Jim Mora was heading west to take over at Colorado State.
Yesterday, in our Inside Scoop piece on the North Texas job, we had shared that talks between Mora and Colorado State had intensified, and this morning the news became official that he had accepted the head coaching job in Fort Collins.
UConn athletic director David Benedict shared the following statement this morning:
Jim Mora informed me late last night that he has accepted the head coaching position at Colorado State.
We are grateful for Coach Mora's contributions to UConn over the past four seasons. He took on the challenge of rebuilding our football program and delivered results that exceeded expectations. Under his leadership, the Huskies won 27 games and achieved bowl eligibility in three of his four seasons, including back-to-back nine-win seasons for the first time in program history.
Coach Mora brought energy and a winning culture back to UConn football and put our program back on the national stage.
We thank Jim for his dedication to our student-athletes and wish him, his wife Kathy and his family the best at Colorado State.
We now turn our attention to finding the right leader to build on the foundation that has been established and continue moving UConn football forward.
Offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis will lead the team in the interim as a national search for the next head coach at the University of Connecticut will begin immediately.
Long regarded among one of the tougher jobs in FBS football, Mora took over in 2022 and immediately led the Huskies to a postseason bowl game and 6-7 finish before a dip to 3-9 in year two.
The past two seasons, he has led the program to back-to-back nine win seasons, complete with a Fenway Bowl victory.
The former NFL head coach with stops leading the Falcons (2004-06) and Seahawks (2006), Mora led UCLA for six seasons, leading the Bruins to wins 29 wins in his first three seasons. After finishes of 9-5, 10-3, 10-3, and then 8-5, the program struggled in his final two seasons, finishing just 4-8 and 5-6 before leaving UCLA with a 46-30 record overall.
At Colorado State, he takes over for Jay Norvell, who led the Rams to one postseason berth in under four years on the job. Norvell left with a 18-26 record before being let go after a 2-5 start to the 2025 season.
While the move from Group of Five independent to another Group of Five program will seem like a lateral move to some, it's worth noting that Colorado State believes they're near the top of the list of schools the next time Power Conference realignment comes around.
At UConn, offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis has been named interim head coach.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for all the latest.