| UCLA Wire
Tim Skipper and Jerry Neuheisel have had a rough month at UCLA. A series of blowout losses makes it clear that the Bruins won’t retain two members of their interim coaching staff. Yet, Skipper and Neuheisel showed enough to earn a shot at other jobs. The problem: Other jobs are already being taken in the coaching carousel. It was hard to avoid noticing that former UCLA coach Jim Mora Jr. — even though currently employed by UConn — was able to grab the open job at Colorado State.
“Mora was rumored to be in consideration for UCLA’s opening but he’ll head back to the Pac-12 Conference,” UCLA Wire’s Dylan McNeill wrote. “Mora was the Bruins head coach from 2012-2017, where he posted a record of 46-30 with two 10-win seasons. UConn hired Mora ahead of the 2022 season and since then he’s had a 27-23 record with the Huskies. USA TODAY’s Ehsan Kassim wrote about how Mora helped turn around the UConn football program over his tenure in Storrs.”
Colorado State made sense as a possibility for Tim Skipper, who previously coached in the Mountain West at Fresno State. Skipper, if he does become a head coach, could easily bring Jerry Neuheisel with him as offensive coordinator. Colorado State’s door is closed. Now Skipper and Neuheisel need to find a new door which will open for them somewhere else.
New Mexico head coach Jason Eck might get a bigger job, maybe in the American Conference if vacancies emerge there due to SEC teams hiring coaches away from that league. Maybe the door could open in Albuquerque for Skipper and Neuheisel in the coaching carousel’s game of musical chairs.
