Quartet of coaches grab another opportunity in Pac-12

LOS ANGELES – The Pacific-12 Conference likes to call itself the conference of champions.

By Jayne Kamin-Oncea,, U.S. Presswire

The job at UCLA is the first at college for Jim Mora since 1984, when he was a graduate assistant at Washington, another Pac-12 school.

By Jayne Kamin-Oncea,, U.S. Presswire

The job at UCLA is the first at college for Jim Mora since 1984, when he was a graduate assistant at Washington, another Pac-12 school.

Sometimes it is also a conference of second chances.

Rich Rodriguez, fired at Michigan in 2011 after three seasons that included NCAA violations and a school-record nine losses in 2008, is the new coach at Arizona.

Mike Leach, fired at Texas Tech in 2009 after a dispute involving his treatment of receiver Adam James— son of former ESPN analyst Craig James— is the new coach at Washington State.

Jim Mora, fired in 2010 as coach of the Seattle Seahawks— and in 2007 by the Atlanta Falcons— is the new coach at UCLA, his first college job since he was a graduate assistant at Washington in 1984.

And Todd Graham — who wasn't fired but left Pittsburgh last year after a single season, famously telling players via text message — is the new coach at Arizona State.

Rodriguez seems reflective after his success at West Virginia failed to translate at Michigan.

"I don't know if you prepare for that in Coaching 101. I think you're always kind of driven to try to get to the top, and then when you go through a situation like we did, maybe you take time for the first time to reflect," he said. "That's what I did. I never reflected in 26 years before I got fired. Then you get the TV gigs, and you're flying on the plane, and you think, 'OK, what happened, what went good, what went bad and how do I fix it going forward?'

"It's tempting to point the finger at someone else, but there's always more than one reason, including myself."

Leach is perhaps less reflective.

"I haven't really changed at all, other than maybe sorting some ideas and narrowing it down, if anything, rather than expanded," he said. "What we did was incredibly successful, so we're kind of maintaining that. The philosophy's not just some scheme-based thing. A lot of it is execution. Execution is always more important than scheme and resources.

"I already was trying as hard as I could to begin with, so 'second wind' really wouldn't have done me much good."

The other theme of the new hires — one that will show on the field — is offense.

Only Mora is best known as a defensive coach, and he hired Noel Mazzone, known for his up-tempo, no-huddle scheme, as offensive coordinator.

Rodriguez made his reputation with a spread-option offense at West Virginia — going 11-1 in the 2005 season with a Sugar Bowl win against Georgia — and the style might be a better fit in the Pac-12 than it was in the Big Ten.

"Of course, I'm biased, I think it can fit anywhere, and I think schemes are sometimes overrated from the standpoint of does a scheme win you ball games or lose you ball games," Rodriguez said.

"I think you have to have good players executing, and I think what we do is a good fit in this league … but I think it's a good fit in any league."

Leach's spread offense helped Texas Tech lead the nation in passing six times and in total offense three times. In 2008, the Red Raiders went 11-2.

Graham has a background as a defensive coordinator, but his Tulsa teams led the nation in total offense twice and had at least 10 wins in three of his four seasons.

Add all that to a league led by Southern California's Heisman factory and Oregon's fast-forward style.

"I think the league bringing new coaches in will energize guys and bring excitement to the table for the conference and for the fans," California coach Jeff Tedford said.

Rodriguez took a look around and understands what Tedford means.

"That's why I say, I wouldn't want to be a defensive coordinator in this league. Holy cow," Rodriguez said.

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