Jim Mora probably isn’t going to lead Colorado State to the College Football Playoff, but that doesn’t mean he’s the wrong hire.

As the Rams head into the new-look Pac-12, they needed a floor raiser — badly. It’s nowhere near the old Pac-12 or even a conference like the Big 12, but CSU was in danger of being the runt of the football litter in its new league.

Since Jay Norvell was hired in 2022, the Rams are 4-10 against teams that will be in the Pac-12 next season. That’s not going to cut it.

Even if it was the old Pac-12 with Oregon, Stanford and USC, Mora knows how to win in that league. He took UCLA to the conference title game in his first season in Westwood. He won 37 games across his first four seasons with the Bruins and twice finished in the top 20 of the final AP poll. 

Now, in his most recent chapter at UConn, Mora has continued to win, delivering the Huskies back-to-back nine-win seasons for the first time in program history.

The Rams are still searching for their first back-to-back bowl appearances since the start of the Mike Bobo era. 

Mora should have no issues breaking that streak early in his CSU tenure. Whether it was with a UConn team without a conference or at UCLA where he was second fiddle in his own city, Mora knows how to do more with less. 

The Rams are confident they have the resources to compete among the best Group of Six programs. However, they still must worry about the likes of Oklahoma, BYU and Cal coming into Colorado and stealing the state’s best high school talent.

That’s OK, though. Mora has connections up and down the west coast and is bringing his right-hand man in recruiting, Justin Cummings-Morrow, with him. 

Thanks to a bold, out-of-left-field hire by athletics director John Weber, CSU will be OK in the Pac-12. The Rams will be competitive from the jump and will consistently be near the top of the conference. But they won’t reach the expectations of Weber, including a trip to the CFP. 

That’s OK, too. By the time the 64-year-old Mora retires, CSU will be a destination job for the next hot-shot young coach.

That, more than anything, is what the Rams should be striving to be right now.

The Jim Mora File

Age: 64

Hometown: Los Angeles

Alma mater: University of Washington

Coaching history (head coach unless otherwise noted)

2022-25: UConn

2012-17: UCLA

2009: Seattle Seahawks

2007-08: Assistant head coach/defensive backs, Seattle Seahawks

2004-06: Atlanta Falcons

1999-03: Defensive coordinator, San Francisco 49ers

1997-98: Defensive backs, San Francisco 49ers

1992-96: Defensive backs, New Orleans Saints

1989-91: Defensive backs, San Diego Chargers

1986-88: Assistant defensive backs, San Diego Chargers

1985: Quality control, San Diego Chargers

1984: Graduate assistant, Washington