Jim Mora Jr. has been around the sport of football a long time. His father was a head coach in both the NFL and college, having led both the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts to the postseason numerous times. Mora Jr., himself, has coached with five different NFL organizations and is now on his third college team as the first-year head coach of the UConn Huskies.
Speaking with the media on Tuesday leading up to the game against Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines at the Big House this Saturday, Mora Jr. showed a ton of respect towards Harbaugh and the program.
“Great opportunity to play against one of the premier teams in college football,” Mora Jr. said. “Team that played in the College Football Playoff last year, and to me looks better than ever. They’re extremely well-coached, they’re big, they’re fast, they’re extremely skilled. They have their sights set on a national championship, as they should be. They’re certainly worthy of that goal and expectation, when you look at their film.”
Mora Jr. didn’t stop there with his praise for his Week 3 opponent.
“(Michigan) is a team with zero holes. As you look at them, they do not have a weakness,” Mora Jr. admitted. “It’s going to be a great challenge for our young men. We’re going to try and go up there and fight and compete like crazy and try to win the game against a very good team. We’re not going up there for any other reason other than to give our best effort to win the game. I think this is a fantastic, fantastic opportunity and challenge for our guys, and I think they relish this opportunity.”
You’d think that two head coaches like Mora Jr. and Harbaugh, with the history and pedigree they have, would have crossed paths on the football field at some point. Somehow, that is not the case, as this will be their first head-to-head matchup. Despite never having competed against one another, Mora Jr. is still familiar with Harbaugh and thinks quite highly of him as a head coach in both the NFL and college.
“I have great respect for him,” Mora Jr. said. “I think he’s one of the premier head coaches in all of football. I think he’s proven that by the records he’s been able to put up in the NFL and at Michigan (...) I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. I think he’s a guy with an incredible amount of integrity. I’ve met him and we’ve talked, but we don’t have a personal relationship.”
Odds are after this game — with Michigan listed as a 46.5-point favorite — they probably won’t have much of a personal relationship once the clock hits zero, either.
Kickoff for Michigan vs. UConn this Saturday is set for noon on ABC.
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