So, here’s a curveball you probably didn’t see coming, not in a million years-especially if you’ve been following college football and the whole wild, unpredictable coaching carousel. Jim Mora, the guy who just, you know, sort of brought UConn football back from the absolute abyss (or at least pointed it in the right direction), is out. He’s reportedly headed to Colorado State. Yeah, you heard that right. Colorado State. It’s a move that, frankly, threw a lot of us for a loop. I mean, after the 2022 season, it really felt like Mora had something building in Storrs, you know?

I remember thinking-and a lot of my colleagues agreed-that UConn was finally finding its footing. They made a bowl game! After, what, forever? It felt like a legitimate turnaround, an honest-to-goodness resurrection of a program that had just been, well, let’s just say a punching bag for a long time. Mora was the guy, the personality, the experienced hand who seemed to grasp what it would take. Or so we thought.

Now, while I’m scrambling to rewrite my mental narrative for the Huskies, everyone’s asking the same question: What the heck happened? Why leave a situation where you’re a hero, a program builder, for… Colorado State? No disrespect to the Rams, but it’s not exactly a promotion that screams “destination job” in the P4 (or soon-to-be P2, whatever it is these days) landscape. This shift feels less like a strategic climb and more like, dare I say it, a bit of a lateral jolt. Or maybe even a step sideways, which, for a coach with Mora’s pedigree, is just fascinating.

The Storrs Surprise-Exit Stage Left

Let’s be real, UConn wasn’t exactly a powerhouse when Mora walked in. It was a barren wasteland of college football aspirations. I mean, they were truly, deeply awful for years. Mora came in, brought a certain swagger, and quickly, surprisingly, made them respectable. Not world-beaters, no, but they stopped being an automatic win on everyone’s schedule, which was a huge step, believe me. You saw the excitement, the fan engagement picking up-it was palpable.

Building What, Then Abandoning It?

That 22 season, making the Myrtle Beach Bowl, that wasn’t just luck; it was coaching. It was putting together a tough, disciplined team, and frankly, making do with what they had. He instilled a belief that had been missing for so long. So, to then see him bail feels a bit like-and this is just my take, mind you-like drawing a really promising blueprint for a magnificent house and then handing the project over to someone else just as the foundation is poured. It’s perplexing.

• The turnaround: From 1-11 in 2021 (his first year, granted, inheriting a mess) to 6-7 in 2022. That’s a jump, not a stumble.
• Fan base buzz: You could actually feel the renewed interest. People were talking UConn football again, which, honestly, felt like a miracle.

A colleague of mine actually put it best: “It’s like he started painting a masterpiece and then decided he wanted to try watercolors somewhere else.” It’s not a bad analogy, really. The job at UConn was hard, it was a grind, but he seemed to be enjoying the challenge of proving everyone wrong. So, why the sudden detour?

“You don’t just walk away from that kind of momentum, from being the ‘savior,’ unless there’s something seriously compelling on the other side, or something seriously wrong here.”

Colorado State Calling-The Ram’s Lure?

Okay, so let’s talk about Colorado State. Fort Collins is a nice town, sure, but the football program? It’s been pretty consistently… middling. They’ve had their moments, like that stretch under Jim McElwain, but overall, it’s not a program that usually snags coaches who just led a P5 (even if independent) team to a bowl game after decades of futility. That’s the part that just doesn’t quite add up in my head.

What’s the Hidden Appeal?

Is it money? Probably a factor, always is in this business. But I can’t imagine CSU is throwing such an obscene amount of cash that it makes a coach ditch a positive, albeit slow, trajectory in the northeast for a lateral G5 move. Is it opportunity? Perhaps a belief he can “win bigger” there, faster, without the same level of resource-gap issues against traditional powers like UConn faces? That’s a possibility, but still, it feels like an odd fit.

• Resource debate: Is CSU’s investment in football significantly higher than UConn’s, making it a more ‘winnable’ situation long-term within its conference?
• Geography bonus?: Maybe it’s a family thing, closer to the West Coast, where he has deeper roots. That’s always a legitimate consideration for coaches.

Whatever the reasoning, it makes you wonder about the behind-the-scenes stuff, doesn’t it? Was there some friction with the UConn administration? Budgetary disagreements? Promises that weren’t kept? Or maybe, just maybe, Mora saw a ceiling at UConn that he didn’t see himself breaking through. Perhaps he looked at the ever-shifting landscape of college football-the NIL, the transfer portal, conference realignment-and decided a fresh start in a different conference, even if a perceived “smaller” one, offered a clearer path to sustained success. It’s all speculation, of course, but it’s the kind of speculation that keeps us sports journalists up at night, trying to connect the dots.

This whole situation is a really stark reminder that college football coaching is less about loyalty and more about opportunity, perceived or real. Mora saw something in Colorado State that made him walk away from a program he was actively rebuilding, a place where he was actually, truly celebrated for his efforts. It pulls at the threads of what we think we know about how these decisions are made.

So, as UConn fans are left scratching their heads, wondering who’s next to take the helm and if all that hard-won momentum will just dissipate, I’m left thinking about the sheer unpredictability of it all. Jim Mora, the Resurrector of the Huskies, becoming the next coach at Colorado State. It’s a move that certainly keeps things interesting, if nothing else. Now, what does this mean for both programs? Only time, literally, will tell.