ATLFalcons
01-02-2007, 03:46 PM
Mora fired after Falcons fail again
On-field results, off-field remarks seal coach's fate
By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/02/07
Flowery Branch — Falcons coach Jim Mora was fired Monday after a three-year reign that started in storybook fashion but ended in controversy and underachievement.
The Falcons, the only team in the NFL never to have had back-to-back winning seasons, came within one victory of reaching the Super Bowl in Mora's first year. But two disappointing seasons on the field and repeated inappropriate comments off the field quickly ended the tenure of the head coach.
"We had the very highest hopes and aspirations for a long run with Jimmy," team owner Arthur Blank said. "It's not a decision we made lightly or made in a rash way. At the end of the day, as the owner of this franchise, it's my responsibility to uphold the standards of the Falcons, and sometimes that means making a tough call."
Blank gave up on one of the league's youngest coaches — Mora was 42 when he took the job in 2004 — and the winningest coach in the Falcons' 40-year history. Mora was the franchise's 12th head coach and only the second one to finish with a winning record. Mora's 26-22 regular season record was the highest winning percentage of all Falcons coaches.
But in the end, Mora could not deliver a second playoff team despite having one of the NFL's highest payrolls at more than $100 million and one of the game's most dynamic players in quarterback Michael Vick.
Blank said he made the decision Monday morning to cut ties with Mora, hours after Atlanta lost its final game of the season to finish with a 7-9 record. Blank and Rich McKay, the team's president and general manager, notified Mora of his termination in a brief meeting at team headquarters that started at 12:15 p.m.
"I had a pretty good idea but I had not been told directly until this afternoon," Mora said at his final news conference, pausing once during the 15-minute session to choke back tears. "I had my strong suspicions."
After meeting with Blank, Mora then met with his 19 assistant coaches and told them he'd been fired. The assistants were all retained until a decision is made by the new head coach. Mora did not get to address all of his players, most of whom had cleaned out their lockers and left the facility before his fate was revealed.
"Its just a tough situation that we as players are all in because we think a lot of coach Mora," running back Warrick Dunn wrote in an e-mail to the Journal-Constitution. "We let him down in terms of winning, but he taught us a lot about life and we thank him for that.
"Mr. Blank is a great owner and has his reasons and feels like this is best for the organization. We the players trust that he is going to do what's best for us and the organization to bring a championship to this city."
One of the assistant coaches who remain is offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, one of Mora's best friends but the center of much criticism for the team's failures.
"It's a tough situation to be in because I know how much Jim has given in terms of energy and from an emotional standpoint to this organization to try to have success," Knapp said outside team headquarters. "It's frustrating because still, despite being the head coach, you don't control all the variables. It wasn't due to a lack of effort and energy and communication that he had with the players that this happened. He's given all he could."
This was the second coaching change Blank has made since taking over ownership of the Falcons from the Smith family in 2002. Blank fired Dan Reeves after the 2003 season and hired Mora, then the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. Mora had never been a head coach but, as the son of a successful NFL coach, he had the pedigree, the energy and a seemingly perfect plan.
The day he was hired, Mora stressed the importance of developing Vick. "Michael Vick is one of the most exciting players in the NFL, and this system will allow Michael Vick to excel," he said that day.
Vick's inconsistent play during Mora's three years has fueled a national debate about whether Vick can lead a championship team. This year, Vick threw for a personal-best 20 touchdowns and set the all-time NFL record for rushing yards by a quarterback. But this week, Atlanta's most famous athlete repeatedly refused to support Mora's return for next season.
The search for a new coach will begin immediately but could take weeks, McKay said. A list of candidates has been compiled, and there are no preset requirements that those under consideration be more versed in defensive or offensive philosophy or have had professional or collegiate head coaching experience, McKay said.
"The best thing you can do is hire the best coach for you that can deal with your football team and get back to where you want to be as quickly as you can," McKay said.
Blank said he began considering making a coaching change near Thanksgiving, after the Falcons had lost three straight games — and before they lost a fourth. Blank, in a late November interview with the Journal-Constitution, said he was frustrated by the team's inconsistency and that an 8-8 record and failure to the make the playoffs was unacceptable.
From that point, Atlanta won twice more in five games and finished out of the playoffs for a second straight season.
Amid that collapse, Mora may have done himself irreparable harm in a radio interview with a station in Seattle. During the interview, Mora said he would love to coach at the University of Washington, his alma mater, even if Atlanta was in a playoff chase, which it was at the time.
Blank was insulted and upset and did not put much credence in Mora's claims that he was joking during the interview. Mora apologized, but that misstep may have only fueled Blank's thoughts to make a coaching change.
Despite taking the Falcons to the 2004 NFC championship game for just the second time in the franchise's history, Mora posted a 15-17 record the past two seasons. Worse, the team faded badly each year, after starting 6-2 and 5-2, respectively.
The downward trend over consecutive years led to in-house speculation that either Mora's message wasn't getting through or the needed adjustments weren't being made.
"If you get the right breaks, if you make the right decision in terms of personnel and stay healthy at the right positions, you have a chance to ascend," Mora said. "If you suffer some catastrophic injuries, make some poor decision in personnel, then you sink into the mediocre range.
"I'm proud of the many things we accomplished here over the last three years, and we did accomplish many great things, although our main goal was to bring a Super Bowl back home to the great fans of Atlanta. We fell short in that area."
On-field results, off-field remarks seal coach's fate
By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/02/07
Flowery Branch — Falcons coach Jim Mora was fired Monday after a three-year reign that started in storybook fashion but ended in controversy and underachievement.
The Falcons, the only team in the NFL never to have had back-to-back winning seasons, came within one victory of reaching the Super Bowl in Mora's first year. But two disappointing seasons on the field and repeated inappropriate comments off the field quickly ended the tenure of the head coach.
"We had the very highest hopes and aspirations for a long run with Jimmy," team owner Arthur Blank said. "It's not a decision we made lightly or made in a rash way. At the end of the day, as the owner of this franchise, it's my responsibility to uphold the standards of the Falcons, and sometimes that means making a tough call."
Blank gave up on one of the league's youngest coaches — Mora was 42 when he took the job in 2004 — and the winningest coach in the Falcons' 40-year history. Mora was the franchise's 12th head coach and only the second one to finish with a winning record. Mora's 26-22 regular season record was the highest winning percentage of all Falcons coaches.
But in the end, Mora could not deliver a second playoff team despite having one of the NFL's highest payrolls at more than $100 million and one of the game's most dynamic players in quarterback Michael Vick.
Blank said he made the decision Monday morning to cut ties with Mora, hours after Atlanta lost its final game of the season to finish with a 7-9 record. Blank and Rich McKay, the team's president and general manager, notified Mora of his termination in a brief meeting at team headquarters that started at 12:15 p.m.
"I had a pretty good idea but I had not been told directly until this afternoon," Mora said at his final news conference, pausing once during the 15-minute session to choke back tears. "I had my strong suspicions."
After meeting with Blank, Mora then met with his 19 assistant coaches and told them he'd been fired. The assistants were all retained until a decision is made by the new head coach. Mora did not get to address all of his players, most of whom had cleaned out their lockers and left the facility before his fate was revealed.
"Its just a tough situation that we as players are all in because we think a lot of coach Mora," running back Warrick Dunn wrote in an e-mail to the Journal-Constitution. "We let him down in terms of winning, but he taught us a lot about life and we thank him for that.
"Mr. Blank is a great owner and has his reasons and feels like this is best for the organization. We the players trust that he is going to do what's best for us and the organization to bring a championship to this city."
One of the assistant coaches who remain is offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, one of Mora's best friends but the center of much criticism for the team's failures.
"It's a tough situation to be in because I know how much Jim has given in terms of energy and from an emotional standpoint to this organization to try to have success," Knapp said outside team headquarters. "It's frustrating because still, despite being the head coach, you don't control all the variables. It wasn't due to a lack of effort and energy and communication that he had with the players that this happened. He's given all he could."
This was the second coaching change Blank has made since taking over ownership of the Falcons from the Smith family in 2002. Blank fired Dan Reeves after the 2003 season and hired Mora, then the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. Mora had never been a head coach but, as the son of a successful NFL coach, he had the pedigree, the energy and a seemingly perfect plan.
The day he was hired, Mora stressed the importance of developing Vick. "Michael Vick is one of the most exciting players in the NFL, and this system will allow Michael Vick to excel," he said that day.
Vick's inconsistent play during Mora's three years has fueled a national debate about whether Vick can lead a championship team. This year, Vick threw for a personal-best 20 touchdowns and set the all-time NFL record for rushing yards by a quarterback. But this week, Atlanta's most famous athlete repeatedly refused to support Mora's return for next season.
The search for a new coach will begin immediately but could take weeks, McKay said. A list of candidates has been compiled, and there are no preset requirements that those under consideration be more versed in defensive or offensive philosophy or have had professional or collegiate head coaching experience, McKay said.
"The best thing you can do is hire the best coach for you that can deal with your football team and get back to where you want to be as quickly as you can," McKay said.
Blank said he began considering making a coaching change near Thanksgiving, after the Falcons had lost three straight games — and before they lost a fourth. Blank, in a late November interview with the Journal-Constitution, said he was frustrated by the team's inconsistency and that an 8-8 record and failure to the make the playoffs was unacceptable.
From that point, Atlanta won twice more in five games and finished out of the playoffs for a second straight season.
Amid that collapse, Mora may have done himself irreparable harm in a radio interview with a station in Seattle. During the interview, Mora said he would love to coach at the University of Washington, his alma mater, even if Atlanta was in a playoff chase, which it was at the time.
Blank was insulted and upset and did not put much credence in Mora's claims that he was joking during the interview. Mora apologized, but that misstep may have only fueled Blank's thoughts to make a coaching change.
Despite taking the Falcons to the 2004 NFC championship game for just the second time in the franchise's history, Mora posted a 15-17 record the past two seasons. Worse, the team faded badly each year, after starting 6-2 and 5-2, respectively.
The downward trend over consecutive years led to in-house speculation that either Mora's message wasn't getting through or the needed adjustments weren't being made.
"If you get the right breaks, if you make the right decision in terms of personnel and stay healthy at the right positions, you have a chance to ascend," Mora said. "If you suffer some catastrophic injuries, make some poor decision in personnel, then you sink into the mediocre range.
"I'm proud of the many things we accomplished here over the last three years, and we did accomplish many great things, although our main goal was to bring a Super Bowl back home to the great fans of Atlanta. We fell short in that area."