Mora and Seahawks team president Tim Ruskell first became professionally
acquainted in 2004, when Mora coached the Atlanta Falcons to an 11-5 record and
a trip to the NFC Championship game in his first season as an NFL head coach.
Ruskell took the job in Seattle in 2005, but Mora was hired by Ruskell in late
January, 2007 after amassing a 17-15 record in Atlanta 2005 and 2006, and mentioning
on Seattle radio station KJR-AM that he'd leave the Falcons to take his "dream
job" as the head coach of the Washington Huskies, his alma mater. Team owner
Arthur Blank dismissed Mora after the 2006 season.
As it turned out, Mora's dream came true in his home state, just with a different
team. Named Seattle's assistant head coach/secondary, Mora presided over a pass
defense that ranked first in the NFL in touchdowns allowed with 15 -- the Seahawks
picked off five more passes than they allowed TDs. Seattle allowed 23 passing
TDs in 2006, 24th in the NFL, and only intercepted 12 passes.
A graduate of Bellevue's Interlake High School and the University of Washington,
Mora is the son of his namesake, the head coach who put up a 125-106 record
with the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts from 1987 through 2001. The
younger Mora began his coaching career in 1984 as a defensive assistant at the
University of Washington. He spent 1985 through 1991 rising through
the ranks of the San Diego Chargers coaching staff, going from quality control
assistant to defensive backs coach.
Mora then worked with his father in New Orleans from 1992 through 1996 as secondary
coach, and took the same position with the San Francisco 49ers in 1997. In his
first year with the 49ers, Mora and current Seahawks defensive coordinator John Marshall led the #1 defense in the NFL. Mora was promoted to the position of
defensive coordinator with the 49ers in 1999 and kept that job until after the
2003 season, when the Falcons hired him.
At this time, reports indicate that Mora will keep his current
position with the team in 2008, while Marshall will continue to be the team's
defensive coordinator. Stay tuned to Seahawks.NET for more details!