Why new UCLA Football Coach Jim L. Mora is the right answer

Two words exemplify Jim L. Mora’s plan for the "new" UCLA Football program: accountability and discipline. These two important cogs have not been visible around Westwood in years, and it’s no coincidence that the football team has hovered between a malaise of mediocrity and apathy for more than a decade.

Mora is hoping to change that. Oh, and by the way future Bruins, your "over–the-wall" tradition is now extinct. For those who don’t know what this activity entails, it essentially is when the team (unbeknownst to the coaching staff) will show up for warm-ups and then will proceed to literally run from practice and jump over a wall.

Can you see Nick Saban or Chip Kelly tolerating this? No, I can’t see any serious football coach on any level allowing this ridiculous "tradition" either. That’s why former coach Rick Neuheisel is out and Mora is in.

More than anything, UCLA needs an identity, a complete culture change. Unfortunately for Bruin fans, the last few teams have been void of any discipline, consistency or mental toughness. One exceptional win will be followed with an absolute embarrassment.

Neuheisel is a very nice guy who is well-liked by the majority of people that know him. The former coach’s forte was schmoozing with the media and portraying his likable personality with recruits and media personnel alike.

His football prowess, however, is candidly lacking in any form of structure or control. Frankly, he is very reminiscent of a used car salesman and not a football coach.

UCLA teams have talent but the coaching has been porous and players simply don’t develop well. Mora is looking to change that notion and put together a program that should be competing for Pac-12 titles annually. He’s started off on the right foot, hiring possibly the best recruiting assistant coaching staff in all of the Pac-12.

He was able to lure Los Angeles native and former three-time Super Bowl Champion Adrian Klemm from Southern Methodist University to become his offensive line coach.

Klemm’s youth and infectious personality resonates extremely well with recruits. He is regarded as one of the best recruiters in the country, and has already landed multiple prospects while with the Bruins.

Bruins fans should also be excited about the dismissal of the vaunted and highly-criticized pistol offense. This gimmicky offense (created by Nevada Coach Chris Ault) was implemented out of necessity, not choice.

The offensive line was not sufficient in pass blocking and was (along with quarterback play) the biggest weakness in the Neuheisel era. Mora realized that he needed a change, and hired Arizona State Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone.

 Mazzone brings over the explosive spread/pro style hybrid offense from Tempe. This type of offense should be much more successful than the pistol, which shot blanks quite frequently.

Also coming over from ASU is the new running backs coach Steve Broussard. Broussard, like Klemm, is also known as a top-notch recruiter with many ties to Southern California.

Eric Yarber was hired as the wide receivers coach. The former Crenshaw High School standout was recently with the Tampa Bay Bucs, but also had stints with both Oregon State and Arizona State.

He’s known as a great recruiter and as a great developer of talent. Anyone else notice the trend of this staff? Also, former Washington star and Bruins assistant coach Marques Tuiasosopo was retained and will stay on as the tight ends coach.

On the defensive side of the ball, many changes were also made. New defensive backs coach Demetrice Martin was poached from Mora’s alma mater Washington. Martin was considered Washington’s best recruiter and has extensive ties to the San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire.

Former NFL Linebacker Jeff Ulbrich will serve as the linebackers coach. The former San Francisco 49er was a very intense and energetic player, who looks to parlay those qualities into coaching. The defensive coordinator has not yet been hired, but said coach should be named shortly.

A philosophy has changed in regards to recruiting. Neuheisel was a great recruiter, but the rest of his staff was not very good—to say the least.

For the head coach to be the best recruiter on his staff takes away from his ability to manage the football team. Mora "gets" the bigger picture and has thus assembled a staff that will not only be great in recruiting, but a staff that’s relatively young, hungry and hard-nosed.

The new staff is chock full of college experience, and that will only aid Mora in his transition to the college game.

The type of kids that Mora is recruiting has also changed. The staff is going after athletes, first and foremost, getting versatile kids that can play multiple positions. He’s also looking at kids that display toughness and grit.

That's a far cry from the average football UCLA football player in recent years, that more or less resembled Charmin. Speed is one area that the team desperately needs to improve in, and that leads me to Mora’s most important hire: new strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi.

Alosi has an impressive resume but a tumultuous past in which he was fired as the New York Jets S&C coach for his tripping of a Miami Dolphins player during a game. Simply put, this is a home-run hire.

This will also signify the first time that UCLA will have a S&C coach for football only. Former coach Mike Linn will remain on staff for all the other sports, but Alosi will just be on board solely for football. That’s huge for a program that has been known to have slow, bulky players.

This is a time of great excitement for the UCLA football program. Mora and his 25 years of experience in the NFL represents a big-time change. He will instill a high standard of discipline and responsibility, and that’s exactly what the team needs.

That’s already been seen with his dismissal of three Bruins on the first day he took over officially. The standard of what it means to be a UCLA football player has intensified greatly.

Gone are the days of the "little gutty Bruins" with their marshmallow appearance and mindset. Here comes the "big and physical Bruins" led by their intense and vigorous new coach.

Per an article from Peter Yoon at ESPN, here’s a little taste of Mora and what he thinks about the "over-the-wall" tradition…

"I hope they had fun going over the wall or whatever you call it because it's the last time they are going over the wall," he said. "It might happen again, but you won't see those guys out on the field the next day."

Mora’s father is also pretty recognizable also…