Blakeview: New Orleans Saints coaching legend and WDSU analyst Jim Mora turns 90
This week we wish a happy 90th birthday to New Orleans Saints coaching legend Jim Mora, who successfully led the team to its first playoff appearance in 1986 and its first division title five years later.
Born May 24, 1935, in Glendale, California, Mora graduated from Occidental College. His roommate was future Congressman and presidential candidate Jack Kemp. Mora later became head coach at his alma mater, before coaching at other colleges and then joining the professional coaching ranks with the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.
Mora was hired by legendary Saints General Manager Jim Finks after two years as a highly successful head coach in the now-defunct United States Football League.
The Saints went 7-9 in Mora’s first season with the team but fared much better in his second season, with a 12-3 record and a trip to the playoffs. Although they lost that game to the Minnesota Vikings, Mora went on to become NFL Coach of the Year.
His 10 years with the team put him in the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame alongside fellow legends Rickey Jackson, Willie Roaf, Bobby Hebert, Morten Andersen, Sam Mills and Pat Swilling, just to name a few. Mora led the team to three more playoff appearances and its first-ever division title while totaling 125 wins.
After leaving New Orleans in 1996, Mora became head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, led by future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. Mora remained with the Colts until 2001. He returned to broadcasting and continues to serve as a Saints analyst for WDSU-TV. His son Jim L. Mora worked as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks and is currently head coach at the University of Connecticut.
