Colorado State makes big hire ahead of Pac-12 move

Ahead of their move to the reanimated Pac-12 in 2026, the Colorado State Rams are putting themselves in position to be an instant conference contender.

Late Tuesday, reports surfaced that Colorado State agreed to hire Connecticut Huskies head coach Jim Mora Jr. to the same role. This year, Mora led Connecticut to a 9-3 record, posting the program's best win percentage (.750) in 27 FBS seasons. Hired in November 2021, Mora took over a team that went 7-41 from 2017-21 and led it to bowl eligibility three times, going 27-23 overall.

Colorado State hire brings Jim Mora Jr. back to Pac-12

Mora, the son of former New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Mora Sr., began his coaching career at the pro level with the Atlanta Falcons in 2004 and also coached the Seattle Seahawks for one season (2009).

His first collegiate head-coaching job came in the Pac-12 at UCLA, where he went 46-30 in six seasons, including two 10-win campaigns and four bowl appearances. Mora's teams peaked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll in three consecutive seasons (2013-15) and finished in the top 25 in 2013 (No. 16) and 2014 (No. 10).

Colorado State (2-9, 1-6 in Mountain West) is one of six programs moving to the Pac-12, which lost several longtime core members in 2024 to the ACC (California, Stanford), Big Ten (Oregon, UCLA, USC, Washington) and Big 12 (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah), this offseason.

The mass exodus left the former "conference of champions" with two members, the Oregon State Beavers and Washington State Cougars. Both programs have spiraled while left at sea for the past two seasons.

Oregon State (2-9) fired its head coach, Trent Bray, after an 0-7 start to 2025 and ranks outside the top 100 in FBS in scoring offense (19.1 points per game) and scoring defense (29.2 points per game).

Washington State (5-6) has been more respectable, losing to No. 7 Ole Miss (10-1) and No. 18 Virginia (9-2) by a combined five points. But it also handed the Beavers one of their two wins of the year with a 10-7 loss on Nov. 1. Along with Colorado State, the Pac-12 is also adding Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State and Texas State beginning in the 2026 season.

While Mora has plenty of work to do to turn the Rams around, his quick work in making Connecticut respectable should give Colorado State hope. The new-look Pac-12 will likely be up for grabs, and with the right transfer portal additions, Mora could expedite a rebuild in Fort Collins. Fortunes can change fast in this era of college football, and the Rams just took a massive step in altering theirs.