i guess mora sr wasnt so wrong about vick being a coach killer.

source

Atlanta fired coach Jim Mora on Monday, just two years after he led the Falcons to the NFC championship game.

The decision to dump the fiery coach followed two straight disappointing seasons. The Falcons lost six of their final eight games in 2005 to miss the playoffs, and they finished 7-9 this season by losing seven of the last nine contests.

Owner Arthur Blank made the announcement at the team's suburban training complex.

Atlanta went into the final weekend with a slim chance to slip into the playoffs with a .500 record. That ended Saturday night when the New York Giants won at Washington; the Falcons closed the season Sunday with a meaningless 24-17 loss at Philadelphia.

Mora's final game was in the same stadium where the Falcons lost to the Eagles for the NFC championship at the end of the 2004 season, coming up one victory short of the Super Bowl.

The 45-year-old Mora, son of longtime NFL coach Jim Mora, went 26-22 in three seasons as Atlanta's coach.

A former defensive coordinator in San Francisco, the younger Mora led the Falcons to the NFC South title in his rookie season. The team slumped to 8-8 a year ago, then endured his first losing record.

"I'm proud of the many things we accomplished here, even though we fell short of our goal to bring a Super Bowl title back home to these people," Mora said.

Mora had two years left on his contract, which was extended before this season.

"This was an extremely difficult decision for us," Blank said in a statement before holding an afternoon news conference. "We had the highest hopes and aspirations for a long run with Jim as our coach, but we feel this decision is in the best long-term interests of our franchise. I have great respect for Jim's passion for the game, and we wish Jim and his family all of the best."

Mora was a somewhat surprising choice when the Falcons hired him in 2004, passing over more prominent assistants such as Lovie Smith, who landed in Chicago and led the Bears to the best record in the NFC this season.

Mora was the second NFL coach fired Monday, following Arizona's Dennis Green.

"This is a tough business, and it takes tough people," Mora said. "If you can't take it, you don't belong. ... My goal is to be a head coach again and work in the NFL for another 20 years."

Mora's third season was his most difficult. The defense was weakened by injuries to star ends Patrick Kerney and John Abraham, while the offense had to make do without reliable receiver Brian Finneran, who tore up a knee in training camp.

But Mora's tenure also was marked by an odd series of off-field distractions, including the embarrassment he caused himself during a Seattle radio station interview before a crucial game against Dallas last month.

Mora said his "dream job" was to coach at the University of Washington, his alma mater, and that he'd jump at the chance to take it — even if the Falcons were in the middle of the playoffs. The fact the school already has a coach, Tyrone Willingham, only added to the embarrassment.

Mora claimed he was only kidding with the radio host, former college teammate Hugh Millen, but conceded that it didn't sound that way after listening to a tape of the interview.

The comments were broadcast nationally, upsetting Falcons fans and angering Blank. The coach was summoned to Blank's Atlanta office the day before the Dallas game to discuss the issue, then sent out alone before the media to make an apology.

Mora also endured an awkward situation created by his father. The senior Mora, also speaking on a radio show, agreed with a co-host that quarterback Michael Vick was a "coach killer."

Vick was clearly upset by the comment and left to wonder if the father's opinion was influenced by private comments from Atlanta's coach, who worked hard to patch up any rift by saying he would take Vick over anyone in NFL history if he was starting a team.

On the field, another second-half collapse was too much for Blank to take, though Mora's tenure was one of the most successful in the Falcons' mostly dismal history. He joins Leeman Bennett as the only coaches to leave with a winning record.

But expectations have been ratcheted up since Blank, a co-founder of Home Depot, bought the team three years ago and began spending freely to bolster the club's roster. Vick received the richest contract in NFL history, and the team gave up a first-round pick to sign Abraham to a lucrative deal.

Last month, Blank said that a second straight .500 finish would be unacceptable. After a devastating loss to Carolina in the next-to-last game, he reminded reporters about the statement without elaborating.

With the pressure mounting, Mora defended his record.

"I'm proud of this football team," he said after losing to the Panthers. "Our football team did some things that are overlooked when you lose a football game. We've won the most games in the NFC South for three years. We've got the fourth-most wins in the NFC over the last three years. We've played in the NFC championship game. We've won the NFC South. We've been in the hunt through 15 weeks last year and we're still in the hunt through the last week this year."

As the losses mounted, even those such as Vick, who had been publicly supportive in the past, seemed to lose faith in the coaching staff.

"It's a question that needs to be answered," Vick said. "We're too good to be losing these games. We should be up there among the elite."

On Sunday, Vick said he's worked well with Mora, but was noncommittal when asked if Blank should fire the coach.

Why fire Dennis Green now? He clearly has the team on the rise. Stupid Cardinals.

As for Mora, it was a Vick v. Mora question. Blank chose the wrong answer.

Yeah, I like Denny Green.

The Falcons, as an organization, have failed miserably to capitalize on the mercurial Mike Vick.

And I think that the Mora thing was a seeming lack of passion combined with a massive penchant for late season bed shittings.

Mr. Blank ain't gonna stand for losing.

I agree, the Green firing was completely unfounded. Who else was going to turn the Cards into contenders in such a short time. This reeks of some internal disagreement over directions the team is going to take.

As for Mora, he's always rubbed me the wrong way and always gave me the sense of someone who would probably have been better off staying lower on the food chain longer.

Good riddance. I have no idea who they should get but the guy is an embarassment as a head coach.

I don't think the problem was passion. He had all the passion in the world but when your players continually quit on you there is a disconnect there somewhere. Also, when you have the highest payroll in the league and only win a couple games against eventual playoff teams, beating only bottom feeders, that's on the coach.

Jeff Schultz had a good article on AJC about how the next guy shouldn't be a players coach but someone to be feared or at least respected. The players need to think they're playing for their livelihood every week.

Jeff is right. I've had enough of the "Dirty Birds" and am ready for a real team of disciplined players who want to win.

Paging Mr Coughlin... Tom Coughlin, please pick up the white courtesy phone.

Interesting suggestion, Monty. I've never been much of a TC fan, but dude does get results on some level.

I'd like to think that Mora could have worked as a coach if he had been more willing to admit some wrong and take responsibility for the teams shortcomings instead of behaving like a child in the face of adversity--a Parcells or a Gibbs or a Bellichick might be able to pull that off because they have a resume to back it up, but not a first timer.

As to Mike Vick, I don't think he killed this coach; Mike had a good year despite being saddled with an offense clearly not adjusted to fit his unique gifts. Mike Vick is the least of the Falcs problems.

2 offseasons in a row we heard how the Cardinals were one of the leagues most improved teams so look out for them & 2 seasons in a row they finish 5-11 (down from 6-10). There only non divisional victory was vs the Lions.

THEY EVEN LOST TO OAKLAND!

Explain to me what exactly is grounds for firing a guy, if this isn't. Because I don't see them headed in the right direction

i think Coughlin sucks, but to fair to him a good chunk of his most important players got hurt. And he has a Manning on his team.

I agree somewhat. He did it this year with a SHITTY offensive line and with receivers who couldn't catch a cold.

That being said, he's the most baffling player that I have ever watched. Amazingly inconsistent and as he goes, so goes the Falcons.

He still hasn't developed his passing game and hasn't thrown a 4th quarter TD in over 17-18 games.

I'll give the new regime 2 years with him but if the same problems continue with Vick I will declare Mora, Sr. correct in that he truly is a coach killer and we need to go in another direction.

Do you think this can chalked up to being an undisciplined player? Do you think Vick is watching hours of tape like Payton Manning? I doubt it. He's probably at home with his boyz playing as himself on Madden 2008.

Interesting point Stu, but do you have any evidence either way (aside from his having herpes?)

And, bringing in Coughlin is like bringing back REEEEEE!! A decent guy who the game has passed by.

Find a brother who's an up and comer.

My only evidence is his demeanor and the fact that he is amazingly inconsistent. I just have a feeling that he relies soley on his athletic ability to get things done because it has always been there for him. BUT, in the pros, EVERYBODY is a great athlete and you have to do more if you want to succeed on a higher level and be a playoff contender every year.
I do realize,like Bloor mentioned, that the O-Line and his receivers were a joke this year.

I hear ya. And I agree. And I think that the next coach needs to be someone who can rein him, and whoever else in, to become a disciplined student of teh complexities of the game.

Former University of Tennessee Quarterback and Current United States Congressman Heath Shuler told me the difference was that in the NFL, everybody is 1/10 of a second faster than the fastest players in college. And if you can't make that adjustment, you're out of the league.

heath shuler lol

And where has all that film watching gotten Payton? Shit, Dan Marino sat around sniffing cocaine and taking it up the rear from Latino Bun Boys in South Beach and did exactly what Payton has done--put up video game numbers that don't mean shit in the end.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the first Yail Bloor Wrestling Promo of 2007 is a fucking doozy.

Jesus, bubba, we gotta get on the air today if you're feeling like this.

What about Tom Brady, then? Or Mc Nabb?

Right, Bloor missed the point I'm trying to make.

Which is... that, aside from the rushing yardage, Ron Mexico does not have "video-game numbers", let alone a sustained playoff run, to his name?

Brady > Mc Nabb > Manning > Vick??