UConn Huskies head coach Jim Mora on the field during warm up before the start of the game against the Air Force Falcons at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field.

After leading UConn football to back-to-back nine-win seasons as an independent, Jim Mora is on the move. Huskies athletic director David Benedict announced Nov. 26 that Mora is leaving to take the open position at Colorado State.

Mora will take over a Rams program transitioning to the revamped Pac-12 next season. Mora coached in the previous iteration of the Pac-12 at UCLA, where his record doesn't look so bad in hindsight.

Here's how the hire grades out:

Grade: B

Hey, UCLA, how do you like Mora now?

Mora went 46-30 in six seasons coaching the Bruins before they fired him in 2017. Successors Chip Kelly and then DeShaun Foster each fared worse, while Mora burnished his credentials with consecutive nine-win seasons at UConn these past two years.

Mora took over a UConn program that went 1-11 before his arrival. This season, in Year 4, his Huskies went 2-1 in games against ACC schools. An impressive turnaround. UConn athletic director David Benedict applauded Mora for exceeding expectations during his tenure.

Agreed. He did.

He’s a solid coach, and he needs to be, because he probably wouldn’t win many Mr. Congeniality competitions.

Although Mora spent the past few years out east, he’ll bring necessary West Coast connections to Colorado State. He played at Washington, and he coached the Seattle Seahawks after his stint with the Falcons.

Other candidates might have teased the potential of a higher ceiling, but Mora offered Colorado State a high-floor option as a steady hand for a program that’s never found its way back since Jim McElwain left more than a decade ago.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colorado State hires Jim Mora to usher in Pac-12 era. Expert grades for the move

Reporting by Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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