Cal fired Justin Wilcox, its head football coach, Sunday night after an embarrassing 31-10 loss to rival Stanford the day before.

Why should UConn fans care?

Because the name of Huskies coach Jim Mora immediately landed on the list of coaches Cal general manager Ron Rivera could consider to fill the vacancy.

On paper, Mora makes a lot of sense for the Golden Bears.

Mora, 64, is a California native who knows what it’s like to work in the University of California system as the former head coach at UCLA. He has Bay Area familiarity, having been the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers under head coach Steve Mariucci. And Mariucci has professional ties to Rivera from their affiliation through Cal, where Rivera played and Mariucci later coached, and the NFL – and could put in a very good word for Mora.

Rivera can see the difference Mora has made at UConn, where in just four seasons has a 27-23 record and three bowl berths, turning around a program that had 10 total victories in the five seasons before Mora’s arrival. The Huskies can achieve the program’s first 10-win season with a triumph in their still-to-be-determined bowl game.

Speculation also has Mora as a candidate for openings at Stanford and Oregon State.

In its analysis of the vacancy at Cal on Monday, The Athletic listed Mora among nine potential candidates. But the report also carefully laid out the pros and cons of the Golden Bears program and gave the job an overall rating of C+. It also questioned whether Berkeley, Calif., really represents better opportunities for Mora than those he has in Storrs, Conn.

From Chris Vannini of The Athletic, who wrote this about Mora:

“The California native, who has already received interest from Stanford and Oregon State in this cycle, has done a remarkable job at UConn, with a second consecutive nine-win season and three bowl appearances in four years after taking over a moribund program. His run as UCLA head coach from 2012 to ’17 was more successful than his successor, Chip Kelly, and he knows the UC system from that experience. Mora’s NFL career, including two stints as a head coach, also gives him rare experience that can help in college football’s new era. Going back west would make sense, but is Cal a good enough job to make a move?”

On Sunday, the day after UConn defeated Florida Athletic in a 48-45 thriller to end the regular season 9-3, UConn athletic director praised Mora in a social media post and spelled out the accomplishments of the 2025 Huskies.

“End of year four, amazing results. … @CoachJimMoraFB getting it done.”

Last December, Mora signed a four year, $10.01 million contract extension through Dec. 31, 2028. The contract also included bonus incentives. At the time of Mora’s extension last year, Benedict had this to say in a school news release:

"Three years ago, I tasked Jim Mora with the challenge of leading our football team back to success and through his experience, energy and leadership he has done just that," Benedict said. "He has taken our program to post season bowl games twice and just guided our team to one of the best seasons in UConn football history, building a momentum to keep this program moving forward. I look forward to his leadership of our football team in the years ahead."

Among the achievements Benedict laid out in his post on X Sunday were the 107.3% increase in home attendance at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford since Mora took over; a home 12-1 record over the past two seasons; and four on-field statistics that have UConn currently ranked among the top four nationally. Those are fourth in turnover margin, sixth in passing offense, ninth in sacks and 15th in scoring offense.

Neither Benedict nor Mora have commented on the future of the 64-year-old coach’s future with the Huskies.