Once and done..

• Jim Mora fired as Seahawks coach - 1/8/10 Seattle Times
• Jim Mora says he's disappointed, but not bitter after being fired - 1/8/10 Seattle Times
• Embattled Seahawks Coach Wasn't Expecting Dismissal - 1/8/10 - Associated Content
• Seattle Seahawks fire Jim Mora; Pete Carroll courted, sources say... - 1/9/10 ESPN

"Jim Mora has been fired by the Seattle Seahawks. That is the shocking news coming out Seattle. The reason given why Jim Mora was fired was that he did not win enough games. Mora was the first coach ever fired by Seattle in their first year." - Associated Content, 1/8/10

I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the news. Jim Mora fired. After one season. How could they?

No coach is expected to come in and take a 4-0 team to a Super Bowl in his first season. No coach is expected to take a rebuilding team to the play-offs. Of course that is the hope of every owner, player and fan, and sometimes new coaches do see success right off the bat, but not coming into a season with the players we had. Not coming off a season in which Coach Holmgren regretted hanging up his headset. Jim Mora didn't get the chance he deserved.

I'm not really sure what happened; part way through the season Jim Mora lost the fans, lost the media, and lost some of the players. Some say he got too close to the players, much as Dennis Erickson did, and lost their respect. Some say the losses were his downfall. Some say he never had it to begin with. Some were bitter that Holmgren left and wouldn't have been happy with any other coach.

I was a Coach Mora fan. I was done with the Holmgren era and I wanted to see Mora succeed. I'm disappointed that he only got one year to show us what he had in mind. I still can't believe that it's all they gave him. It's unfair. It's disrespectful. And I question how wise it is for Seattle to treat a head coach that way, especially as it seemed to be as much a surprise to Coach Mora as it was to the rest of us.

Is that the end of Mora? Time will tell, but I wish him success and happiness, and I hope his next stint is longer lived.