It took a little while, but Josh Rosen's former coach has officially returned to the quarterback's corner.
Jim Mora Jr. made headlines about a month ago on NFL Network's Path to the Draft when he endorsed USC's Sam Darnold -- not UCLA's Josh Rosen -- as the quarterback Cleveland should select No. 1 in the draft. Now, the former UCLA coach is putting his name behind his former signal-caller.
Mora didn't discredit Rosen's potential last month, but leaving him behind crosstown rival USC's Darnold in priority for the Browns raised eyebrows throughout the football world. If a player's coach chooses a peer over him, why should a team?
It didn't take Mora long to explain his late-March comments on air the next day, relying on the "fit" of Darnold and Cleveland, not a red flag or deficiency of Rosen's. This is the first time, though, that he's gone out of his way (relatively speaking) to tout a player he recruited to UCLA four years ago.
The most emphatic part of his message plays into the theory that Mora could have been trying to steer his former quarterback away from Cleveland. New York Giants GM Dave Gettleman, picking second on Thursday, has said he wants to get a gold jacket player with the selection. Mora referenced his belief Rosen could one day be a gold-jacket player.
We can also take our tin-foil hats off and recognize that Rosen, touted as the most polished and pro-ready quarterback in this draft, is positioned to help whichever franchise selects him. His coach has come around in vehement fashion, calling title shots and everything.
