Seattle Seahawks Dump Jim Mora

NFL News - January 8th, 2010 - Written by John

The Seattle Seahawks attracted star receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh last offseason with the prospect of finally being on a winning team with a brand new face at head coach. But those illusions quickly faded as the Seahawks failed to compete for even the division title in the 2009 NFL Season, and Houshamandzadeh began questioning his decision as early as October.

There needed to be answers, and Friday, Seattle believes it got one. A source told ESPN's John Clayton on Friday that coach Jim Mora was informed that he had been fired from the club, effective immediately.

The source told Clayton that Mora was told during a meeting Friday morning.

The Seahawks went 5-11 in his first season at the helm, and a potentially powerful offense ranked 21st in the league, and the defense was 24th. Seattle finished 3rd in the NFC West behind the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, falling well short of the 2009 NFL Playoffs.

Houshmandzadeh signed a five-year, $40 million contract as a free agent last off-season, but only caught 79 passes for 911 yards and three touchdowns, which were some of his lowest numbers since 2005. Part of the problem was Matt Hasselbeck's hot and cold tendencies throughout the year, finishing with as many interceptions as touchdowns.

Still, it is a relative surprise condiring Mora had only been with the club for one year, and he had a decent track record with the Atlanta Falcons earlier in the decade. But he didn't have the support of Mike Holmgren, who left his front office job with the team to become Cleveland's omnipresent leader, and G.M. Tim Ruskell wasn't retained either.