Mora Named to Revive Colts

Jim Mora followed a familiar route in the NFL, moving from the broadcast booth to become coach of the Indianapolis Colts on Monday.

Mora, 62, who spent the past season as an NBC commentator, succeeds Lindy Infante, who was fired last month after the Colts finished with an NFL-worst 3-13 record.

Mora resigned midway through his 10th season as coach of the New Orleans Saints in 1996, less than a week after a loss to the Carolina Panthers sent him into a profanity-filled outburst during a postgame interview session.

“It is a moment that I feel poorly about,” Mora said at a news conference at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. “But I think the year and a half off was probably good for me. I feel like the season spent in broadcasting was valuable to me. I saw things from another side.”

Mora is the latest in a line of coaches who have returned to the sidelines after spending time as television commentators. The list includes Mike Ditka, who replaced Mora in New Orleans last season, and Dick Vermeil, who was hired by the St. Louis Rams for a job that Mora had sought.

Mora compiled a 93-78 record with the Saints that includes four first-round playoff losses. While at New Orleans, Mora became close with former Saint quarterback and team announcer Archie Manning, whose son Peyton could be made the No. 1 pick in the draft by the Colts.

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With tears in his eyes, running back Bam Morris was taken from a courtroom in handcuffs Monday to begin a 120-day jail sentence in Rockwall, Texas, for violating his probation on a 1996 marijuana possession conviction.

Morris admitted to missing seven meetings with his probation officer since going on deferred adjudication in June 1996. However, he denied two other allegations and, as part of a plea bargain, was punished for four months instead of a possible 10 years.

State District Judge Sue Pirtle told Morris, who played for the Baltimore Ravens this season, that if he makes another mistake he’ll have to serve the remainder of the sentence in prison with no chance for appeal.

Morris, who ran for 517 yards in 126 carries this season, is an unrestricted free agent.

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Detroit Lion linebacker Reggie Brown returned home to Texas last week and is recovering at the Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research in Houston.

Brown suffered a career-ending spinal cord injury Dec. 21 during the Detroit Lions’ 13-10 victory over the New York Jets. Brown stopped breathing on the field and had to be resuscitated. He at first had no sensation in his arms and legs, and a day after his injury, had surgery to fuse two vertebrae in his neck.

On Monday, he stood on a balance beam and tossed a soft football, jogged about 50 feet, lifted weights and worked on his dexterity by handling plastic chips. He also signed his name and Lion jersey number, 59, on a blackboard.

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Doug Flutie, the former Heisman Trophy winner with Boston College who has led the Canadian Football League Toronto Argonauts to consecutive Grey Cup titles, is negotiating with the Buffalo Bills. . . . Ron Erhardt retired as the New York Jets quarterbacks coach after a 25-year NFL coaching career that included being associated with two Super Bowl championship teams with the New York Giants and a head coaching stint at New England.