At the NHL level, the other candidates are Bryan Murray, Mike Keenan, Marc Crawford, Butch Goring, Steve Ludzik, John Tortorella, Peter Laviolette, Tom Renney, and Brent Sutter. My guess is that he liked Mo's penchant for risk minimization, which tends to lead to nice goaltending stats.
Well darn it, then let's go badger JR to re-hire him!