What Kellen Moore brings to the Saints

The New Orleans Saints have finally filled their head coach vacancy with the hiring of Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. At just 36 years old, Moore has six years of offensive coordinator experience with four years running a top-10 offense.

Overview

Moore was the offensive coordinator and play caller for the Dallas Cowboys from 2019-2023 where Dallas averaged 27.7 points per game, the second most in that span. The Cowboys would agree to part ways with their offensive coordinator after the 2023 season. Moore would then spend one season with the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers offense ranked in the bottom half in terms of points per game and bottom eight in rushing. Los Angeles fired Moore after one season following the hiring of head coach Jim Harbaugh. Moore finished last season as the Eagles offensive coordinator. Philadelphia ended the season as the seventh-ranked team in points per game and second in rush yards per game.

The Saints offense started the season explosive scoring 91 points in their 2-0 start before injuries plagued the team’s season. Then offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s system began to crumble due to the injuries and New Orleans finished the season as a bottom-10 offense. The team has now moved on from Kubiak and allowed him to make a lateral move to join the Seattle Seahawks in the same position.

Moore’s offense

The first asset, and possibly the most important, Moore brings is experience in working with talented and young quarterbacks. Moore played a major role in developing Dak Prescott and has since coached over Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. The Saints’ future at quarterback is very shaky with only bridge quarterback Derek Carr being a certainty. Spencer Rattler showed glimpses of promise during his rookie season, but going 0-7 as a starter isn’t enticing. New Orleans has been attached to some names in the upcoming draft including Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart. No matter who the Saints decide to be their quarterback of the future, Moore’s experience with helping develop young quarterbacks is a promising step forward.

Eagles’ running back Saquon Barkley dominated the 2024 season rushing for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns on 5.8 yards a carry. A lot of Barkley’s success, and he will tell you this himself, is the offensive line in Philadelphia. The Eagles have emphasized bulking up the offensive line and have done just that. New Orleans has built an offensive line similar to Philadelphia with three first-round picks and a second-round pick as starters, but the outcome hasn’t been the same. Philadelphia was the second-ranked team in rushing in 2024 while the Saints ranked fourteenth.

Since the Eagles’ offense was one of the top teams at running the ball, they rarely relied on Jalen Hurts’s arm, ranking them in the bottom five in passing. The Saints aimed to replicate this type of offense last season but the lack of consistency running the ball and often falling behind in games made the offense shy from running. Quarterback Derek Carr has always been a better passer out of play action and a successful running game gives the offense the ability to do so. Jalen Hurts is similar to Carr in this aspect, with most of his under-center snaps being play-action.

Moore’s offense will likely continue to emphasize running the ball. While one of his biggest issues that drove him out of Los Angeles was the lack of a run game, his time in Philidelphia and Dallas has shown an ability to open up the pass with a steady rush attack.

The young head coach also brings something to New Orleans that they haven’t had in a while, a deep bag of play calling. Klint Kubiak was a foot in the door to this style of offense, but injuries and falling behind in games hindered the Saints’ ability to do so. Trick plays aren’t the end-all be-all of play calling but can open up a new kind of offense that can become explosive.

Leadership

The biggest concern that continues to get brought up with Moore as a head coach is leadership. This would be Moore’s first time being a head coach at any level of football and he has yet to garner the responsibility of running a team. Despite these concerns, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has come out and backed his offensive coordinator’s ability to lead. “I think of him very highly as a person. A great man of character and everything he stands for. I think he would be a great head coach. I have no doubt in my mind. He will be a great head coach.” Cowboys’ Quarterback Dak Prescott also praised Moore in 2023 calling him “the best leader I’ve ever been around easily.” While time will tell how good of a leader the 36-year-old head coach will be, high appraisal goes a long way.

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