What a potential Kellen Moore offensive coaching staff could look like for the Saints

All signs are currently pointing to the New Orleans Saints hiring Philadelphia Eagles Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore to become their new Head Coach. With that being the prevailing thought amongst fans and in NFL circles, the next thought turns to who Moore will turn to in order to fill out his coaching staff for the 2025 season.

Here are some potential offensive candidates Kellen Moore could turn to, as these are offensive coaches he has had professional relationships with in the past and present.

Doug Nussmeier – Offensive Coordinator

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Nussmeier to the Saints feels like a foregone conclusion. Kellen Moore is as likely to bring Nussmeier with him to New Orleans as he is to bring his own family. Nuss is currently the quarterbacks coach of the reigning NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles, serving under offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Nussmeier was a former New Orleans Saints quarterback, selected by the team in the fourth round of the 1994 NFL Draft by the team, serving as the backup quarterback in some lean years for the franchise. He could be returning to the franchise in some lean years now as well, as hopes will be for Moore’s offense, coordinated by Nussmeier, to pull the Saints from the post-Drew Brees despair.

Doug Nussmeier feels like a sure thing for the job, as he has followed Kellen Moore on every single stop Moore has made since the two joined the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff in 2018. Nuss was the tight ends coach that season in Dallas while Moore was the quarterbacks coach, but every year since, Nuss has been Moore’s quarterbacks coach no matter where Moore has gone; Dallas, Los Angeles, and currently, Philadelphia. It only seems fitting that Moore would next turn the offensive coordinator reins over to Nussmeier as Moore takes the big job. It will certainly be the Kellen Moore offense in New Orleans, and no one is more well-suited to coordinate it than Doug Nussmeier.

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Scott Tolzien – Quarterbacks Coach

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Tolzien, a former NFL quarterback himself from 2011-2017, served as an offensive coaching assistant for Kellen Moore’s staff in Dallas from 2020-2022. Scott Tolzien was most recently the quarterbacks coach for the Dallas Cowboys until late January, when the franchise moved on from Mike McCarthy and hired Brian Schottenheimer as their new head coach. Schottenheimer is currently in the process of hiring an entirely new offensive coaching staff, making some coaches on this list readily available. He has gotten great quarterback play out of Dak Prescott as well as coaching the most out of Cooper Rush, in Rush’s starts for Dallas this past season during Prescott’s injury. That type of coaching will be valuable to a young quarterback like Spencer Rattler, former Cowboys and current Saints backup Ben DiNucci, and certainly any young quarterback the Saints may decide to draft.

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Skip Peete – Running Backs Coach

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Peete served as running backs coach for Kellen Moore’s staff in Dallas from 2020-2022. Skip Peete is currently the running backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has been a running backs coach in the NFL for 27 years. Skip Peete, brother of former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete, may currently coach for an NFC South rival, but may not be a lock to stay on under new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard in Tampa. Considering the drastic success Moore has had with Saquon Barkley running the ball in Philly, it only makes sense that he would want a skilled veteran coach in place to get Alvin Kamara, and hopefully a dynamic young running back from the draft, playing up to their highest potential. The Saints just lost their own running back coach Derrick Foster to Dallas in a lateral move, and Foster too had worked under Kellen Moore with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023. Losing Foster was not ideal, but adding Peete would be a significant upgrade for the Saints staff.

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Joe Philbin – Offensive Line Coach

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Philbin served as the offensive line coach for Kellen Moore’s staff in Dallas from 2020-2022. Joe Philbin was most recently the offensive line coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, and served as a senior offensive assistant to former head coach Antonio Pierce. With Pete Carroll taking over as head coach in Vegas, and certainly not needing a senior consultant, Carroll has given the Raiders offense to Chip Kelly, who has assembled a new offensive staff. This makes Joe Philbin readily available to come to the Saints to takeover the offensive line, potentially with Jahri Evans continuing to grow in his role as well.

Philbin has 20 years of NFL coaching experience including a three and one quarter season stint as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, the first two of which had Jeff Ireland as his general manager. He also served as interim head coach of the Green Bay Packers following the firing of Mike McCarthy. Philbin also won Super Bowl XLV as the offensive coordinator of the Packers following the 2010 season. Philbin’s extensive knowledge and his familiarity with Kellen Moore’s offense would be invaluable to the rookie head coach, as Moore looks to find a new identity for this Saints franchise. Much like veteran NFL coach Joe Vitt helped guide Sean Payton through his growing pains as an NFL head coach, Joe Philbin could fill that same role for Kellen Moore.

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Chris Beatty – Wide Receivers Coach

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Beatty served as the wide receivers coach for Kellen Moore’s staff with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023. Chris Beatty was most recently the Chicago Bears wide receivers coach and interim offensive coordinator, following the post-Thanksgiving coaching shakeup in the Windy City last year. With Chicago’s new head coach Ben Johnson creating a complete overhaul of the Bears coaching staff, Beatty is now available to join Moore’s staff and help Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and hopefully more, achieve their full potential, like Keenan Allen did two seasons ago under Moore and Beatty.

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Jason Michael – Tight Ends Coach

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Michael is currently the tight ends coach of the Philadelphia Eagles on Kellen Moore’s staff. He has 19 years of NFL coaching experience, serving as a tight ends coach, quarterbacks coach, and an offensive coordinator. Michael’s history with Philly head coach Nick Sirianni could keep him in the City of Brotherly Love, but a pay bump and the potential for a title like assistant head coach may change things in that regard. Although this hire may not be as obvious as other candidates listed here, Michael’s experience and versatility could be very useful in Moore’s inaugural season. This is certainly a trend we are exploring here, as a young head coach can never have too many veteran voices helping implement his vision for an organization.

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Scott Linehan – Senior Offensive Assistant

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Linehan is currently an offensive analyst for the University of Montana Grizzlies football program. He was the Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator during the 2018 season, when Kellen Moore was hired to become Dallas’ quarterbacks coach. Linehan has had 17 years of NFL coaching experience, including a two and one quarter season stint as head coach in St. Louis, following Mike Martz. Although that stint as the head coach in St. Louis was not a successful one, Linehan’s experience in what his failures were, and what failed him, may prove to be valuable for a first-year head coach looking to a veteran. It is possible Linehan may be happier on the college sidelines, where he has spent the last five years, beginning in 2020 with the then reigning National Champion LSU Tigers as the teams’ passing game coordinator, but maybe he would want to pass on some knowledge to his once quarterback coach, now turned head coach. Certainly, Joe Philbin could fill this role if hired, but as stated earlier, you can never have too many veteran voices supporting a first-time head coach.

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There has also been speculation that Kellen may bring his younger brother Kirby aboard onto his offensive staff. Kirby Moore is currently the offensive coordinator for the University of Missouri Tigers, a position he has held for the last two years, and continues to be under contract through the 2025 season. It would stand to reason that Kellen would want to bring his brother into the NFL coaching ranks, but the timing might be slightly premature. A rookie head coach would likely stock his staff with veterans like the names mentioned here, then bring along a first timer, even his own sibling, after the first year is in the books.

Of course, this is all speculative, and possibly outside of Nussmeier, none of these coaches may end up on Kellen Moore’s staff in New Orleans, but for the reasons given, it would make sense for Moore to put in requests to interview them all the same. Hopefully, come next Monday following Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, we see that Kellen Moore is staying in town and filling out his coaching staff.