The New Orleans Saints haven't made anything official in their head coaching search, but all signs point to Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as the favorite heading into Super Bowl week.
Saints officials flew up to Philadelphia for an in-person interview at the beginning of the week and all accounts are that the visit, which stretched into the early hours of Tuesday morning, went well. Cowboys color analyst Babe Laufenberg, who knows Moore well from his time in Dallas, had a glowing review of the potential hire on Sports Talk this week.
"I’m a huge fan of Kellen. ... His offenses have always been good and I’ve always liked the way he approaches it," Laufenberg said. "Remember, he came from Boise State. Boise State back in the day, they were running more shifts and motions and all of that stuff, they were more creative than probably 90% of the teams in the NFL, so he’s kind of been schooled in that."
Listen to the full interview in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
The Saints have also held in-person interviews with interim head coach and special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, Giants OC Mike Kafka and Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver, and that appears to be the final list with no more interviews currently scheduled. If the Saints do opt to hire Moore, they'll have to wait until after Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans to make it official, per NFL rules.
Moore, 36, has long been considered an offensive wizard and would be expected to revamp the Saints system, but questions will remain about how ready he is to command a room and lead an NFL team. Laufenberg is quick to downplay those concerns. Despite being young, he's already got six full seasons as an offensive coordinator under his belt with three different teams and his offenses have routinely been atop the NFL in terms of scoring. The Eagles, led by superstar Saquon Barkely's record-setting season, rank No. 2 in that category this past season en route to another Super Bowl appearance.
Related
Laufenberg would also qualify Moore as an old 36 in football years. He grew up around the game with his father, xxx, serving as a successful high school coach and starred at Boise State in college where he left as the NCAA leader in QB wins. That record has since been dwarfed with modern rules allowing careers to last significantly longer.
"I think the learning curve, he’s way above that in terms of his experience and the people he’s been around" Laufenberg said. "I could not speak highly enough about Kellen Moore. He’s gonna be a great hire, if indeed he is the hire, which it appears he will be.”