For as long as Kellen Moore has been in the conversation for the Saints head coach, Doug Nussmeier has been the obvious pick as his potential offensive coordinator.
As of Thursday, that likely option is now reality. The Saints are reuniting Nussmeier, 54, with Moore as the team's new OC, according to a report from NewOrleans.Football.
The move fills out the last major hire on Moore's offensive staff, which has seen six names added over the past week, though none have yet been officially announced. That group includes former Saints coaches Joel Thomas (RBs) and Brendan Nugent (OL), Scott Tolzien (QBs), Chase Haslett (TEs) and former Eagles assistant TJ Paganetti in an undisclosed role. The Saints are also expected to retain Keith Williams as WRs coach.
The Saints have also opted to elevate Phil Galiano into the full-time special teams coordinator role, a position he filled over the final two months of the season with Darren Rizzi taking over as interim head coach.
Nussmeier's recent career history made him the odds-on favorite, as he's followed Moore as his QBs coach each of the past three seasons with three different teams. Nussmeier began his NFL coaching career with the Rams in 2006 before a stint in the college ranks. He returned to the NFL with the Cowboys in 2018 as a tight ends coach and transitioned to QBs coach in 2020 with Moore taking over as offensive coordinator. When Moore departed and took the job as the Chargers OC in 2023, so did Nussmeier. This past season the pair teamed up to lead the Eagles' Super Bowl champion offense. His stint with the Saints will mark the first time he's served in an NFL offensive coordinator role, though he was the OC for five different college programs, including Fresno State, Washington, Alabama, Michigan and Florida.
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Nussmeier adds a third former quarterback to the Saints coaching staff and was a 4th round pick of the Saints in 1994, sticking with New Orleans through the 1997 season. He's also the father of LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. The Saints coaching staff also figures to be highly popular in Idaho. Nussmeier was a star quarterback for the Vandals from 1989-'93, while Thomas was a star running back for the same program from 1994-'98, and also served as the teams offensive coordinator from 2004-'05. Moore didn't play for Idaho, but he did become the all-time winningest NCAA quarterback at Boise State, about 300 miles away.
The next order of business for the Saints is likely to fill out their defensive coaching roster. In that case the defensive coordinator should be the first order of business, with current candidates including former Chargers head coach and current 49ers assistant Brandon Staley, Vikings DBs coach Daronte Jones and Eagles DBs coach Christian Parker. In that case, again, Staley's connections to Moore from their time with the Chargers makes him the presumptive favorite, as does his experience as a head coach that could help Moore along in his first stint in that role.
All three candidates have the bulk of their experience in 3-4 schemes, Staley's learned as an assistant under now-Eagles DC Vic Fangio, which would signal a significant scheme shift if the Saints went that route.