The New Orleans Saints have their new head coach in Kellen Moore, but who is he?
The team agreed to terms with Moore on Tuesday, less than 48 hours removed from the Eagles' Super Bowl victory that saw Moore's offense put up 40 points and end the Chiefs' historic three-peat bid. He'll be officially introduced Thursday morning at the Saints facility.
Here are five things to know about the Saints' new head coach.
1. THE YOUNG GUY
At 36 years old, the Saints now have the youngest active head coach in the NFL and the youngest in franchise history. In fact he's the same age as Saints linebacker Demario Davis. He's a year younger than Seattle head coach Mike McDonald, two years younger than Bears head coach Ben Johnson and three years younger than Jaguars head coach Liam Coen.
He's also, somewhat hilariously, 37 years younger than new Raiders coach Pete Carroll.
Despite the age, though, Moore has a plenty of NFL experience relative to his peers with seven seasons total as an NFL head and six as an offensive coordinator split across three teams. For instance, Coen has just one season of OC experience to his credit after spending the rest of his career in the college ranks. Johnson's career stretches back to 2012, but half the experience as a defensive coordinator.
In fact, over the last three seasons Moore has the second-most coordinator experience of any first-time hire, trailing only longtime assistant coach Brian Schottenheimer.
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2. A FOOTBALL FAMILY
One of the reasons it seems like Kellen Moore has been around the game of football forever ... is because he has. Moore's father, Tom, is an accomplished high school coach at Prosser High School in Washington from 1986 to 2008, winning 21 league titles and four state titles.
Moore took that opportunity to heart. His father told Sports Illustrated that Moore was always diagramming plays, and in his final two high school seasons called his own plays from the quarterback position. According to the interview, the elder Moore's only request was that he announce the plays he was running so the coach had an idea what was happening.
Moore's brother, Kirby, was also a dynamic receiver and still holds the national high school record with 95 touchdown receptions. Kellen Moore threw for 11,367 yards in his high school career, setting state records for completions (787) and touchdown passes (173).
Moore is married to wife, Julie. The pair has two daughters, Halle and Madelyn, and two sons, Kyler and Beckham.
3. THE RECORD SETTER
If you weren't living under a rock from 2008-'11, it was virtually impossible to follow college football and not know the name Kellen Moore.
A four-year, 53-game career by Moore put Boise State on the map and made for some fascinating mid-major conversations every bowl season. One can only wonder what it might've looked like in a 12-team format, with Boise State almost certainly qualifying in all four seasons should it have existed back then.
Moore went 50-3 during his Boise State career and became the first NCAA quarterback to hit 50 career wins. He also rolled up 1,157 completions for 14,667 yards and 142 touchdowns against just 28 interceptions.
One of those wins even came against current Saints quarterback Derek Carr. Moore was a senior, while Carr was a sophomore at Fresno State. Boise State won in a blowout 57-7 with Moore throwing for 254 yards and 3 TDs.
He was a two-time All-American and a Heisman finalist after the 2010 season, finishing 4th. The award went to then Auburn standout Cam Newton, who was selected No. 1 overall by the Panthers.
Moore went undrafted in 2012 but latched on with the Lions for three seasons, before finishing out his playing career with three years on the Cowboys. He then went immediately into coaching, transitioning from Dak Prescott's backup to his QB coach in one offseason.
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4. MULTI-FACETED
What makes Moore particularly intriguing for the Saints is versatilty. Moore doesn't just have six years worth of coordinator experience, but with three different teams. Dallas had the No. 1 scoring and total offense in 2021, and that was an offense heavily reliant on a dynamic passing attack featuring Dak Prescott and Ceedee Lamb. The Cowboys ranked 10th in rushing that season.
Fast forward to 2024, and the old methods weren't the answer. He was inheriting an elite Eagles offensive line and had Saquon Barkley to feature. That group unleashed a fearsome rushing attack that saw Barkley become the first NFL running back to roll up 2,500 yards in a season (including the playoffs). The 2024 Eagles were second in the NFL in rushing, behind only the Ravens. They were also 2nd in rushing touchdowns behind the Bills, aided somewhat by their "tush push" at the goal line. They also finished atop the league with seven 40-yard runs in the regular season.
“I think [adapting to your players is] really important," Moore said during Super Bowl week. "Obviously you have certain things that you have strong feelings about from a coaching perspective, certain philosophies, but I think it’s important to do what your players do best and surround yourself with as many opportunities to get those guys in those situations as you can.”
The Saints have a lot of questions, but being flexible with how you can answer them certainly won't hurt.
5. CONNECTIONS
As mentioned above, Kellen Moore has coached for three different teams in prominent roles. Considering he'll be tasked with assembling a coaching staff for the first time in his career, that certainly won't hurt.
One coach he's already been linked to is former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley, who hired Moore as his OC before being fired midseason in 2023. Jim Harbaugh took over and cleaned house. Staley is a likely candidate to take over as the Saints defensive coordinator.
Another intriguing name is Doug Nussmeier, a former Saints quarterback and the father of LSU's Garrett Nussmeier. Currently the Eagles QB coach, he'd mark a name of interest for the OC job.
Whether it be names from his time with the Cowboys, Chargers or Eagles, or as a player with the Lions, there's certainly a lot of familiarity to mine. Expect his coaching staff to be largely formed of coaches with links to Moore's last stops, starting with the two names above.