It took long enough for the news to become official, but former Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was finally named to the same role with the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday. After one season with the Chargers, Moore will return to the NFC East and face the Cowboys at least twice a year beginning with the 2024 season..
Several of Moore’s former playmakers in Dallas are looking forward to seeing him again, even if he’ll now be wearing enemy colors.
“It really just shows how crazy this league can be,” Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson said, per Olivia Reiner of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I mean, it’s so many different moving pieces. One guy might be on your team next year, one might be on the opponent the other. I think it’s really cool. I’m proud of him.”
Wideout CeeDee Lamb said he’s “looking forward to playing against” Moore. At the Pro Bowl Games in Orlando, he gave several Eagles players a preview of what they can expect.
“Should be very fun,” Lamb told them. “You’re going to have a lot of options, obviously. Your receivers are going to love it because, obviously, it’s more passes.”
Moore’s Cowboys offenses put up big numbers more often than not. In three of his four seasons as Dallas OC, the team finished in the top 10 in both total points and total yards. The one year they didn’t was 2020, the season in which Dak Prescott played in just five games… but was on a record-setting pace before his ankle injury.)
Even Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni- without directly acknowledging their Dallas rivals by name- subtly gave a tip of the hat to the Cowboys’ production during Moore’s time there.
“During Kellen’s tenure as an NFL coach,” Sirianni said in a statement following the announcement of Moore’s hire, “he has helped to develop some of the best quarterbacks in the league and directed some of its best offenses.”
For all the fireworks under Moore, however, Lamb and Ferguson actually went on to enjoy career-high numbers in the first season after his departure, once head coach Mike McCarthy took over play-calling.
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But given the Eagles’ stacked roster, Ferguson expects Moore to spread the ball around plenty in Philly.
“I think there’s a lot of plays to be made,” Ferguson explained from his first Pro Bowl. “I think he puts the guys in the right spot where they need to be and puts it in their hands. I think that’s something that’s important when calling plays and creating that offensive scheme.”
As much as Lamb and Ferguson both say they admire the 34-year-old offensive mind and wish him well at his new post, Moore’s place on the wrong side of the two clubs’ storied rivalry will prohibit the Cowboys stars from actively cheering for him most weeks.
“Excited to see what he can do- not when he’s playing us,” Ferguson admitted. “Or when we need them to lose.”
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