Tag: head coach search

Kellen Moore will fly back to Philly after the Super Bowl

Report: Kellen Moore is set to fly back to Philadelphia after the Super Bowl, before continuing talks for the Saints head coach job

There is something of a new development in the New Orleans Saints head coaching search, as their primary candidate Kellen Moore will be flying back home with the Philadelphia Eagles following Super Bowl LIX, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. Given the game is being held in New Orleans and played at the Saints’ home stadium, it had been speculated Moore may stay behind to try and work out a deal first. But this will not be the case.

Whether Moore is celebrating a championship win with his teammates or working on exit interviews, he’ll put a pin on this Eagles season before turning attention back to the Saints.

This gives New Orleans some time to prepare for what could be the final meeting, and when it comes down to it, what they hope is the discussion that gets things over the line. While they cannot hire him until after the Super Bowl anyways, he has become the far-and-away favorite for the job as the Saints will be the last team of the cycle to hire a head coach.

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Options emerge as DC for Kellen Moore if he becomes Saints head coach

ESPN reports there are two candidates emerging as options for defensive coordinator on Kellen Moore’s New Orleans Saints staff — assuming he takes the job:

The New Orleans Saints have cleared house on their coaching staff, as they now have vacancies at most of the major positions. One of the ones that most recently opened up was at defensive coordinator, as Joe Woods has left for the Las Vegas Raiders to join Pete Carroll’s staff.

The likely scenario here is that the Saints have chosen to let many of their coaches seek out other positions, laterally or otherwise, to allow whoever their new head coach may be to select their own staff altogether. Given Kellen Moore is the frontrunner for the position as of now, he has received much speculation when it comes to adding further staff behind him.

Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, there are two candidates who are seen as likely fits for the defensive coordinator spot: “Two names I’ve heard as possibilities at defensive coordinator are 49ers assistant coach Brandon Staley and Buccaneers outside linebackers coach George Edwards. Both have history with Moore — Staley hired Moore as his offensive coordinator with the Chargers in 2023, and Moore overlapped with Edwards in Dallas.”

Fowler also notes Matt Eberflus and Klayton Adams as options that could have come to fruition if not already hired by the Cowboys. Staley has been one of the names thrown around for a little while now given the direct connection, however Edwards is somewhat of a new addition to the group. He has extensive experience in the league including three stints as a defensive coordinator previously, so he could very well be in the running here as well.

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Drew Brees gave the Saints some advice during their coaching search

Drew Brees says he’s given the New Orleans Saints some advice during their coaching search: ‘I lend my expertise or recommendations when asked’

Drew Brees may not play for the New Orleans Saints any longer, but he is still deeply invested in the success of the team. ESPN’s Adam Schefter asked if Brees would join the Saints again in an official capacity.

Brees responded, “I don’t know, we’ll see,” as a smile began to grace his face. “It’s in my blood, it always will be. And so whether it’s direct or indirect, yes I will always say ‘we,’ that’s my team, our team, I just take so much pride in what we built and what we accomplished.”

Here’s the thing, though. Brees still has relationships with people in the building, so his opinion is still being heard. It just may not be in an official capacity.

Brees was on record saying he wanted Aaron Glenn in New Orleans before Glenn joined the New York Jets. Those thoughts were put into the public, but also vocalized privately.

“Feedback? Look I always have conversations, I have conversations with everybody in that organization about any number of topics. Hey what are we looking for? Yes. I lend my expertise or recommendations when asked,” Brees said, putting plainly. You have to wonder what his thoughts are on Kellen Moore.

Brees is currently focused on getting back into broadcasting. Joining the franchises as a part of the front office isn’t a part of his mission and he doesn’t need to be. His opinion is clearly valued enough to give input without an official title.

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Saints plan to meet with Kellen Moore once again after the Super Bowl

The Saints plan to meet with Kellen Moore once again after the Super Bowl, signifying he is the favorite for their head coaching job:

The New Orleans Saints head coaching search may finally be coming to a close after Super Bowl LIX wraps up, as the Saints plan to interview Kellen Moore once again when the season wraps up, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. This indicates that he is likely the frontrunner to become their next head coach for the 2025 season and beyond, as they finally begin to wrap up the search which has lasted far longer than any of the other teams did during this cycle.

Moore will have what could be his final game as a Philadelphia Eagles coach on Feb. 9 in Caesars Superdome, home of the Saints, where he may be able to stick around and become the head coach of that team as well in the ensuing days. While nothing can be completed until then, the signs indicate he may be the leading candidate for New Orleans as things come to nearing an end.

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This Saints head coach candidate had a 9-hour long interview for the spot

One of the Saints’ interviews with a head coaching candidate ran a whopping nine hours. Mike Kafka clearly wants the job:

The New Orleans Saints are no stranger to long head coaching interviews, as during the last coaching search they interviewed Eric Bieniemy for eight hours. However, they seem to have one-upped themselves this offseason, as their interview with New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka lasted nine hours. This wasn’t a cursory meeting to satisfy the Rooney Rule like the New England Patriots got away with. Kafka is a real candidate for the job.

NFL head coach interviews are not some small thing and typically last a substantial chunk of time, which makes sense. Nine hours is hard to fathom though, that’s longer than an entire standard work shift of just exclusively interviewing for a position. While to this point it has signified clear interest as he is still in the running as one of the four candidates, who knows if it ends up meaning he will be the head coach.

Kafka has spent the last few days working at the Senior Bowl, as the head coach of the National Team for that event. This has given him the opportunity to coach up some of the best players in the 2025 NFL draft class, and gain some insight on who he may be interested in drafting if he were to be the head coach.

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There is a growing sense that the Saints have a frontrunner for head coach

The New Orleans Saints head coaching hire is one they desperately need to get right, and at the moment it appears Kellen Moore may be their guy:

The New Orleans Saints head coaching vacancy is heating up, with Mike McCarthy previously indicating that he will be focusing on the 2026 head coaching cycle, the current belief is that Kellen Moore may be the man to beat at the moment. This has been discussed across a wide variety of platforms by different reporters, most recently by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

“Certainly it seems like Kellen Moore is viewed as the favorite to be the next head coach of the New Orleans Saints,” Rapoport reported from the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. “It has been very clear they have not officially made any sort of decision. They can’t finalize any deal until after the Super Bowl. But certainly you talk to people around the league, you talk to people involved with this, at least right now it appears the signs point to Kellen Moore.”

This should not come as a huge surprise to those who have followed the coach interview process recently, as the Saints flew out to Philadelphia the first day Moore was available to interview again and met him the night they got there, not even waiting until the next day to speak with him. While they will be unable to announce a hire until after the Super Bowl if it is Moore, he seems to be the favorite as the process continues. While this is by no means a completed deal or an agreement, the odds are in his favor.

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Jahri Evans discusses Saints staff changes and coaching the Senior Bowl

Jahri Evans could become a Hall of Famer next week, but for now he’s busy representing the Saints as a coach at the Senior Bowl:

Jahri Evans is a busy man. The New Orleans Saints assistant offensive line coach is working at the Senior Bowl this week, and next week he’ll learn whether or not he’s going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Beyond that, he’ll have to see if the new Saints coaching staff has room for him. Evans was asked about the upcoming changes and the ongoing search for a head coach, which caught him by surprise.

“Oh, wow I wasn’t expecting that,” Evans told reporters after Senior Bowl practice on Tuesday. “Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about it, y’know I’m here trying to do as much as I can for these guys. Like I told them in the meeting, I’m here to sharpen the tools in their toolbox and add things to their toolbox. I think back home in New Orleans, that situation will handle itself, and when it does I’m pretty sure I have an opportunity to stay.”

When asked if he feels like the team will keep him around, Evans replied, “I hope so. I don’t know, this is my first go around with it. The team hasn’t had change in almost 20 years at the head position, right, so I think its a lot of people’s first go around with it in the building. I’m here now representing the Saints, and my job is to get my notes on these guys, help these guys be better. As long as I’m employed, I’ll still be working.”

When it comes down to it, this quote sounds like he has the opportunity to stay, which is an enormous positive as he has been a great addition to the staff and may be worth looking at for a promotion in the near future. Of all the assistants and positional coaches on the team, there are a few who are worthy of staying, and Evans is no doubt one of them.

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Several former NFL teammates share high praise for Kellen Moore

Several former teammates shared high praise for Saints head coach candidate Kellen Moore. Lance Moore and Dan Orlovsky are in his corner:

Two former teammates of Kellen Moore have recently discussed his head coaching candidacy with the New Orleans Saints, and whether or not he would make a good head coach. These former teammates are Dan Orlovsky and member of the Saints Hall of Fame Lance Moore. Both of these players previously played on the Detroit Lions with Kellen Moore, and had the chance to get to know him prior to his coaching days.

Dan Orlovsky outlined the challenges Moore would face in New Orleans and why he believes the young coach can overcome them: “I think whoever gets that job probably goes through a little bit of a bumpy phase for the first year or two when it comes to just roster construction and how much money you have. But I’ll tell you this, I was with Kellen for a couple years, Kellen and I competed to be a backup in Detroit for a couple years. He actually texted me last week or two weeks ago when I was really critical of him on TV with some of his game plan, and he said ‘Hey thanks for the shoutout, it’s been a fun media week lol.'”

While Moore isn’t known as a big rah-rah leader like a Dan Campbell or Pete Carroll, leadership isn’t always loud. As long as he is expressing himself, Orlovsky expects Moore’s personality will win over his critics.

He continued: “So his personality I think has grown a lot, like when I was with him, he was a little bit reserved. Super intelligent, didn’t necessarily, like, command a room like some guys do in a head coaching role. But I do think it’s grown, now I look at the text and I say ok he’s a little more comfortable in his skin for him to text me that, and a little bit like a ‘F U’ to me in many ways. So I think he’s kind of grown in that role, he’s super smart, he’s very much so smart enough. I do like the fact that he was in Dallas, I like the fact that he was in L.A., I like the fact that he was in Philly, kind of experiencing a lot of different places, I think gives these coaches really good vantage points of what it looks like, what it doesn’t look like.”

“So I’ll be rooting for him, I think the world of him,” Orlovsky added.

Lance Moore worked closely with Moore on the Lions during their 2015 training camp and preseason, but that brief time together made a swift impression: “Smart guy, very very very smart guy. That, even though he wasn’t playing, he was like another coach in the locker room, on the field, and somebody that is very very bright when it comes to offensive acumen. So if he is the guy, I think he can do some really great things.”

Lance Moore also mentioned to WDSU that, nothing against Dennis Allen or any defensive coach the Saints may be considering, but as a guy who played with Drew Brees and is in the Saints Hall of Fame because of his heroics as a wide receiver, he hopes the Black and Gold go with an offensive coach.

It seems very clear that both have exceptionally high opinions of Kellen Moore, and believe he would make a good head coach option for the Saints. Both of them distinctly and quickly mentioning he is very smart is something that is consistent with other reports of his coaching style, as his scheme and offensive play calling are one of the best.

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Saints HC candidate reflects on interview experience

New York Giants OC Mike Kafka reflected on his experience meeting with the New Orleans Saints and interviewing for the head coach job:

The New Orleans Saints are the last team with a head coach opening in the NFL, so now they can really sit back and be patient before making their decision.

They have continued to interview and meet with coaches for the last few weeks and it seems to be down to a few top candidates. One person still in the mix is current New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.

Kafka is currently coaching at the Senior Bowl, with the rest of the NFL world watching, and got a chance to speak with the media about his thoughts on his interviews with the Saints.

“It was a great experience. Really, really great organization. Mickey and his staff, getting to know those guys and spend a lot of quality time with them over the last few days,” Kafka said to Sean Fazende of Fox8. “It was, again,  a really good experience and I’m thankful that I had to go through that.”

The 37-year-old coach has been with the Giants since 2022. Before that, he spent the first five years of his NFL coaching career with the Kansas City Chiefs under Andy Reid.

His time with New York has given him some experience in managing a roster that might not be filled to the brim with talent. It isn’t too dissimilar to the situation in New Orleans.

Kafka has done a deep dive on the Saints roster and seems like he would jump on the opportunity to become the next head coach.

“You certainly spend a lot of time studying. Their roster, the staff, study their history and the ownership group. There’s a lot of things to like about their organization. If that opportunity presents itself, I think you’ll be lucky to get that job,” Kakfa expanded in a clip shared by NewOrleans.Football’s Mike Triplett.

He sure sounds like he has serious interest in the job. Let’s see if the Saints share that enthusiasm as their head coach search goes down to the home stretch.

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Kliff Kingsbury will not interview for the Saints head coach vacancy

The Saints have another coach out of the running in their head coach search, with Kliff Kingsbury staying on the Washington Commanders

The New Orleans Saints are down another head coaching candidate in their search for someone to run their team. This time it is Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who will be staying in Washington, as reported by FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz.

This narrows the Saints’ search down to just five candidates, who are Kellen Moore, Mike McCarthy, Anthony Weaver, Mike Kafka, and Darren Rizzi. They recently went to Philadelphia to complete their in-person interview with Moore, and are expected to interview McCarthy later in the week as well.

Ultimately it seemed as if Kingsbury was not a likely candidate due to his choice to avoid an interview back when he was able to earlier in the playoffs. It is hard to blame him as the Commanders were one of the best teams in the NFL this season and rose at an extremely rapid pace to relevance under their new coaching staff and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.