NFL's Worst Kept Secret Now In Open As Kellen Moore Hired To Lift Saints From Mediocrity
The NFL's worst kept secret during Super Bowl week was that the New Orleans Saints were poised to hire Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as their new head coach. Well, it's absolutely no secret anymore.
Moore and the team are finalizing a contract to make him the club's new head coach and the seventh and final head coach hired this cycle.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FEBRUARY 09: Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore jogs off the field at halftime against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Sirianni Pitch To Moore Didn't Work
About the only intrigue in this move was whether Moore would remain in New Orleans after he helped the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX or fly back with the team. Moore flew back and will return to New Orleans in the next couple of days, per a source.
So much for a Hail Mary pitch by Eagles coach Nick Sirianni to Moore, urging his assistant to "run it back," after the Super Bowl win.
It's about the only thing that didn't work for Sirianni on Sunday.
What awaits Moore, who at 35 years old and has only seven years coaching experience, when he gets to his new home?
A gargantuan job.
One without a lot of easy answers.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 29: A detail of a New Orleans Saints helmet on the field during the first half of a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at the Caesars Superdome on December 29, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Derick E. Hingle/Getty Images)
Saints Good Players Need Help
The Saints are a middling, aging, over-paid squad who haven't made the playoffs since 2020 despite playing in the NFC South with NFL non-powers Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons.
The Saints find themselves in the unenviable situation of being only good enough to stay mediocre.
Quarterback Derek Carr, the club's highest-paid player, has been riddled with injuries in recent years and his team managed only a 5-5 record in the 10 games he started in 2024.
He's a good player. But he isn't good enough to carry the whole dang team. He needs help.
Edge rusher Cam Jordan, the club's most accomplished defensive player, is 36 years old.
And Taysom Hill, a fan favorite but a hybrid player who is neither a quarterback, nor fullback, nor tight end, but a mix of all three, is the third-highest paid player on the club in 2025.
This club is an odd bag.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 15: Derek Carr #4 of the New Orleans Saints celebrates a touchdown pass during the third quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on September 15, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
Saints Have Perpetual Cap Issues
And one with troubling paths to being great because they will be again, as usual, the team that must manage the worst salary cap situation in the NFL. The Saints are scheduled to be $59 million over the cap unless they move numbers and players around as they seemingly always do.
The Saints take pride in managing what seems like a terrible cap situation, to be cap compliant on the first day of every league year.
But here's an alternate idea: Start putting together a better cap situation so the annual salary cap work-around isn't the most laudable victory of every season.
Get right to be right.
Another issue?
Feb 9, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, US; New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan poses for a photo on the red carpet before the NFL Honors award show at Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Mediocrity Is Saints' Enemy
The New Orleans mediocrity is annoying in that the franchise can never simply pick high enough to take the draft's best prospects. The Saints don't draft terribly. But their seemingly perpetual seven-, eight- or nine-win seasons don't allow them to select in the Top 5 of the draft.
So that's the situation Moore walks into. He will not have a say over the salary cap, so he'll have to witness the work being done.
But he is expected to change the offense, possibly even call its plays, as that's his expertise. And he is expected to interview former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley as his new defensive coordinator. Staley is considered a favorite for the job.
The Saints, the last team to hire its coach, are off and running.
The question is whether they can run away from frustrating mediocrity.