Fifteen years after winning their lone NFL Championship, the New Orleans Saints named Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as the franchise’s 19th head coach following his team’s stunning upset of the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, in Super Bowl LIX. Philly’s offense scored 33 of the Eagles’ 40 points and amassed 345 total yards against a Chiefs’ defense that was trying for their third-straight Super Bowl win.
In our team’s history the Black and Gold have had 12 full-time head coaches and seven interim head coaches.
Moore comes to New Orleans after serving just one season in Philadelphia. Previously, he served as OC for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023 and the Dallas Cowboys from 2019-2022. He served as Dallas’ quarterbacks coach in 2018, after he retired from a six-year NFL career as a quarterback for the Cowboys and Detroit Lions.
To say that Moore, 36, is inheriting a mess is an understatement — several high-profile candidates removed themselves from consideration for the position during the hiring process — but the lure of being one of only 32 NFL head coaches was too much for him to pass on.
The Saints finished the 2024 season with a 5-12 record and in last place in the NFC South division. The team fired head coach Dennis Allen nine games into the season after starting 2-7 and named Darren Rizzi, the team’s assistant head coach and special teams coordinator, as interim head coach. Although the respect of his players was obvious, Rizzi was only able to post a 3-5 record to finish the season.
Saints fans are hoping Moore can return the team to the success it had in its golden era under head coach Sean Payton, who was an up-and-coming offensive coordinator when the Saints hired him, but the new person in charge will need time, patience, and money to make it happen.
In 2024, the Saints finished 21st in the NFL in total offense, gaining an average of 320.1 yards and scoring 19.9 points per game (by comparison, the Eagles were eighth in the league in total offense, with 367.2 yards and 27.2 points per game). On defense, the Saints finished 30th in total defense, giving up 379.9 yards and 23.4 points per game.
Although many think the roster needs a complete rebuild, the Saints are not in a position to invest in 2025. According to overthecap.com, a website that tracks NFL teams’ financial obligations, the Saints are $66.8 million over the salary cap entering the 2025 season, including $48.4 million in dead money going to players who are no longer on the team. In order to get under the league-mandated salary cap — which is projected to be $275 million in 2025 — the team will need to draft players who can contribute immediately and sign lesser-quality or lesser-known free agent players to fill the roster. If there is good news, it is that the Saints will have the ninth overall pick in the 2025 draft and high choices in subsequent rounds.
Chris Price is an award-winning journalist and public relations principal. When he’s not writing, he’s avid about music, the outdoors, and Saints, Ole Miss and Chelsea football.
