New Orleans Saints announce agreement with Kellen Moore to become head coach – NewOrleansSaints.com
Source: NewOrleansSaints.com
The New Orleans Saints announced today that they have agreed with Kellen Moore to become the 19th head coach in franchise history.
Moore, a 13-year NFL veteran, played quarterback for six seasons (2012-17) and entered the coaching ranks in 2018, serving as an offensive coordinator for the past six campaigns. Moore comes to New Orleans after serving as offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024.
“At the start of the interview process, it was important to find a head coach who was the right fit for the New Orleans Saints organization,” said Owner Gayle Benson. “Through the search process, it became clear that Kellen is the right person to help us re-establish a winning program and culture that our fans are accustomed to and have come to expect. I would also like to thank Darren Rizzi for his service as interim coach and leading our team this past season. I am truly grateful to him.”
“I would like to welcome Kellen Moore and his family to New Orleans,” said Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis. “He is an outstanding communicator with the ability to lead people and has a clear vision for this football team. Through this head coaching search, we had the opportunity to meet with several impressive candidates and I thank them for their hard work and preparation in this process.”
“I am excited to join the New Orleans Saints and deeply appreciate the faith that Mrs. Benson and the entire Saints organization have placed in me,” Moore said. “I look forward to embracing the challenges ahead and am eager to get started. I would also like to thank the Philadelphia Eagles for an incredible 2024 season. I’m excited to begin this new chapter.”
In 2024, Moore was a key piece of a coaching staff that led the Eagles to a 14-3 record, which tied a franchise mark for regular season victories, an NFC East Division title and the conference’s No. 2 playoff seed and culminated with a Super Bowl LIX championship at the Caesars Superdome. Ranked eighth overall in net yards per game (367.2) and seventh in points per game (27.2), Philadelphia rushed for a single-season club record 3,048 yards (sixth-best in NFL history) and finished second in the league in rushing yards per game (179.3). The 2024 Eagles were only the second team in NFL history to rush for 3,000-plus yards and at least 25 (29) touchdowns. The Eagles passing attack also flourished under Moore’s tutelage, setting a club record with a 103.4 passer rating, led by quarterback Jalen Hurts’ career-high 103.7, ranked fifth-best in the league.
In the NFC Divisional Playoff victory over the Los Angeles Rams, the Philadelphia running game kept humming, gaining a team playoff-record 285 yards on 34 carries (8.4 avg.) with three touchdowns. In the Eagles’ 55-23 NFC Championship victory over the Washington Commanders, they had their second-highest scoring total in postseason history, gaining 459 total net yards, including 229 on the ground with seven touchdowns. In Philadelphia’s 40-22 Super Bowl LIX win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Hurts was voted the winner of the Pete Rozelle Trophy, awarded to the Super Bowl LIX Most Valuable Player after completing 17-of-22 attempts (77.3 pct.) for 221 yards, two touchdowns, a 119.7 passer rating and 72 rushing yards with one touchdown, the most rushing yards by a quarterback ever in a Super Bowl.
Philadelphia’s record-setting offense was led by several stellar individual performances. Running back Saquon Barkley, the consensus NFL Offensive Player of the Year (Associated Press, PFWA, The Sporting News), a first-team AP All-Pro and Pro Bowl starter, led the league with a franchise-record 2,005 rushing yards in the regular season, making him just the ninth player in NFL history to post 2,000+ rushing yards in a season, eighth-most in league records. Including 499 rushing yards in the playoffs which ranked third all-time, Barkley’s 2,504 rushing yards were the most in NFL single-season history (regular season and postseason combined).
Hurts ranked among the top eight in the league in yards per attempt (fourth, 8.0), passer rating (fifth, career-high 103.7), completion percentage (eighth, career-high 68.7 pct.) and total touchdowns (eighth, 32) in the regular season. In addition, Hurts tied for the fifth-most rushing touchdowns (14) in the league (ranked first among quarterbacks). In the postseason, en route to Super Bowl MVP honors, Hurts completed 65-of-91 passes (71.4 pct.) for 726 yards with five touchdown passes, only one interception and a 108.6 passer rating. On the ground, he carried 34 times for 194 yards with five touchdowns. His five postseason rushing touchdowns tied his own NFL postseason record for quarterbacks, which he already owned from the 2022 playoffs, and his 194 rushing yards were the fourth-highest total in NFL record books by a signal-caller.
Among pass-catchers, Philadelphia (wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith) was one of three teams with multiple players that had 60+ reception
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