I’m almost positive it’s not a record that anyone’s ever kept track of, but surely the New Orleans Saints just set a record for taking the longest time in NFL history to hire a new head coach.
Think about it, the franchise fired previous head coach Dennis Allen back on Nov. 4th, 2024. Over the course of those nearly 100 days Allen found a new job as the Chicago Bears defensive coordinator. Former Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiack was hired at the same position in Seattle. And a gentleman named Donald J. Trump got the gig as President of the United States.
Jul 26, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, US; New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis at training camp press conference at Ochsner Sports Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Over those three-plus months Saints GM Mickey Loomis roamed the country meeting and interviewing candidates and brought in a few to New Orleans to break bread over a bowl of gumbo. From early November through January 5th, the spunky Darren Rizzi served as interim head coach; he was a hopeful prospective candidate himself.
It was no secret among the five other teams seeking a new head man that the Saints job was considered the least desirable of them all. There are only 32 of these positions available in the world, but the recent trend has been coaches with options deciding to pass on certain jobs and holding firm where they were or taking a year off to wait for the next firing cycle.
The first group to follow that path included the GOAT Bill Bilichick (you can’t rule out that no team actually offered Mr. B a job last year) Mike Vrabel, recently hired by his old club in New England, and the popular Ben Johnson, who apparently got the job he desired all along in Chicago.
It became painfully obvious that the Saints job was as popular as directing USAID.
Former Dallas Cowboys coach and one-time Super Bowl winner Mike McCarthy did come down to meet with Loomis but took his name out of consideration pretty quickly. (There is a strong possibility he did that to save some face because the Saints were not going to hire him anyway). Buffalo offensive coordinator Joe Brady, a former Saints analyst under Sean Payton, also said thanks for thinking of me but no thanks. Washington offensive coordinator and Ryan Gosling lookalike Kliff Kingsbury was on the Loomis List but he decided to stay in D.C. and blaze through another season with quarterback phenom Jayden Daniels.
And we may never know but I’m not convinced Loomis didn’t offer the job to Detroit Lions defensive coordinator and former Saints player and assistant coach Aaron Glenn before he set his attention to getting the New York Jets position.
The Saints search dragged on as the five other teams were announcing and celebrating their new hires. Heck, even the woeful Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Who Dattersto the punch crowning little known Liam Coen as head cat at the J’ville.
For a while there, I thought about jumping on LinkedIn or Indeed to see if Loomis had resorted to some online help. This was not a good look for the Saints and the longer this process took, the perception of the franchise got worse.
The challenges that come with this job (and had more than a few candidates leaning out rather than leaning in) are well documented. The most pressing is the proverbial over-the-salary cap problem that seems to be ever present under Loomis. This year it’s between $50 and $60 million above the line depending on what day of the week it is.
The aging roster on both sides of the ball, but more so on defense, are evident with the Saints top three performers (Demario Davis, Cam Jordan and Tyrann Mathieu) all over 32-years-old. Same scenario on offense as the three marquee players are 30 and above starting with QB Derek Carr, running back Alvin Kamara and jack of all trades Taysom Hill, who by the way is coming off a pretty darn serious knee injury and surgery.
The last major roster concern centers around Carr and whether they return to the veteran who will count for $50 million against the cap or cut bait, take the dead money hit and go shopping for a free agent quarterback or find the future guy in the upcoming draft. (The Saints have the #9 pick but that may be way too high to opt for Jaxon Dart-Ole Miss or Kyle McCord-Syracuse.)
So that’s the cliff notes of the Saints long, drawn out search for the club’s 19th head coach. In the end, it all may have turned out for the best because the Saints got themselves a freshly minted Super Bowl winner in Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
Aug 9, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Philadelphia Eagles coach Kellen Moore reacts following a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
I think Loomis and owner Gayle Benson truly believe they got the most qualified coach from the guys that remained in the hunt, but you can’t convince me Moore was their first choice all along.
He’s proven to be a gifted play caller and has been one of the hot coordinators near the top of next head coach in waiting list for a couple of seasons now. He cut his chops under McCarthy as quarterback coach in Dallas before moving into the offensive coordinator role, where the Cowboys had several 12-win seasons and racked up a ton of yards.
Apparently, McCarthy had a problem with the pass happy Moore so he convinced Jerry Jones the offense would be better under the head coach’s control. Moore wasn’t unemployed for very long as he landed in L.A. as offensive coordinator for the Chargers for one year and then on to Philly as a one-year wonder and he clearly learned how to devise and call more run plays.
But the Moore doubters (and there are some, including yours truly), will point to the massive number of weapons on his chess board. Start with record-breaking running back Saquon Barkley, who ran behind the NFL’s biggest and best offensive line. Then you have dual threat and steady hand QB Jalen Hurts, who has #1 and 1-A receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith (an Amite, La. native).
In poker it’s easy to win when you’re holding a full house, but can you steal the pot at times with a pair of 10’s?
If you laid out Moore’s pros and cons it most assuredly tips towards the positive after the Eagles Super Bowl rout of seemingly unbeaten Patrick Mahommes and the Chiefs. Add in the fact he’s an offensive mind in a league dominated by offense–Super Bowl 59 notwithstanding.
On the negative side of the Moore ledger is the fact he’s never been a head coach on any level of football.
But he has won a Super Bowl.
He only has six years’ experience as a topflight coordinator, with seriously good talent at his disposal at every stop.
But, remember, he now has a Super Bowl title.
Over the course of his coaching tenure most of his success has come in the regular season up until this year. There’s that big silver trophy thing again.
I will say this: he does have a nice smile and speaks well but don’t expect any fire and brimstone press conferences about chewing on opponent’s knees and leaving blood, sweat and tears on the field after every game.
The late timing of this hire and Moore’s extended season and focus on the Super Bowl put him behind the chains in assembling his new coaching staff. With only eight years as an assistant I have to wonder how extensive his coaching rolodex is, and I will forgive him if he doesn’t even know what a rolodex is.
The Saints are clearly going back to 2006 and taking the next can’t miss, young, smart offensive savant as they did with Sean Payton. That worked out very well, of course.
The big question now is, is Moore the next Payton or the next Josh McDaniels?
There have been a slew of red-hot coordinators to break through like the Rams’ Sean McVay, San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan, Dan Campbell up in Detroit, Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell, Bengals coach Zac Taylor and Houston’s DeMeco Ryans.
But for every one of those aforementioned success stories there are the failures and promising young coordinator turned head coaches at a career crossroads like McDaniels-fired twice as a head coach. The Chargers’ Braden Staley, Brian Daboll hanging on by his fingernails with the Giants, same for Cleveland”s Kevin Stefanski and Mike McDaniel in Miami.
Where there is a ying there is a yang when it comes to hiring NFL head coaches. Do you go for the experienced rethread or follow the yellow brick road with an up and comer?
I think it depends on what kind of team you have (young or old), the leadership in the locker room and if they be led by a coach barely older than they are. What are the team’s greatest needs- offense or defense? How does that play to the head coach’s strengths? What is the franchise’s timeline and just how patient will ownership be with the changing of the guard?
I said from the jump after Dennis Allen was canned, the Saints need a strong Alpha head coach who would walk into the facility with a reputation, a vibe, an aura and a firm command of the press podium, locker room and sideline.
The younger option I advocated for was Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
The older, more experienced route was former Bucs and Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.
Both Super Bowl winners-Gruden as head coach in Tampa Bay and Flores as defensive coordinator in New England under Bill Bilichick. Now that Moore has a Super Bowl title on his resume it surely strengthens his case considerably. But, in my gut, I still have reservations. And that’s OK because not many past Saints head coaches were sure fire bets, including Payton.
I reserve the right to be skeptical of Moore as the Saints pick because of the team’s spotty head coaching hires of the past. But his steady hand on Philly’s offense all season and his performance in the Super Bowl victory will ease my trepidation. I truly hope he has the moxie and mettle to navigate the Saints’ minefield of problems and a roster that has more lead than gold.
One thing we do know about Kellen Moore is at 36 years old he now becomes the youngest head coach in the NFL. He had a huge hand in the Eagles’ championship rout right there in the Super Dome, which, ironically, will be his new home turf.
And, did I mention he has a good smile?
Catch Rick Sarro’s commentary and latest opinions on Soundoff on CBS Lake Charles on Tuesday and Thursday at 10:05 pm and on Saturday at 11 pm. Follow Rick on Twitter @ricksarro.
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