Latest / AFR Saints / Did Kellen Moore Get A Bad Rap In Dallas? | What Former Eagles OC Brings To Saints As Head Coach

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Did Kellen Moore Get A Bad Rap In Dallas? | What Former Eagles OC Brings To Saints As Head Coach · AFR Saints

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  Speaker 1: AFR on Demand is brought to you by Breck Golf.
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  Speaker 1: Breck dot org. Golf dot Breck dot org. Saints Avenue coach.
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  Speaker 1: They've hired Kellen Moore. It is official. We've known it
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  Speaker 1: for a couple of weeks now, but the Saints did
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  Speaker 1: in fact make it official with a press release on Tuesday.
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  Speaker 1: So now the process of more assembling a staff and
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  Speaker 1: building the roster and Mickey Loomis fixing the cap and
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  Speaker 1: all that stuff begins, and for us it's a lot
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  Speaker 1: of discovery. What do we know about the new Saints
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  Speaker 1: head coach. Well, when his playing days as a Dallas
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  Speaker 1: Cowboy ended in twenty seventeen, the next year, he joined
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  Speaker 1: that staff in twenty eighteen as the quarterbacks coach, he
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  Speaker 1: spent five years in Dallas. During those five years, a
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  Speaker 1: buddy David Hellman covered kell more than the Dallas Cowboys.
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  Speaker 1: Now Fox Sports covering the NFL and Dallas. David's good
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  Speaker 1: enough to join us for a couple of minutes here,
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  Speaker 1: Hey Man, good to see you. Nola even brief flew
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  Speaker 1: last week. Man, thanks for the time. How are you?
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  Speaker 2: I'm good man, Yeah, it was good to see all.
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  Speaker 2: What's going on?
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  Speaker 1: Well, you know, Saints hired a coach, so that's always
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  Speaker 1: interesting when this stuff happens in the NFL. You got
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  Speaker 1: to see a lot of Kellen Moore over his five
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  Speaker 1: years as a coach and then prior to that, the
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  Speaker 1: three seasons as a player. Summarize Kellen Moore's time in Dallas.
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  Speaker 2: Better than it got credit for, I think, is how
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  Speaker 2: I would explain it, which you know, full transparency. I
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  Speaker 2: mean when he was in Dallas, I got I got
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  Speaker 2: accused of being a little bit of a Kellen Moore stan.
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  Speaker 2: I guess okay, I've thought the guy was a good
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  Speaker 2: coach for his entire career. I mean, he retired from playing,
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  Speaker 2: he stepped right in as Cowboys quarterbacks coach. He was
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  Speaker 2: offensive coordinator shortly after that, he replaced Scott Lanahan and
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  Speaker 2: when Dak Prescott was healthy. The Cowboys were a top
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  Speaker 2: five offense for his entire tenure there. I mean you
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  Speaker 2: could count on them to be top five, top ten
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  Speaker 2: in the important metrics. They were incredibly efficient, they were
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  Speaker 2: incredibly high scoring. I think Cowboy fans, first of all,
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  Speaker 2: Cowboy fans got frustrated because obviously the team hasn't had
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  Speaker 2: the postseason success, and you know, they laid some stinkers
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  Speaker 2: in the playoff. That's for damn sure. I don't think
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  Speaker 2: you put that all on Kellen Moore. I also think
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  Speaker 2: people accused him of getting a little bit too cute.
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  Speaker 2: You know, he likes a trick play now and then,
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  Speaker 2: and he likes to show things off. You know, I
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  Speaker 2: think there's I'm not trying to compare them, but I
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  Speaker 2: think there are some similarities between him and Ben Johnson.
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  Speaker 2: You know, Kellen Moore never got as much clout for
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  Speaker 2: being willing to break out the trick plays as Ben Johnson,
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  Speaker 2: but that's definitely part.
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  Speaker 1: Of his bag.
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  Speaker 2: And then when he left Dallas, the whole narrative was
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  Speaker 2: that he was unwilling to run the ball, he aired
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  Speaker 2: it out too much. Mike car he wanted to get
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  Speaker 2: back to play in ground and pound, physical football, which
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  Speaker 2: is what I think. It's really funny that Kellen just
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  Speaker 2: won a super Bowl running the most run heavy offense
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  Speaker 2: in the NFL. I'm clearly I think he's a lot
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  Speaker 2: more adaptable than he got a lot of credit for.
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  Speaker 2: So that's that's my spield. I think, you know, he's
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  Speaker 2: I love him. I love him as a guy. Kellen,
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  Speaker 2: if you're listening, I don't think you're a dork. But
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  Speaker 2: you know, he looks a little he looks a little
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  Speaker 2: he looks a little dorky. He looks young. He doesn't
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  Speaker 2: he doesn't look like a leader of men from a distance,
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  Speaker 2: and I think that's where a lot of the criticism
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  Speaker 2: comes from, honestly, is he doesn't look like an inspiring
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  Speaker 2: football coach. But the mind is there, the results are there.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, you know, on top of just winning a
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  Speaker 2: super Bowl with an elite offense, he's really been doing
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  Speaker 2: it most of the time that he's been calling an
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  Speaker 2: NFL offense.
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  Speaker 1: Is he respected by the players?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely? Absolutely he is. And again, you know, I don't
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  Speaker 2: think that that the Saints just hired the Dan Campbell guy, obviously,
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  Speaker 2: you know, I think you're talking about a more cerebral
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  Speaker 2: type of football coach. I think the respect and the
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  Speaker 2: leadership comes from consistent on field results. I don't think,
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  Speaker 2: and to be clear, I guess I don't know this
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  Speaker 2: for sure. I've never been in a meeting room with Kellen,
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  Speaker 2: but I doubt Kellen is giving these very inspiring motivational
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  Speaker 2: speeches and some of that type of stuff. But the
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  Speaker 2: results speak for themselves. Dak Prescott loved him. You know,
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  Speaker 2: he was only in Philly for a year, so I
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  Speaker 2: don't know how deep the bonds are with the Eagles.
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  Speaker 2: But again, you coach and call an offense that wins
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  Speaker 2: ten games in a row, gets you to the Super Bowl,
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  Speaker 2: maximizes all of those big talents, you know, AJ and
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  Speaker 2: DeVante and obviously Saquon Barkley had a record setting year.
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  Speaker 2: If you can keep all of those guys happy long
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  Speaker 2: enough to win a super Bowl, I think it speaks
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  Speaker 2: to your qualifications. So even if he's not the most
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  Speaker 2: inspiring personality in the NFL, I think players respect the
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  Speaker 2: results that he gets.
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  Speaker 1: He's on Twitter at David Hellman underscore one l in Hellman,
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  Speaker 1: by the way, give a follow. Fox Sports covered the Cowboys.
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  Speaker 1: How many years were you in Dallas before you moved
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  Speaker 1: full time, like big Picture of Fox.
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  Speaker 2: I was with the Cowboys for a full ten Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: a decade.
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  Speaker 1: So the whole time that Moore was there as a
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  Speaker 1: player and as a coach. You were there the whole time. Well,
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  Speaker 1: I guess maybe the beginning of his time as a player.
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  Speaker 2: Well, no, because he started in Detroit. Actually he was
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  Speaker 2: you know, yeah, so from the time he came over.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I was fifteen.
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  Speaker 2: I was there for his entire time in Dallas. I
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  Speaker 2: was there when you know, they brought him on because
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  Speaker 2: Scott Lenahan loved him. He followed Lenehan over from Detroit.
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  Speaker 2: He was a player for a couple of years. I
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  Speaker 2: was standing twenty feet away when Kellen broke his ankle
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  Speaker 2: and practiced in training camp, which is what opened the
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  Speaker 2: door for Dak Prescott. So I'm pretty intimately familiar with
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  Speaker 2: his time in the NFL.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, twenty fifteen was Kellen's first here's a player there
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  Speaker 1: in Dallas, Chris, that's when when Dak jumped over. After that.
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  Speaker 1: How so, I'm glad you brought up up that Dak.
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  Speaker 1: I think you said Dak loves him. The three quarterbacks
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  Speaker 1: as and OC's worked with are all dramatically different, Dak Prescott,
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  Speaker 1: Justin Herbert, and then Jalen Hurts David share with me
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  Speaker 1: in observation, like when you hear that, what should, if anything,
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  Speaker 1: we make we make of that? Of the different styles
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  Speaker 1: of quarterbacks that Kellen Moore has worked with and the
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  Speaker 1: solid quarterback.
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  Speaker 2: He was as a player, Well, I kind of touched
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  Speaker 2: on it, but I think and look, I mean, obviously
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  Speaker 2: the Saints have so many challenges in front of them.
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  Speaker 2: We don't know for sure who their quarterback is or
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  Speaker 2: you know, their cap situation is a nightmare. I'm not
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  Speaker 2: trying to sell you on hope that this is going
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  Speaker 2: to be good quickly, but I think you should be
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  Speaker 2: encouraged that Kellen Moore is that you know, this is
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  Speaker 2: not the old school idea of like the the coach
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  Speaker 2: that's going to come in and fit everything to the
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  Speaker 2: way he likes to do it, because Kellen Moore's had
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  Speaker 2: to adapt to a lot of different things. You know,
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  Speaker 2: he was when it was Dallas, it was you know,
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  Speaker 2: he was putting Dak back there and letting Dak read
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  Speaker 2: it out, and he's got these you know, ties to
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  Speaker 2: Sean Scotland Ahan. Excuse me, which is very Air Coriel related,
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  Speaker 2: where you know, you're just winging the ball around, and
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  Speaker 2: then you get to Philadelphia where, not to knock Jalen hurts,
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  Speaker 2: but it's just a much different way of playing offense
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  Speaker 2: where Jalen is twice the runner that Dak is and
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  Speaker 2: you obviously have this incredibly physical running game. So to
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  Speaker 2: adapt yourself to the skill of your quarterback, I mean,
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  Speaker 2: I think that is the number one mark of a
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  Speaker 2: good coach, is adapting yourself to what you have instead
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  Speaker 2: of trying to make everything fit your system. So I
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  Speaker 2: don't have the numbers in front of me. I know,
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  Speaker 2: when Dak was healthy, they were a top five offense
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  Speaker 2: something like four out of six years. Chargers was a
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  Speaker 2: little bit of a downturn, but I mean, I think
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  Speaker 2: that was just a disaster organization wide. I don't really
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  Speaker 2: put that on Kellen Moore. And then again, you get
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  Speaker 2: there with a very mobile quarterback and this fantastic offensive line,
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  Speaker 2: and you kind of reinvent yourself into a smash mouse
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  Speaker 2: football team that can also be very explosive. And I
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  Speaker 2: think that's another thing I would say is Kellen Moore
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  Speaker 2: loves explosive football, you know, I mean you saw him
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  Speaker 2: throwing the ball downfield up thirty points in a super
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  Speaker 2: Bowl the other night. He's not afraid to do that.
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  Speaker 2: And if anything, you know, his critics are probably going
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  Speaker 2: to say he gets too cute because he does like
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  Speaker 2: explosive football. He's looking and hunting for big plays. So,
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  Speaker 2: you know, I think the track record speaks for itself,
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  Speaker 2: and I think it's encouraging that he's proven he can
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  Speaker 2: do it with a variety of different skill sets.
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  Speaker 1: I got a couple more for you, by the way,
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  Speaker 1: six years as a coordinator, they're finish in total offense sixth, seventeenth.
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  Speaker 1: That was twenty twenty first, third, twenty first the year
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  Speaker 1: in LA, and then this year eighth in Philadelphia, So
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  Speaker 1: four top eight finishes than the one year in LA
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  Speaker 1: they were twenty first, and then the COVID year they
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  Speaker 1: were seventeen. So yeah, a pretty good track record.
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  Speaker 2: And I would point out too that man Kellen really
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  Speaker 2: should pay me for this. But one of the years
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  Speaker 2: that they were kind of mid was a year where
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  Speaker 2: they lost Dak in Week five and you know what,
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  Speaker 2: I think they finished middle of the pack on offense
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  Speaker 2: despite starting backup quarterbacks. You know, ten or eleven out
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  Speaker 2: of those games.
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  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, Cooper Rush. We're a big Cooper Rush show here, David.
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  Speaker 1: I'll fill you in on that later another time. How
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  Speaker 1: much of the offense in Dallas is Mike McCarthy How
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  Speaker 1: much of it was Kellen Moore.
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  Speaker 2: That's one of those things I don't think. I don't
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  Speaker 2: think you can truly know the answer to that unless
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  Speaker 2: you're part unless you're part of those meetings, unless you're
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  Speaker 2: on the truly on the inside of that. What I
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  Speaker 2: will say, I mean, Kellen I had play calling autonomy
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  Speaker 2: for the first two years or was it the first
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  Speaker 2: I mean he had play calling autonomy the whole time
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  Speaker 2: he was here with Mike. I lost track of how
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  Speaker 2: many years it was. And then that was what led
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  Speaker 2: to his exit in twenty twenty two, was that Mike
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  Speaker 2: wanted play calling autonomy back. Mike wanted to have the
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  Speaker 2: final say and the design of the offense, and like
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  Speaker 2: I said, Mike kind of he ruffled a lot of feathers.
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  Speaker 2: I think his exact quote was Kellen wants to light
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  Speaker 2: up the scoreboard and I want to run the damn ball, which,
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  Speaker 2: like I said, it's ironic because I would agree with
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  Speaker 2: that general assessment of Kellen Moore. You know, he's a
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  Speaker 2: former quarterback. He likes to wing the ball around the yard.
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  Speaker 2: But you put him on a team with a mobile
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  Speaker 2: quarterback and an all for a running back and they
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  Speaker 2: had something like eighty more rushing attempts than anybody else
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  Speaker 2: in the NFL this year. So even if that is
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  Speaker 2: what he would prefer to do, he's not so stubborn
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  Speaker 2: that he can't accept the personnel that he has. So
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  Speaker 2: you know, I guess what I would say is that
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  Speaker 2: Kellen had enough, say that it frustrated Mike McCarthy enough
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  Speaker 2: that Kellen was ultimately let go, or you know, they
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  Speaker 2: mutually parted ways, however you want to phrase it.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, last thing and your time, very much appreciated. He's
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  Speaker 1: going to have to hire a staff. How much confidence
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  Speaker 1: should should the Saints have in his ability to identify
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  Speaker 1: and hire a good staff.
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  Speaker 2: You know, I've said all this nice stuff about Kellen.
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  Speaker 2: I I'm not trying to say that I don't think
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  Speaker 2: he can do it. I just don't know. You know,
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  Speaker 2: he's never been in this situation. And again, that's like
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  Speaker 2: if being a head coach was only about drawing up
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  Speaker 2: an offense I would be sky high on Kellen Moore.
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  Speaker 2: I think the things that give you pause are he's
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  Speaker 2: a young guy, So how good is his network? How
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  Speaker 2: good is his eye for developing talent? Because he's never
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  Speaker 2: really had to do this before. Not to say like
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  Speaker 2: he didn't work hard or anything, but he was fast tracked.
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  Speaker 2: You know, he was an offensive coordinator his second or
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  Speaker 2: third year ever being a coach. He didn't climb through
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  Speaker 2: the college ranks or start as a quality control coach.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, Ben Johnson spent a decade on NFL
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  Speaker 2: staffs and in different buildings before he ever got his shot.
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  Speaker 2: Kellen has been in a few different buildings, but only
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  Speaker 2: as a play caller and as a you know, as
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  Speaker 2: a high level coach. So how good is his network?
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  Speaker 2: How good is his eye? I'm curious to see, you know,
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  Speaker 2: I would guess he's I would guess he's going to
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  Speaker 2: try to bring Doug Nussmeyer along with him, which is
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  Speaker 2: very interesting given that Doug is Garrett's father. So that's
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  Speaker 2: a fun little parallel in Louisiana. So yeah, how good
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  Speaker 2: is your network? How good is your eye? Is he
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  Speaker 2: going to dig into the college ranks? Is he going
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  Speaker 2: to be looking for young up and coming coaches or
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  Speaker 2: as a younger guy who hasn't done this a whole lot,
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  Speaker 2: is he going to be looking to surround himself with
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  Speaker 2: veterans who have been doing this for a couple of decades.
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  Speaker 2: I would guess probably about balance to vote. That's why
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  Speaker 2: I think uh Doug Nusmeyer would be an incredible resource
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  Speaker 2: for him as a guy who has done this for
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  Speaker 2: a long time at a lot of different levels. I
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  Speaker 2: don't know how good of a job he's going to do,
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  Speaker 2: but between between his own coaching experience and the time
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  Speaker 2: that he's been in the game, and obviously what he
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  Speaker 2: did at Boise State, I think that he's going to
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  Speaker 2: have a pretty good network of options available to him.
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  Speaker 1: Great perspective, David Hellman, Fox Sports. Thanks for making time man.
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  Speaker 1: We appreciate it.
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  Speaker 2: Anytime, Bud, talk to you later.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: I'm in