New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore was impressed by his team’s performance during the first two days of mandatory minicamp. He praised their intensity and focus, especially during the longer, more physically demanding practices under hot conditions. Recognizing the effort, Moore wanted to find a fun and meaningful way to reward his players, leading to an unconventional decision before Thursday’s scheduled session.
A Three-Point Shot Earns Saints a Day of Golf and Team Bonding
On Thursday morning, Moore challenged his team with a playful bet during a team meeting: if anyone could make a 3-point basketball shot on the first attempt, the day’s practice would be canceled in favor of a team outing.
Hunter Dekkers, a fourth-string quarterback with a basketball background, stepped up and made the shot, securing the team a break from the field. The moment created a surge of excitement and set the tone for a day of celebration and camaraderie.
Kellen Moore (NFL)
In place of practice, Moore arranged a team outing at Five O’Fore Entertainment, a golf-themed entertainment venue. The day was spent strengthening team bonds rather than running drills or plays.
Moore emphasized that the team had already accomplished what he wanted during the earlier practices and that the outing was a well-deserved reward. His decision reflected a coaching philosophy that balances hard work with moments of enjoyment and connection.
Blending Tradition and Fun Through Rewards and Team Bonding Activities in New Orleans
Moore’s approach isn’t unusual in NFL circles. Coaches often cancel the third day of minicamp as a motivational tool and reward system, especially when teams show strong performance and discipline during the early days. It reinforces the idea that hard work leads to meaningful recognition. Moore’s move fits within this tradition, though his execution, with a 3-point shot challenge, added a uniquely fun twist.
Since taking over as head coach, Moore has consistently emphasized team chemistry and off-field bonding. In addition to this golf outing, he’s led a paintball activity and a community service day in recent weeks. These efforts highlight Moore’s broader vision: building a cohesive, motivated team culture that values connection just as much as competition. His leadership style is already making an impression in New Orleans.
Kellen Moore speaks with the members of the media in the news conference
Kellen Moore believes his experience growing up as a coach’s son outweighs any concerns about his age as he begins his first NFL head coaching job with the New Orleans Saints.
“Everyone likes to say it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert,” the 36-year-old Moore said during his formal introduction at the team’s headquarters on Thursday.
“I’ve been preparing for this my entire life,” Moore added. “I feel ready.”
Moore, who is now the NFL’s youngest head coach, comes to the Saints after winning a Super Bowl as the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator. He now takes over a Saints team that hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2020, Drew Brees’ final season.
The Saints’ quarterback for the past two seasons has been Derek Carr, who is 14-13 as a starter with New Orleans and has two years left on his contract.
Moore spoke highly of Carr, whom he faced once in college, but he did not commit to Carr being the starting QB in 2025.
“Derek’s a tremendous quarterback in this league,” Moore said. “I have so much respect for him for the journey that he’s been on — a starter in this league, a premier player in this league.”
Former Saints coach Sean Payton was 42 when he became the team’s head coach in 2006, and he led the Saints to their only Super Bowl title four years later. Moore’s path to head coach is often compared to Payton’s.
Both played quarterback in college—Payton for Eastern Illinois and Moore for Boise State—and both served as NFL quarterbacks coaches and offensive coordinators before getting their first head coaching jobs in New Orleans.
“Everyone has so much respect for what Sean’s done in this league,” Moore said. “Certainly the standards have been built based off his foundation — and we love that. We want to embrace that.”
“And maybe Mickey has a type,” he added with a grin.
Payton was replaced by his former defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen, who went 18-25 in two-and-a-half seasons before being fired in November.
The Saints were the last team in the NFL to hire a new coach this season.
“It took longer than we anticipated simply because the Eagles kept winning,” said general manager Mickey Loomis. “His experience and success as player and as a position coach and offensive coordinator have prepared him well for this opportunity.”
It has been a surreal week for Moore, who spent the week before the Super Bowl working out of the Saints’ headquarters, which the Eagles used as their practice site. He spent Super Bowl Sunday in the Saints’ locker room and on their sideline before celebrating the biggest moment of his coaching career in the city where he will now live.
“This place truly is a special place for my family, for the opportunities we’ve had the last couple of weeks,” Moore said. “This is such an incredible place and we can’t wait to make it home.”
Like Payton did for most of his time in New Orleans, Moore will call offensive plays.
Kellen Moore set to interview for Saints head coach job after Super Bowl (Philadelphia Eagles)
Moore said he has certain coaching philosophies but believes in adjusting strategies to fit the players’ strengths
“Whether we have to throw it 50 times or run it 50 times, I really don’t care how we got to win a football game, we’ll do that based on who we have available to us and who’s on our roster,” he said.
Moore grew up wanting to follow in his father Tom’s footsteps, who was a long-time high school coach in Prosser, Washington.
After playing at Boise State, Moore spent six years as an NFL player, mostly as a reserve or practice quarterback, before transitioning into coaching with the Dallas Cowboys in 2018. He was only 30 when he began his first training camp as a coach with players who had been his teammates the previous season.
His youth didn’t hold him back then, and he said it won’t now.
“It’s about being authentic, being consistent, and, you know, the players feel like you’re helping them become the best version of their self,” Moore said. “That’s all they can ask for.”
He spent one season as the Cowboys’ quarterbacks coach before being promoted to offensive coordinator at age 31, a position he held with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023 and the Eagles in 2024.
Moore’s experience with the Chargers and Eagles helped him grow as a coach. “I think that’s really, really important as you grow as a coach or a player,” he said.
Although Moore enjoyed coaching with Nick Sirianni in Philadelphia, he saw the opportunity with New Orleans as too good to pass up.
He said he had long admired the Saints, even though they had their worst record since 2005 last season due to injuries, including to Carr, who missed seven games—all losses for New Orleans.
“Obviously injuries were a challenge this year and those things sometimes are challenging and uncontrollable circumstances,” Moore said. “We recognize there’s so much good going on here. We want to embrace the good. Don’t lose any of the good while building this thing the right way.”
Kellen Moore speaks with the members of the media in the news conference
Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore found himself surrounded by reporters in New Orleans, all eager to ask him about his future. The New Orleans Saints are the last NFL team searching for a head coach, and Moore is the top candidate, although he can’t be hired yet because the Eagles are playing in the Super Bowl this Sunday.
“It’s obviously been a good process,” Moore said about his initial meetings with Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and other team officials last week. “Having an opportunity to meet with Mickey and their leadership group has been great, and it’s set up in a way that allows us to focus on this game, and we’ll see what happens after that.”
During Super Bowl media night, Moore avoided directly answering questions about whether he could be back in New Orleans next fall as head coach. He stressed that his full focus was on Sunday’s game against the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and that his only concern was preparing for this opportunity to coach in the Super Bowl.
Moore, who played as a backup quarterback behind Dak Prescott in Dallas in 2017 before becoming his position coach, has had success in his current role. This season, he helped lead the Eagles’ offense, which featured running back Saquon Barkley, one of only nine players in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season.
The Eagles ranked eighth in the league for total offense, with most of their yards coming from the ground game. They finished second in rushing yards per game (179.3), but ranked 29th in passing (187.9 ypg).
Philadelphia Eagles players celebrate after a touchdown
“You build around your players,” Moore said. “There’s different styles we’ve played over the years and that’s the fun part of it. You have certain things that you have strong feelings about from a coaching perspective, but I think it’s important to do what your players do best and surround yourself with as many opportunities to get those guys in those situations as you can.”
If Moore becomes the Saints’ head coach, he’d take charge of an offense featuring star running back Alvin Kamara. The team’s quarterback could be Derek Carr, whom Moore once faced in college, when Moore was at Boise State and Carr played for Fresno State.
“Tons of respect for him as a quarterback in this league,” Moore said about Carr. “He’s had a tremendous career and done a lot of really good things.”
Moore isn’t new to New Orleans, having a relationship with the Manning family from his time at the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, Louisiana, which he called an “awesome experience.”
When he eventually becomes a head coach, Moore expects to remain the primary play-caller for his offense.
“Certainly it’s a passion of mine, something that had gotten me to this place,” Moore said. “You hate to stop doing what you love as you go through this journey.”
Eagles players weren’t surprised to see Moore in the running for a head coaching job.
“He’s the worst coordinator I’ve ever had,” joked Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata, as if it would deter the Saints from hiring Moore.
“Kellen’s been the best,” Mailata added. “He’s done a great job setting up plays, explaining the schemes, and the whys behind certain motions and formations. It’s a magical thing. It’s no wonder why he’s a finalist to be a head coach here.”
