The New Orleans Saints might only be Travis Etienne's second team, but heading into the 2026 season, he's had to learn his fourth offensive system. First Urban Meyer, then Doug Pederson, then Liam Coen, and then finally Kellen Moore.
Despite the list of names, Etienne has no worry. "It's not the first offense I’ve had to learn. Just being able to learn different offenses over the past years, I feel like my mental capacity is much more where I can withstand," Etienne said to the media. “It’s like I go home, study the playbook, come here (the team facility in Metairie), and do what coach asks. It’s not hard; I just gotta apply myself."
Luckily enough for him, his new coach seems to have a knack for coaching running backs. At nearly every stop Moore made, someone in the backfield has found some kind of success. A little ironic, given the fact that he's a former quarterback.
Saints' head coach Kellen Moore has a long history with running backs
Whether Moore can do for Etienne what he's done for others is a question only this upcoming season will answer. Although, the bigger question might be whether Moore can work his magic on yet another running back rather than just if he's ready for Moore.
First was Ezekiel Elliott back in Dallas, who was the league's rushing yards leader in 2018. An iconic figure of the late 2010s in DFW, a lot of the success he's known for occurred while he had Moore in his ear. Then, while he was still in Dallas, there was Tony Pollard. He was one of the more surprising success stories of the 2022 season with over 1,000 rushing yards and a pro-bowl. In his time with the Cowboys, Moore was able to get those halfbacks a combined three pro bowls and one all-pro nods.
Most notable, of course, is Saquon Barkley. He set the world on fire in his one season under Moore, becoming just the ninth running back in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards on his way to a Super Bowl LIX victory. Such a performance earned Barkley a first-team All-Pro nod and the OPOTY award.
Etienne, who has not yet earned any accolades, could start adding to his trophy case in 2026. A dynamic runner with multiple 1,000+ yard seasons, it's surprising that he doesn't have anything (NFL wise) in there. WIth Moore, that might start to change.
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