Kellen Moore is officially the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, and he was introduced as such in a Thursday press conference. Naturally, the most discussed topic during the press conference was the future of veteran players. Media members wanted to know if Moore had plans to build with New Orleans’ core veterans, or should everyone expect some farewells this offseason.
The first-time head coach showed off some veteran coach speak, repeatedly praising all the players, and making it clear that he and the front office will evaluate the entire team as they try to put together the best roster. Of course, media members continued to push, especially when it came to Derek Carr.
The veteran quarterback is the mystery of the offseason, and with Moore being a former quarterback and an offensive-minded head coach, he’ll obviously have a huge say about the Saints’ quarterback position. On Thursday, he said Carr is a tremendous quarterback, and a starter in this league, and that he’s excited to team up with him and go through the process of getting to know each other personally and football wise.
New #Saints HC on Derek Carr: “Derek’s a tremendous quarterback in this league. … He’s a starter in this league. He’s a premier player in this league. … Really excited to team up with him and go through this process.”
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 13, 2025
That’s the typical, non-commital coach speak that you can expect from team leaders. That’s how Moore responded when he was asked if he considers Derek Carr a player the team has to make a decision on, or a player that is the team’s starting quarterback. When the first-year head coach was asked if he viewed Carr as being the Week 1 starter, Moore carefully constructed his response in a way that made it clear the team isn’t 100% committed to Carr.
"Derek Carr is a tremendous quarterback in this league… he’s a starter in this league, he’s a premier player in this league."Kellen Moore on Derek Carr
Kellen Moore doesn’t commit to Derek Carr as Saints starting quarterback
It was obviously intentional that Moore spoke about Carr’s role in the league as a whole, as opposed to his role with the team. Saying that the veteran QB is a starter in the NFL is not the same as saying he will start for our team. That makes it very clear that Carr’s future in New Orleans is still up in the air.
Not only was Moore preparing for a Super Bowl at this time last week, but the decision on Carr isn’t solely up to him. That means he couldn’t come out in the press conference and make a declaration either way. Carr will likely be the first player that Moore evaluates with the team, because he’s the first roster decision that needs to be decided. The Saints will surely make their decision known before the start of free agency in March.