Kellen Moore is stepping into his second year as head coach in New Orleans as the 22nd best head coach in the league. The New Orleans Saints had a bumpy first season under Moore, so this ranking is actually pretty fair.
Saints Wire's Ayre Pulli ranked each coach through a five part criteria. He factored in identity/culture, schematic edge, player development, roster situation, and his confidence level in the team as a whole. He graded each metric on a scale of 1-10 for a cumulative score.
Moore graded out with a score of 39. He tied with Kevin Stefanksi and Nick Sirianni, but career win percentage being the tie break put Moore below them on the rankings. Borderline top 20 coach isn't bad after one year, and most importantly, the confidence level in the Saints was at an 8.
Kellen Moore hasn’t given the Saints an identity
In Pulli’s rubric, Moore had 8’s across the board, except for one place. He scored a 7 in the identity/culture section.Â
Moore has done a lot to build culture. The team bonding was one of the more discussed components of Moore’s first offseason as head coach and continued this offseason. It’s even extended to Tyler Shough flying the team out to California, though Moore may not get credit for that.
Seeing that this came from a Saints expert, those moves to get closer probably aren’t lost on Pulli. His decision leans more into the identity aspect, and the grade makes perfect sense. Honestly, the culture building may have brought the grade up some.Â
Who are the Saints? That’s a question that’s difficult to narrow down at the moment.Â
Moore is known for his rushing attack, and the team got aggressive to upgrade the position in free agency. They signed Travis Etienne Jr. to a big contract, giving them a new lead back and a dynamic duo in the backfield.Â
On the other hand, they built up the receiving corps around Shough. His rise at the end of the year is the catalyst for optimism of a resurgence, and Moore set him up to have an even better sophomore campaign.Â
Having Jordyn Tyson and Chris Olave outside with a surging young quarterback feels like the perfect set up for a high powered passing attack. That hasn’t been the story for Moore offenses historically, but this trio could be too good to not be the focal point of the offense.Â
The investments made into the offense and the fact Moore is a former quarterback make it clear offense will the identity of this team, but what’s the identity of the offense?
We should get that answer this year. Moore has his quarterback and is going into his second season at the helm. The team’s identity should begin to take shape in 2026.Â
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