I wanted to start this with one question: What has Kellen Moore done to make you feel good about him as the New Orleans Saints’ head coach? For me, I can think of Tyler Shough’s development, but that could also be attributed to the rest of the staff, or maybe the team chemistry that’s been built. But everything he is supposed to be doing as a head coach has been underwhelming to this point.
Let’s just start with Monday’s night game against the Atlanta Falcons and why it exposed everything that has
gone wrong so far. The Saints looked unprepared, which is insane to think about with the extra day of preparation; the lack of defensive investment showed; the decision to keep the tackles on an island when your best offensive lineman is out was horrible; not playing CJ Donaldson was confusing, the entire run game makes no sense; the 2025 draft class has taken a step back; and playing your starters at the end of the game was malpractice.
It was overall just a bad game, but these coaching issues have been here since Moore was hired.
The slow starts have been the most glaring issue with this team. There was one game vs the New York Jets last year, that felt like the Saints were going to win from start to finish. New Orleans is consistently behind in games and sometimes gets lucky at the end to make a comeback. There’s been no evidence yet that this coaching staff can figure out how to start fast, and although I understand Travis Etienne’s injury isn’t helping, they couldn’t do it with him.
Sticking with the offense, this group looks excellent on paper, but it still looks all over the place at times. Not utilizing Donaldson, the best blocker in the RB room and potentially the best rusher at this point, to at least help your struggling backup LT makes no sense. On the topic of the run game, there’s absolutely zero reason it should be as bad as it is. With this offensive line, most RBs should have success, or at least some decent runs, but the Saints can’t even get that. It just feels like the Saints are going out there to run the ball, choosing a random play, and seeing what happens.
This offseason, New Orleans put nearly all of their effort into making the offense a juggernaut, and the defense was an afterthought. The offense has had some success this season, but not at the level we expected, and the defense has had its moments, but it’s struggling like we thought it would. Offensively, this team should be better, especially with an offensive head coach leading the team, and the lack of investment on defense made little sense for a team that wanted to take that next step forward. Don’t get me wrong, it’s always important for an offense-minded head coach to get the right personnel, but not paying more attention to an unproven defense is why we get games like the one against the Falcons.
The Saints can easily turn this season around, and I do like some things Moore has done as a play caller in the passing game, but it’s impossible to not notice that his seat is getting a bit warm. Entering the unknown after letting a head coach go is scary, but the Saints aren’t the same job they were two offseasons ago. New Orleans will be one of the most coveted jobs available if they things continue and they part ways with Moore, and top candidates like Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle will be interested.
I’m not saying that Moore will be fired, and I still want to mention that he can turn this around, but this loss to the Falcons and anyone game to come that are similar to it, should at least open the conversation about a new head coach in 2027.
