January 07, 2025
Tommy Gilligan/Imagn Images
Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore might be a popular name in the offseason.
Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is drawing head coaching interest.
As the team gears up for the playoffs and its Wild Card matchup on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, the other teams sitting at home have begun the search to fill their coaching vacancies, with a couple of them appearing to have Moore's name circled.
The Jacksonville Jaguars announced on Tuesday that they have requested a head coaching interview with Moore, among a list of several candidates, and on Monday, the New Orleans Saints were reported to have requested an interview as well, per the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garofolo.
Moore engineered an Eagles offense that finished the 2024 regular season within the top 10 in rushing (2nd), total yards (8th), and points per game (7th) using the NFL rushing champ Saquon Barkley, star receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, dual-threat quarterback Jalen Hurts, and a strong offensive line to his advantage.
They weren't always perfect, as the passing attack at times left something to be desired, but the ground game was always potent behind Barkley, and once the Eagles had a lead, they were masters at draining precious time away from the opposition, which all helped add up to a 14-3 record and the No. 2 seed on the NFC side of the playoff bracket.
The Jaguars fired previous Eagles coach Doug Pederson on Monday, and are looking to course-correct their trajectory with their franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence after underwhelming for the past two seasons.
We have requested to interview the following candidates for our Head Coach vacancy. pic.twitter.com/pYHk3LnUjI
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) January 7, 2025
The Saints fired their former coach Dennis Allen midseason and handed off the interim duties to special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, but are now at a crossroads as a franchise after years of trying to salvage one last competitive run in a weak NFC South finally caught up to them.
The next head coach for either would have their work cut out for them, and Moore stands as an offensive specialist in the running.
But he does have the playoff matchup against the Packers to prepare for this week, on an Eagles team with Super Bowl ambitions, so while Moore did acknowledge the interviews when he sat down with the media on Tuesday at the NovaCare Complex, he said his main focus is on the immediate task at hand.
"You don't worry about it too much," Moore said. "Really the focus is on the week. Those things take care of themselves. Obviously those things usually only come to teams who tend to have success and are doing things well on the field, so that's where your focus is."
NFL teams can deny interview requests for positional coaches in regard to open offensive/defensive coordinator jobs, but can't stop teams from talking to coordinators for head coaching vacancies, so the interest Moore is garnering is up to his discretion.
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