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Maybe the New Orleans Saints didn’t get their man as head coach. But hiring Kellen Moore seems like a good fall back. And Moore’s staff could include Brandon Staley, who emerged as a serious defensive coordinator candidate.
Staley grew to prominence as the defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams in 2020, leading the unit to the No. 1 ranking in yards and points allowed. He took over as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021 and finished a three-year run with a break-even mark of 24-24.
The 42-year-old Staley had Moore on his staff with the Chargers in 2023.
Staley’s defensive units with the Chargers didn’t hold up. The posted yardage finishes of No. 23, 20, and 28 in his three seasons. And his lone winning season came in 2022 with a 10-7 mark. The Chargers relieved him of his duties after Week 15 in 2023.
However, Staley seemed to part on good terms, according to chargers.com.
“I want to thank Brandon for (his) hard work, dedication and professionalism,” Chargers’ owner Dean Spanos said. “These decisions are never easy, nor are they something I take lightly. Especially when you consider the number of people they impact. We are clearly not where we expect to be, however, and we need new vision. Doing nothing in the name of continuity was not a risk I was willing to take. Our fans have stood strong through so many ups and downs and close games.”
The close games pretty much sealed Staley’s fate. In his first 35 games, Staley’s team went 19-16. Of those losses, 12 came by one score or less. And his teams consistently found ways to lose second-half leads. In-game adjustments did not seem to be Staley’s strong point.
The Saints have been going the wrong direction recently. After five straight winning seasons, the Saints posted a three-year record of 21-30. The worst end of it came in 2024 with a 5-12 finish despite a promising 2-0 start with a pair of blowout wins.
The 35-year-old Moore has a different job for the fourth straight season, but this is his first head coaching job in the NFL. He was with the Dallas Cowboys from 2018-2022 (the last four as their offensive coordinator), the Chargers in 2023, and then on to win the Super Bowl as the Eagles’ OC this past season.
The Cowboys interviewed Moore for their head coaching position, but opted for Brian Schottenheimer instead. Moore had been excited about the Dallas opportunity, according to athlonsports.com.
“I spent a lot of time there, eight years there,” Moore said of Dallas. “So (I) have plenty of relationships in that place. I love it here. I’ve had so much fun here.”
But when the Cowboys thing didn’t work out, Moore helped the Eagles win a Super Bowl. And now he’ll do the same in New Orleans. But it will...
