Saints head coach Kellen Moore has wasted no time piecing together his first coaching staff as an NFL head coach.
With the talent that Moore is assembling, New Orleans should be in good hands.
In one of the most significant hirings, NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reported Moore was adding Eagles run game specialist/assistant offensive line coach T.J. Paganetti, who just finished his 10th season in Philadelphia.
In 2024, Paganetti received a new title and became the team’s run game specialist and assistant offensive line coach.
Running back Saquon Barkley rushed for an NFL-record 2,504 yards (including postseason) as the Eagles won their second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.
Paganetti’s role in New Orleans is unknown, but after the 2024 season, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters he wouldn’t allow Moore to take coaches from his staff and would block any assistant from making a lateral move.
Underhill says Eagles quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier is “considered the favorite” to be named offensive coordinator. Earlier this month, Moore hired Brendan Nugent as the team’s offensive line coach.
Also on Tuesday, the Saints hired Joel Thomas as their running backs coach. Like Nugent, this is Thomas’ second stint as Saints assistant. Nugent was the team’s offensive line coach from 2015-21, while Thomas coached running backs from 2015-23.
The hiring spree didn’t stop there. Moore added Scott Tolzien as Saints quarterbacks coach. The former Wisconsin quarterback previously coached on the same staff as Moore in Dallas and was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2023, a position he held for two seasons.
In 2023, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw an NFL-high 36 touchdowns, posted a career-best 105.9 passer rating and finished second in Associated Press MVP voting.
Moore is building a strong offensive coaching staff as he embarks on his first head-coaching gig. He still must construct a defensive staff, but the initial hirings bode well for a Saints offense that ranked 24th in scoring in 2024 (19.9 points per game).
Per Stathead, New Orleans’ 10 games with fewer than 20 points were the franchise’s most since 2005.
The Saints have talented skill-position players, including running back Alvin Kamara and wide receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. Quarterback Derek Carr is under contract for 2025. He’s been a serviceable starter the past two seasons but has done little to elevate the Saints, jeopardizing his future. Even if he returns this upcoming season, his future beyond 2025 is murky.
Whether Carr or backup Spencer Rattler starts or the team adds a prospect via the draft, Moore is creating an environment conducive to success regardless of what happens at quarterback.
These recent hirings are small steps in the right direction. For an organization currently in a four-year playoff drought and coming off its worst season in two decades, that’s a massive leap forward.
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