Moore breaks down Shough’s rookie season
Kellen Moore joins PFT Live to discuss what he learned in his first season as an NFL head coach, the strides Tyler Shough made with the Saints last season and why he's confident in what he's building in New Orleans.
Video Transcript
Joining us now, a man who's entering year number two as head coach of the New Orleans Saints, he is Kellen Moore.
Kellen, it's great to see you.
We talked to you, you may not remember this, we remember.
Like, right before the rollercoaster started for you- Yeah week one.
Yeah.
Now we get you in person.
Give me the one thing you'd say now to the guy who was getting ready to go for his first NFL season as a head coach.
Adapt, adjust, improvise.
you know, no matter how much you plan everything, and you're very structured and scripted, there's gonna be things that you have to navigate during an NFL season.
I think there's highs and lows and, you know, the steadiness that our team has to, has to have as you go through that journey was really important.
How, how is the, the adjustment to, "I'm OC, all I worry about is the offense," to now- "Wait, I'm head coach, but I wanna be OC, but I have other stuff going on," right?
Yeah, no doubt.
It's it's a balancing act.
obviously, I feel fortunate to have, you know, Brandon Staley on the other side of the ball, Phil Galliano doing the special teams.
And so, you have guys who, who can lean on their experiences- Yeah, sure which is important.
But, you know, that's part of the fun part of being a head coach is you get to be a part of all three phases and get to interact with those guys.
And so, you know, it was a lot of fun.
When did you feel like you found the right balance?
Like, where you were like, "Okay, wait, I got it.
I'm in a groove now"?
It, it takes a little bit of time during- Yeah the season, you know?
I bet.
You feel like the off-season you're able to balance it out, and then, you know, as soon as week one hits, it's like, "Okay, I'm back to play calling," you know?
You got, you're locking in, and so, you know, it's, it's a balancing act.
Yeah.
You, you mentioned the highs and the lows, and that's gonna be true of any team- Yep any season in the NFL.
Rarely does anybody just encounter no adversity, but what was the low point for you?
Was there a moment where you're like, "What'd I get myself into with this head coaching thing?"
I think, I think, you know, we just, we, we just had to navigate some stuff.
It felt like we were playing some good football, we just weren't winning games early.
You know, we were, we were in a lot of games, we were really competitive.
You know, probably, you know, we lost to the Rams, you know, Tyler's first start, you know.
And while we're, you know, Tyler was gonna have to navigate some stuff as a first-time starter, you know, that was a team that was as talented as anyone in this league.
And, you know, we lost to them, and they got after us, and so that was kind of a moment that's like, all right, we, we got a lot of work to do and a lot of, to get better.
And we have opportunities ahead of ourself.
And so from that point, we had what's turned into one of our, our, I think our, one of our best transitions, which was we went to Carolina, we won a football game.
We'd only won one game so far during the season.
Yeah.
Our guys went out there and just competed and had a ton of fun, and I thought it was a sign of, you know, we got the right kind of guys in this building.
Well, talk about your quarterback, you know- Yeah off of that.
Sh- Shuck coming in, like you said- Yeah first game, gets killed by the Rams, all that.
You know, what were your expectations of him, and maybe where did he exceed them going through the process?
I think it turned into a great journey for him through the entire season.
You know, for a young guy to go through training camp, Spencer's, Sp- Spencer's playing really good football coming out of training camp, so Spencer's ready to go.
Yep.
Tyler, you know, we had a lot of conversations just to kind of talk through that process of, hey, just 'cause you don't start right away, there's plenty of great evidence of not starting in this league- Yeah, be ready and, like, that being really, uh- but a really positive experience for a lot of guys.
And so I think he just took advantage of that opportunity of like, "Hey, I'm gonna go be a scout team quarterback.
I'm gonna be the best scout team quarterback in the league.
I'm gonna get to test myself.
I'm gonna get to make throws that say, 'Hey, can I make this throw?
Can I not make this throw in this situation?'"
Well, go do it on the field, you know, and just test yourself.
And then when he got on the field, he was ready to go, and I thought, you know, he just performed really well and he got better.
So, well, off of that, just real quick, is just, something he proved to you that you weren't sure he'd be able to do, right?
Like, you know, I, you know, you never know with a rookie, right?
But was there anything that kind of jumped out to you where you're like, "Ooh, wow, he can do this at a higher level than I expected"?
I think for a lot of young quarterbacks- Yeah and in Tyler's situation, was his poise in the pocket- and then his ability to play off schedule in some really hard downs.
As we know, third downs, like, third downs are hard downs in this league no matter who you are, you know?
First and second down, okay, it's some mixed down football.
Third downs, like, they're hard for every quarterback- Yeah in this league.
Yeah.
And he made some big time plays.
He made two, he made two huge plays against Carolina that was like, all right, those are really hard downs.
He made playoff schedule.
Like, he's got something to him.
Yeah, yeah.
That was the moment.
And then going into this year, he's gonna be the guy.
Yep.
He's gonna get all the reps.
Explain how different it will be for him, and your expectations for him, knowing that he's gonna have much greater preparation for week one than he did last year.
I think it's the focus of our scheme.
You know, we'll be able, you know, put a really good focus to our scheme as far as exactly how we wanna play and the, the puzzle pieces, so to speak.
And then his reps with just the, you know, the core group, you know, his reps with those guys.
He's not gonna be rotating a ton with, you know, all the rest of the quarterbacks.
He's gonna focus on that top group, get really good reps with those guys, be really prepared when the, the time comes for the start of the season.
I'm always interested with a guy like you, you had great success in Dallas, you go to Philly, successful, now you're doing what you're doing there.
What's been maybe the biggest schematical change or something- that you've seen over the last five, six years since you've been in the thick of things there?
Yeah, that's a great question.
There's a lot.
Yeah, I know, there's a lot.
There's a lot that could go to that.
So just the one that jumps into your head that you just go, "Wow, it's changed from that, the, my early days to now."
I, I think the starting point for me that I've enjoyed most, and I enjoy the most- Yeah is been with Dak, been with Justin, been with Jalen, now, you know, Tyler.
Yeah.
all these quarterbacks are different, and they're all structured different, and they have different exposures.
And so I, I really enjoy building the system kind of- around those guys and having a ton of fun.
I think from a quarterback perspective, we're probably a lot more of a pure progression sweeper mentality.
Yeah.
You know, where it used to be a little bit more pick a side, say- Yeah, one safety this side- Yeah, yeah two safeties that side.
And now all these defensive guys got really smart and make it all look the same- Yeah and muddy it up, and so you're like, "Okay, well, which side are Okay, you're picking the wrong side.
Okay- Yeah.
Well- you're picking the wrong side.
Okay" it's a tough look, coach.
All right.
I don't know.
They look like it's one.
I don't know, you tell me.
All right, so let's just, let's just start over here, and then we'll, we'll solve problems working back all the way across then.
Yeah.
So, uh- Yeah yeah, I think that's something that we've put a lot more focus into.
Gotcha, yeah.
That's interesting to hear you say that.
Was there a moment once Tyler started playing, whatever it would've been, a pre-snap adjustment, something he did during the play, a throw he made, that made you say, "Aha, this, this is the guy.
There, there it is, that I believe in this guy"?
I just think those third downs his first couple weeks, he hung in there against the Rams.
Carolina, he makes two scramble plays.
We go to Miami, and while we lose the game right at the end, uh-He, there's a third down play where he checks the protection, makes all the changes, there's a big overload blitz coming.
He sees it, he checks the protection, he throws the ball.
It was, like, easy breezy.
It's like, that's what you see them 10-year vets do.
Yeah.
And so, that's where you saw the next level happening right in, right in front of us.
last time I think we had you on, I think we talked about tush push, right?
Tush push, yes.
When you were with the Eagles and you were winning Super Bowls- tush push was a huge thing.
Now, the Eagles don't win the Super Bowl, and everybody- Yeah But do you still practice it?
Do you still go after it, like, like you did in Philadelphia?
Well, I think, I think it's still part of the equation.
Yeah.
obviously I think, the conversations around it have created a little bit of a different environment- Yeah just the way it's officiated, and that's not right or wrong.
Yeah.
It's just, you know, it's the structure in which we're playing the game in, in 2025, 2026.
And so, it's still a part of it.
Yeah.
There's still places to, to do it.
And so, I think the amount of maybe multiple plays in that situation has added, you know?
Has added, right.
Yeah.
Where, you know, it's not just the exclusive play anymore.
Right.
I- is it Do you find that you chuckle a little bit that it's like, it was such a big thing last year- and now this year, nobody cares about it?
And I think, yeah, that, that is the funny part.
Yeah.
And I think, you know, again, credit.
You know, we don't make this drastic change.
Defenses get better.
They got better, right.
They see it.
They see it for more and more teams, more and more teams do it.
Okay, now defenses have to spend more time attacking it- Yeah and they solve the problem, you know, on their own.
Yeah.
You finished the season with four out of five wins.
Yeah.
And there was a time in the NFL where that carried over 100%, 'cause the team doesn't change.
Yeah.
How do you take that momentum and translate it to a team where you're going to have different players coming in, but you still have guys who were there?
What, what's the best way to leverage the success at the end of the season into success next year?
Yeah, I think our, our leadership on our team's got to carry that, most importantly.
I think, you know, we, we did have some positive stuff down the stretch in December and early January.
We played some really good football.
A lot of young guys played late, which those guys are all gonna be with our organization moving forward.
and then we got some, we got some veterans.
We signed some free agents, which is great.
Now, a number of those guys were on really good programs that made playoff runs, you know?
And so, it's important that they carry that momentum that they had as well.
And so, you know, it's something we're just gonna have to keep stacking.
You, you've been a part of, like, s- you know, these offenses.
Also, like, kind of this revolution of the running back.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, you got to be a part of the Barkley thing that changed that.
Yeah.
Now you're, now you're out in free agency, like, oh, wait, Travis Etienne's out there.
Yeah.
Etchan, sorry.
Etchan, yeah.
Etchan, right?
But, like, kind of speak that as we're kind of seeing, like, the revolve- or the, the, the, this conversation change around the running back.
Yeah.
I mean, I, I was around Zeke in Dallas.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
Special, special player.
Tony Pollard became our backup.
He kind of transitioned into playing more and more.
Yeah.
You go to Philly with Saquon.
you know, I, I think it's, it's an important role, you know?
What other position's gonna get, you know, 200, 300 touches- That, that's the thing I think people miss for a while in a football game, you know?
Like- Yeah I know the receivers and the impact those guys have and, you know, they're gonna catch 100 balls.
You know, this running back's gonna have 200, 300 carries, whatever it may be in a season.
And so, there's gonna be a lot of opportunities for that guy to impact the game.
And so, it's important that you have a lot of depth in that position too- Yeah 'cause a number of those guys are gonna play.
Yeah.
All right.
Why aren't you getting lefty quarterbacks?
How come you're letting the Falcons get all the lefty quarterbacks- and you're not doing anything to get a lefty quarterback?
We us- What's going on, man?
We're supposed to stick together.
I know.
You need me to come down and sign me, I'll come to play.
We need more.
They're, I think they're all choosing baseball or something, so.
Yeah, they definitely are.
That is exactly right.
You got a game in France- Yeah coming up this year.
How do you build that into the flow of a season?
Yeah.
How big of a distraction?
How do you manage that?
It's gonna be awesome.
It's gonna be awesome.
the ties with our city of New Orleans to France, you know, I think this is gonna be an awesome experience for all of us.
And so, it's gonna be a ton of fun.
Tyler and Tali were actually o- over there, last week, kind of just going through that experience.
We've had people go over there with, you know, the advance element of it, just so that when our team goes over there, we're there for a week, and we have a great experience, and we're ready to go play, a really big football game.
Do you know any French?
I do not.
Are you gonna learn any French before you go?
I, I will be learning it very quickly.
Parlez-vous franais, that's all I know.
It ends there.
Cam Jordan's still out there.
Yeah.
And he's been such a bedrock player.
Any chance it's gonna work out and he's gonna end up back with the team?
Yeah, we, we love Cam.
Obviously, you know, Cam's had a great experience.
He means a ton to our organization and our community.
he's a free agent, and s- and he's had a great year last year.
And so, again, his responsibility is also to put himself in the best position to be successful as well.
And so, I think it's a, it's a really good conversation for both sides, and, we'll continue to go through that.
You, draft process right now?
Draft process.
Yeah.
Right in it.
Yeah, I mean, you're like, like, you know, tell people, like, kind of the transition.
'Cause I, I think some people think you guys know everything about the draft right now- and you're like, "No, wait, I'm just kind of getting started and getting-" Yeah "deep in this right now."
Yeah.
I think the fun part- Yeah is we all kind of know the first couple round guys.
You know, I've kind of gone through that process the last two months.
Yeah.
It's fun as our coaches and our personnel guys have really spent a lot of time having those conversations now of, "Okay, what's that day three gonna look like for us?"
Yeah.
'Cause that, that's where the fun part goes there.
Some of these guy- Yeah hidden gems that are there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No doubt.
Yeah.
When Travis Etienne signed, the obvious reaction was, especially since there had been an adjustment to Alvin Kamara's contract, that his days are numbered.
What, what is his status right now with the Saints?
Yeah, we, we love Alvin.
And, we, we think the world of Alvin.
He's m- he means a lot to our organization.
He's a part of our running back room.
And so, you know, we got a really talented group there that we can, we can employ all these guys into different roles, and allow us to be really successful in the run game, which, you know, is something that we need to improve on last year.
You know?
It is amazing it's gonna be year 10 for him.
Yeah.
It, it He still has that feel, that vibe of like- Yeah.
when he first got into the NFL.
Yeah.
It's like, yeah, he was, he was third round pick, 2017.
Yeah.
Guy that Sean Payton loved.
Yeah.
And he's been a phenomenal player- Yeah for a decade now.
You, you, d- defensively, like in the league, right?
Yeah.
Where we are with Seattle.
Yeah.
What, what, like, what You know, we all copy the Super Bowl teams.
No doubt.
What, what about Seattle jumped out to you, just watching them?
I know you didn't get to play them during the regular season.
Oh, we played them.
They got after us, actually.
Oh, wait.
You did play them.
My, my bad, man.
I'm glad, I'm glad you forgot about that game, actually.
I, I got the schedule.
I keep trying to.
It's that one that says three.
Week three, 44-30.
Yeah.
That's why I forgot about that early in the year.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
They might have already had 40 at halftime.
I can't remember.
So.
All right.
So what about that butt whooping improve, you know, impressed you about the Seattle Seahawks?
That was a humbling experience.
YeahJust a really sound football team.
Yeah.
I think what Obviously Mike does a phenomenal job.
It's just a really connected football team.
Their ability to, play with two high, obviously- Yeah that's always everyone's goal is to play two high and be able to stop the run and, you know, pressure the quarterback.
But then they do an excellent job of being calculated when they pressure and p- really stressing your protection plan.
What's more annoying for you, the team that's talented that kinda just plays one or two defenses and they're like, "We're really good at it"- Yeah or the team that's talented and you're like, "They do some crazy stuff, but I could catch them every now and then"?
Which, which, which one is like would you rather face?
Well, well, I think the teams that are most sound are obviously the hardest teams to, to handle.
And so, you know, when you play really good football continuously play after play- Yeah it makes it really hard because- Yeah from an offense perspective, it's hard to go 10, 12, thir- Right 14 plays down the field and execute at that high of a level play after play.
you know, it'd be nice to steal a- So you feel like a guy that- steal a few yards sometimes they're a little creative and crazy every now and then you go, "Ooh, I can catch them maybe- Yeah with the right check and- Hey Tyler can get to it."
Yeah, yeah, it takes, you know- Yeah five, five, eight plays can change an entire game, and so, uh- Yeah, yeah if we can steal a couple, we'll steal them.
Yeah.
How much of your off-season plan, free agency draft, et cetera, is focused on the teams you're directly competing with in the division?
Well, no doubt.
I think you, you Every team has to have a formula that starts with our division.
And, our division's, you know We got some teams that it's a really competitive division, you know, and we're, we're right in the thick of that.
And so, you know, we gotta get back, back towards the top of that, be right there at the end.
we feel really good about the acquisitions we've made.
The young guys that were asked to play last year, they grew a ton.
And so, you know, we just gotta keep getting better as a football team.
Quarterback journeymen, I know you gotta go, this is the last one I ask you, but quarterback journeymen, like, y- do you, like, are you amazed with like what people like Sam, Sam Darnold do, Baker Mayfield, right?
I think while everybody just thinks quarterbacks are like the magic pill.
Yeah.
You got a quarterback that's really good.
Yeah.
But what they do shows you, you, you need support.
You need the right growth, right, behind that.
No doubt.
Yeah.
No doubt.
I, I love the quarterback journey and I and obviously I'm, I'm one of the more sensitive ones to this- Yeah, yeah because, again, it's like- I hear you these quarterbacks get thrown out there, and then they're either told it's failure or success within maybe a year- Yes or maybe two years.
Yes.
And, it's a journey.
These guys are all still young.
You know, go look at the history of our league and the guys like Drew Brees, who's obviously, you know, such a focus of our organization.
Sure.
But look at his journey.
Look at Philip Rivers' journey.
Look at all these guys.
you know, like Tyler, he doesn't start right away.
It's not the end of the world.
You get to develop, you know?
We just signed Zach Wilson.
Zach's gone through a journey, you know, where, he kinda got thrown out there, okay, you decide, you know, it's not gonna work.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, let these guys keep growing.
Yeah.
They're all 25, 26 years old right now.
Yeah.
They got plenty of football ahead.
Right.
A- and last question.
I was a little surprised when you signed him last week.
Tell me what you saw in him that made you think he's the guy to add to the depth chart.
Yeah.
I'm excited about Zach.
I think, you know, I thought his progress I thought the Denver film, I thought he made a really good, some really good strides there, and I think it was a really healthy environment for him, a great spot for him to continue to grow.
And so, we feel like we're in a great spot.
We feel great about Tyler, obviously, think the world of him.
I love Spence.
Yeah.
You know, Spence, I thought, played some really good football out there.
we didn't win enough football games collectively as a team, but I love Spence.
And so, for us to kinda continue to add to that room I think is an important thing.
I'm all about, you know, helping these guys develop as players and, and put them in position to be successful in the future.
Yeah, it's a good room.
Well, year two coming for Kellen Moore with one of the games in France, the rest of them in New Orleans.
We appreciate some of your time.
We wish you all the best, and we look forward to talking to you again.
Awesome.
Thank you so much, guys.
We'll be back with more from Arizona.
Brush up on your French.
Okay.
There you go.
