Jaguars 2025 head coach candidate profile: Eagles OC Kellen Moore

For the third time in 5 years, the Jacksonville Jaguars are trying to find a brand new head coach.

Large Cat Nation’s Jaguars head coach hiring course of tracker is continually being up to date — however to supply extra info on the highest candidates being interviewed, we’ll be releasing in-depth profiles all through the search.

Different head coach candidate profiles:

Subsequent up: Kellen Moore, who can even be interviewing with the Saints for his or her head coach emptiness.

Expertise

Born and raised in Prosser, Washington, Kellen Moore went on to change into probably the most profitable quarterbacks within the historical past of faculty soccer with the Boise State Broncos. Regardless of not taking part in for one of many blue blood packages, Moore grew to become the winningest quarterback in school soccer historical past with a 50-3 report throughout his time on the blue turf. From 2007-2011, Moore set a number of data at Boise State, together with holding the NCAA report for lowest proportion of passes intercepted in a profession (28 interceptions in 1,658 passing makes an attempt – 0.017%). When his time with the Broncos lastly got here to an finish, Moore completed second in NCAA historical past in passing touchdowns (142), third in passing effectivity (168.97), and fifth in passing yards (14,667).

Regardless of this prolific school profession, Moore went undrafted in 2012, as a substitute signing a UDFA contract with the Lions. Regardless of spending three seasons within the Motor Metropolis, Moore by no means threw a cross within the common season. He subsequently signed with the Cowboys as an understudy to Tony Romo and Brandon Weedon, and eventually noticed his first actual NFL motion in a two-game audition to finish 2015. Damage in 2016 signalled the start of the tip for Moore as a professional, and he lastly hung up his cleats in 2018.

The Cowboys had been impressed with Moore’s soccer acumen a lot nonetheless, that they appointed him quarterbacks coach the very subsequent season. It took him 12 months extra to be appointed offensive coordinator in Dallas, a place he held for 4 years. Since then, he has spent a 12 months every with the Chargers and Eagles respectively, each as offensive coordinator.

Moore was praised for his time as OC in Dallas, twice main the Cowboys to a league-best output in yards and as soon as (2021 season) main the NFL in scoring (30.4 factors per recreation). Dallas averaged a whopping 401.4 yards per recreation in that common season. In 2022, Dallas ranked second within the NFL in factors per recreation within the common season (28.8) and led the league in red-zone landing effectivity (71.34 %).

In these 4 seasons Moore oversaw the offense, the Cowboys averaged the second-most factors per recreation within the NFL (27.7) and had been second within the NFL in complete offense (391 web yards per recreation) with high 10 passing and dashing manufacturing. In addition they ranked within the high 4 in third-down proportion (44 %) in these 4 seasons. While his time in LA was blighted with damage to his offensive expertise, he has bounced again properly in Philly, serving to the Eagles to the #2 seed as they embark on the playoffs.

Efficiency

2024 Eagles offense

• Factors per recreation: 27.2 (seventh)
• First downs per recreation: 21.2 (tied sixth)
• Yards per recreation: 367.2 (eighth)
• Yards per play: 5.6 (tied eleventh)
• EPA per play: 0.1 (sixth)
• Success charge: 45.2% (thirteenth)

Passing offense

• Whole touchdowns: 24 (twelfth)
• First downs per recreation: 9.9 (twenty seventh)
• Yards per recreation: 187.9 (twenty ninth)
• Yards per try: 7.9 (seventh)
• EPA per play: 0.13 (eighth)
• Success charge: 47.7% (14th)

Speeding offense

• Whole touchdowns: 29 (tied 2nd)
• First downs per recreation: 9.6 (1st)
• Yards per recreation: 179.3 (2nd)
• Yards per try: 4.9 (fifth)
• EPA per play: 0.09 (4th)
• Success charge: 42.8% (ninth)

Quotes

How will Kellen Moore’s offense look because the Eagles’ season begins?

Will Grier chatting with Brooks Kubena (The Athletic, September 2024)

“He’s not going to, on third down, break the huddle with 15 seconds left and put you in dropback in opposition to Wink Martindale or whoever and also you’ve received to strive to determine protections and all that with the play clock working down… …He’s going to search out some simple completions. The play-action recreation goes to enrich the run recreation. He’s going to make use of combined tempos so the protection can’t at all times sub and refresh and run in several packages and totally different seems to be and stuff like that. And I simply assume it’s as a result of he sees it from a quarterback’s view.”

Eagles’ A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith like freedom of Kellen Moore’s new offense for large receivers

Jalen Hurts chatting with Jeff Kerr (CBS Sports activities, June 2024)

“I really like the dynamic being put in place by way of everyone has a task and that’s the objective, I feel, for everyone to do their job… …That goes for everybody. So, simply studying as a lot as I can from them, coach, and Kellen is sort of a mild-mannered particular person, the place he’s laid again, sort of greater image, has his palms on just about every part. Simply the conversations of studying, they’ve been round a very good minute now and received nice expertise in it, and calling the performs and training quarterbacks. I’m simply there listening and taking in that data.”

Eagles’ Kellen Moore returns to Dallas, nonetheless a PowerPoint wiz and meticulous whisperer of offenses

Jon Kitna chatting with Brooks Kubena (The Athletic, November 2024)

“What you don’t like as a quarterback is grey space… …You need to know what your solutions are. You need it to be black and white. I assumed Kellen simply always did a very good job of that. … The job is to present solutions to that man that’s pulling the set off again there. You don’t need him standing again there with out solutions for something that comes up.”

Obvious Pluses

• Kellen Moore has compiled seven seasons as a coach within the NFL, six of them as an offensive coordinator. Exterior of some unimaginable statistical output, notably throughout his time with the Cowboys, it’s fairly clear that he’s nicely revered all through the league. His relationships with quarterbacks is especially evident, as you’d anticipate from a former sign caller. The extent of effort he goes to in making a QB-friendly offense is apparent merely from the quotes above. And, the injury-riddled season with the Chargers apart, his strategy to offense has persistently been rewarded with yards, touchdowns, and wins.
• Moore must also be credited together with his means to adapt to the expertise he has to work with. Jalen Hurts is not any slouch as a quarterback, however Moore inherited an offense in Philadelphia that was undoubtedly a run-first unit. Relatively than try to change what he had to slot in together with his beforehand profitable blueprint, he leant into the expertise and created an offense that allowed Saquon Barkley to surpass 2,000 yards. The Eagles have a protection that’s the envy of the league, however their offense has pulled its weight too, residing within the high ten in nearly each statistical class.
• Ought to Moore find yourself in Duval County, his dedication to the no-huddle offense ought to assist put Trevor Lawrence in additional advantageous conditions. And while I wouldn’t anticipate the ‘Tush Push’ to return to Jacksonville, I feel the Jaguars devoted would recognize a extra inventive strategy to offense that ought to enable younger expertise like Brian Thomas to thrive.

Lingering Questions

• As with lots of the huge title candidates on this hiring cycle, Kellen Moore has zero head teaching expertise – at any degree. In actual fact, out of the ten names the Jaguars have requested to talk to, solely 4 of them have a historical past of being within the huge chair. That’s to not say that have is a prerequisite for fulfillment, however it does introduce an unknown into the equation; all we find out about Kellen Moore is that he’s adept at setting up and working an offense. As a head coach, that’s not even half of the job.
• Exterior of that greatest query mark, Moore’s physique of labor as an NFL coach is nice, however not impeccable. He has been criticised from time to time for his consciousness in relation to situational soccer, with play alternative and clock administration within the purple zone a selected problem for some Cowboys followers. Contemplating the Jaguars devoted had been lower than enamoured with Press Taylor’s resolution making, this might show to be a sticking level. There have been additionally recommendations his penchant for play motion usually uncovered Dak Prescott to pointless punishment – once more a bone of competition in Jacksonville given Trevor Lawrence’s damage this season.
• Different frustrations when in Dallas stemmed from an ineffective floor recreation, with questions on blocking schemes. However it’s only truthful to level out that none of those issues have adopted him to Philadelphia, the place the Eagles boast probably the most harmful dashing assaults within the league. Whether or not that’s all the way down to Moore’s progress as a coach or the extent of expertise at his disposal is a good query – as with all head teaching candidates, it is going to be as much as Moore to persuade Shad Khan that his upside outweighs any potential issues.

Jaguars followers, how do you’re feeling about Moore? Tell us within the feedback!