This offseason, the New Orleans Saints have been interviewing numerous coaches as they look to fill their head coaching vacancy. The Saints reportedly zeroed in on former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as their top candidate, but he decided to become the New York Jets head coach instead.
With Glenn no longer an option and Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady withdrawing his name from consideration, let’s examine the top candidates remaining for New Orleans — the final team with a head coach opening.
Kellen Moore, OC, Philadelphia Eagles
Kellen Moore’s name has been on the head coaching radar for quite some time now, and it’s no surprise, especially the more the rules shift toward the offensive side of the ball. Not only did Moore throw for 14,667 yards during his time as a player at Boise State, but he’s led successful offenses with the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers, and Philadelphia Eagles as a coordinator.
He’s largely had the benefit of a franchise QB on his roster, but his ability to elevate those talents has been evident since he helped Dak Prescott up his yards per pass rate by 10.8% in his first season with the Cowboys.
His ingenuity has been showcased most in play-action situations. The game is moving toward rewarding those who succeed in these plays — the San Francisco 49ers led the league in play-action passer rating last season on their way to winning the NFC, while the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs were both top-five in that regard a season ago before meeting in the Super Bowl. Moore is continually improving:
- Cowboys (2019-22): 103.5 play-action passer rating
- Chargers (2023): 107.9 play-action passer rating
- Eagles (2024): 114.5 play-acton passer rating
Philadelphia ranked seventh in red zone trips per game this season, thanks in large part to a suppressed turnover rate.
Under Moore’s watch this season, the Eagles have the fourth-lowest giveaway rate, a large reason why this team is significantly scarier this postseason than they were a season ago (when they ranked 30th in turnover rate).
Kliff Kingsbury, OC, Washington Commanders
Kliff Kingsbury was known for some rigid tendencies with the Arizona Cardinals but has shown more flexibility during his first season as the Washington Commanders’ offensive coordinator.
For example, Kingsbury has varied his personnel usage. With the Cardinals, Kingsbury leaned heavily into his wide receivers. Arizona used the eighth-highest rate of 3+ WR sets (69.4%) and the highest rate of 4+ WR sets (17.1%). The 2024 Commanders rank 19th in 3+ WR sets (60.1%) and instead have the 12th-highest rate of 2+ TE sets (33.7%). They’ve only run six plays the entire season with 4+ WRs on the field.
Kingsbury has shown the ability to produce a strong offense while enabling a young dual-threat quarterback. From 2019-22, Kyler Murray ranked second among quarterbacks in rushing yards off designed runs (1,185), behind only Lamar Jackson. Murray averaged 6.0 yards per carry on these runs. In 2024, Jayden Daniels ranked third among QBs in rushing yards off designed runs behind Jackson and Anthony Richardson.
Additionally, 22.8% of Daniels’ passes have come from outside the pocket, the fourth-highest rate in 2024. The rookie thrived on those plays, averaging the second-most EPA per dropback (0.30) on passes outside the pocket behind only Jackson.
Kingsbury may need to wait at least one more year to wash away the stink from the end of his Cardinals’ head-coaching tenure, but he has undoubtedly done an outstanding job in his first season as the Commanders’ offensive coordinator (and their shocking postseason run certainly helps his stock).
Anthony Weaver, DC, Miami Dolphins
The narrative in Miami often surrounds the offense and its explosive potential, but Anthony Weaver, the defensive coordinator, has put together an impressive resume in his first season with the team.
This season, the Dolphins’ defense allowed touchdowns at the third-lowest rate, thanks in large part to the second-most efficient red zone unit in the sport. The NFL is a league of turning scoring chances into seven points and the ability to hold strong in those spots is becoming increasingly valuable (breakout teams like the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos rank better than the 80th percentile in that stat this season, as do the defending-champion Chiefs), thus highlighting Weaver’s ability to thrive when counted on the most.
From a more macro perspective, he has Miami ranked seventh in our all-inclusive Defense+ metric, up from 13th a season ago. Weaver spent some time in an assistant coaching role while with the Baltimore Ravens (2022-23), which helps his resume too, as it gives him some experience in a position of power that not all coordinators have.
If there’s a nit-to-pick, it’s in the aggression metrics. This season, the Dolphins rank 22nd in blitz rate and 20th when deciding to bring an extra defender into the equation. In a league that skews toward the offense, making the quarterback uncomfortable is critical and it’s something that Weaver’s unit has struggled with this year. That, however, is a very minor flaw and if insulated with the right pieces and/or coaching staff, those are the type of numbers that can flip in a hurry.
Weaver turns 45 years old in July and we’ve seen that early-to-mid 40s age be a sweet spot for head coaches when getting their first job. From Bill Belichick to John Harbaugh, we’ve seen plenty of defensive minds cut their teeth at the professional level before getting a head coaching chance in this age range and succeed – could Weaver be next?
Mike McCarthy, Free Agent, Former Dallas Cowboys HC
McCarthy went 49-35 in five seasons with the Cowboys but won just seven games this season, failing to live up to preseason expectations.
Dallas went 12-5 in McCarthy’s second, third, and fourth seasons but earned no more than one playoff win in those three appearances. Jerry Jones ultimately decided not to renew McCarthy’s deal, but he is already drawing interest from other teams.
The NFL is a game of inches, and during the McCarthy era, the Cowboys were capable of playing those tight spots. Since 2020, Dallas ranked fifth in winning percentage in one-score games (record: 22-16). Those regular season numbers didn’t carry over to the postseason (0-2 in one-score games).
Still, it fueled their ability to qualify for three postseasons under McCarthy, and if you look at the teams that are in the market for a head coach, they are a few coin-flip wins away from being much more competitive. Here are some examples of underachieving 2024 teams that could have had a very different story this season if they performed better in these one-score contests:
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-9
- Chicago Bears: 2-7
- New York Giants: 1-7
With the margins so thin, winning the final 15 minutes can often shift the fortunes of a team in any given season. During McCarthy’s tenure in Dallas, the Cowboys posted the second-best fourth-quarter point differential (+153, trailing only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Buccaneers).
The teams that end the game strong are often those who have great attention to detail and excel at adjusting as the game goes on. Those are traits any team would love to have and something that McCarthy’s teams have done consistently (the Green Bay Packers also ranked eighth during his time in town).
