Sep 22, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore looks on during warmups before the game against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Stephen Lew
The Eagles will host the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC Divisional Round playoff matchup Sunday. In the meantime, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore could interview for up to three head coaching vacancies.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated noted that not only have the Dallas Cowboys put in a request to interview Moore, but two other teams already have interviews lined up with him before he coaches in a game that has a trip to the NFC Championship Game on the line:
Eagles OC Kellen Moore has been requested by the Cowboys, source confirms—he's slated to interview for the Jaguars job tomorrow, and the Saints job on Saturday. If Dallas doesn't get him in during this window, they'd have to wait until after Philly is eliminated.
Spoiler alert: It would be shocking if Moore doesn't find a way to fit in a Zoom interview with the Cowboys before Sunday's playoff game. He was a backup quarterback for the team from 2015-2017, before joining their staff as the quarterbacks coach in 2018. From 2019-2022, Moore was the offensive coordinator in Dallas. For all the talk of Deion Sanders and some other big-name coaching candidates, Moore would seem to be the perfect candidate for Jerry Jones — he has a pretty strong resume that includes extended time in Dallas, and he won't outshine the egomaniac owner.
Editor's Note: Since the publication of this article, Breer has reported that Moore will indeed interview with Dallas on Friday:
Kellen Moore will interview with the Cowboys on Friday, two days before the Eagles' home playoff game. Moore played three years (2015-17) and coached five (2018-22) in Dallas. https://t.co/K7gm5to9S9
Even if teams aren't able to meet with any candidates in person until after the Divisional Round, it still comes off as insane that Moore could potentially have three interviews for head coaching vacancies in the 72 hours leading up to a playoff game. Sure, you don't spend all 24 hours of your day grinding film before a playoff game. But there's no way that your attention can be fully devoted to coaching in a postseason game on Sunday when you're interviewing for a promotion with various other potential employers on Friday and Saturday. Sure, candidates may be limited to three hour virtual interviews, but that's potentially nine hours worth of interviews when you multiply it by three. And that says nothing of the prep going into the interviews, which undoubtedly happens. Even once the interviews are complete, it's human nature to be making phone calls to try to find out how you did in your interview, and potentially who will be part of your coaching staff if you get the job.
This is not meant to shame Moore in any way. It's completely reasonable to run with any opportunity to interview to be a head coach in the NFL. And he's hardly the only coach this weekend affected by this reality. Both Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn — the offensive and defensive coordinators of the Detroit Lions — are hot candidates. As is Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
Who is at fault here is the NFL for allowing this. And the answer isn't to penalize coordinators on good teams and not let them interview until after they are eliminated, while other candidates get a head start. The answer is — as iconic NFL writer Peter King has long suggested — to not allow this process to begin until after the Super Bowl. And if that means you have to push back the start of free agency and the NFL Draft, so be it. The Super Bowl is played in early February, while the next season begins after Labor Day. There's plenty of time. And there's an incentive to delay it, because the coaching cycle is juicy and should have all the sports media world focused on it, rather than it being a secondary story to the NFL postseason. The biggest thing, though, is that coordinators should have their undivided attention on trying to get to and win a Super Bowl in January and early February. Right now, that's not the case.
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