We’re going to learn a lot about the New Orleans Saints in the next few weeks.
We’re also going to learn a lot about Kellen Moore.
The Saints’ second-year head coach is facing the biggest challenge of his nascent head coaching career. Back-to-back home losses to the Raiders and Falcons have shaken the confidence of the fan base and lit a charge under the veteran leaders on his second Saints team. A blowout loss to your archrivals in a game you were favored to win on your home field will do that to you.
It wasn’t so much that the Saints lost but how they lost that was bothersome. The Saints were outplayed, outcoached and outmuscled for four quarters. Even worse, they played timid and coached scared. No wonder Cam Jordan, Justin Reid and Tyler Shough aired their frustrations afterward. The performance was unacceptable in every way.
Moore desperately needs to right the ship and restore confidence in his leadership and coaching acumen. And he needs to do it quickly or his second season could spiral away from him.
In the wake of the disappointing 1-3 start, some Saints fans have criticized Moore, saying they’d like to see more fire and passion from him in the heat of battle. And I get it. Louisianans love big characters and passionate people. But that’s not Moore. In terms of coaching style and demeanor, he’s more Bill Walsh than Bill Parcells.
Moore is never going to pull a “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda” meltdown like Jim Mora. And he’s not one to impulsively fire an assistant coach or bench a key starter the way Sean Payton sometimes did to send a message.
Again, that’s not Moore. It would be out of character for him to throw a fit or lose it emotionally after a game.
He doesn’t need to change who he is. But he does need to tweak how he operates and figure out how to fix his teams’ recurring problems: slow starts; an impotent running game; and a defense that gets pushed around at the point of attack.
While Moore’s second team has shown notable improvement in areas like penalties, redzone offense and big play production, it is still undermined by the former issues (along with a roster that lacks blue-chip talent at some critical spots).
It doesn’t help that three of the guys Moore brought in to improve things on the field will be standing on the sideline next to him on Sunday against the Vikings. For the time being, there’s little Moore can do to heal injuries to Jordyn Tyson, Travis Etienne and Kaden Ellis.
What he can do, though, is go all in and start coaching with more aggressiveness. Of the myriad things that happened Monday night, Moore’s conservative play calling and game management were contributing factors to the loss. The decisions to punt from the Atlanta 42 before halftime and to kick a field goal from the Falcons’ 8 in the third quarter lacked aggressiveness and sent the wrong message to his team. I get that he was trying to stem the tide and stop the bleeding, but those situations demanded aggressiveness.
It might not be Moore’s nature to rely on his gut rather than his analytics, but sometimes the situation demands it. Throughout history, the best NFL coaches have been the ones who know when to balance
Sean Payton learned to embrace analytics over time, but always said, “You can’t let analytics trump instincts.”
Mike Tomlin said it best: “I don’t live in my fears, but I don’t live in a binder, either. You feel the pulse of your men.”
As Moore continues to develop as a head coach, he’ll need to learn when and how to strike this delicate balance as a game manager. Trusting your gut is rarely a bad idea.
New Orleans, after all, loves gamblers and games of chance. This town was founded by rogues and ragamuffins. Craps and poker were introduced to America here. This is where the first land-based casino outside of Las Vegas and Atlantic City was built and where the third oldest horse racing track in America still operates.
In a city of risk-takers, Moore could stand to take a few more risks. Fortune, we know, favors the bold.
Moore showed he owns a bold streak when he eschewed the tie and went for the winning two-point conversion in the opener against Detroit.
The Saints need to see more of that devil-may-care approach going forward.
It’s only Week 5. There’s a lot of football left to be played. Moore doesn’t need to roll heads or throw a fit. But it wouldn’t hurt him to roll the dice and throw caution to the wind every now and then, starting with Sunday’s game against the Vikings.
