Kellen Moore has made a change to his coaching staff coming out of the bye week.
The New Orleans Saints fired run-game coordinator T.J. Paganetti, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed. The dismissal comes after the Saints had one of the league’s least effective rushing attacks, including last game in which New Orleans managed just 18 yards on 17 carries against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Paganetti had joined Moore’s initial staff in 2025 after coaching with him in Philadelphia. There, he served as the Eagles’ assistant offensive line coach under Jeff Stoutland.
The Saints rank 28th in rushing yards per game this season, the same ranking they had a year ago.
Paganetti’s firing also marks Moore’s first significant change to his coaching staff. The second-year coach elected to retain his entire staff in the offseason, believing the black and gold would benefit from the continuity. The Saints did see former assistant offensive line coach Jahri Evans depart for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the same role, but that departure was voluntary.
But the Saints entered 2026 knowing they had to fix their run game. Instead of making coaching changes, New Orleans spent significant resources upgrading its personnel and tweaking its schemes. In free agency, the Saints signed former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne to a four-year, $48 million deal and former Buffalo Bills guard David Edwards to a four-year, $61 million contract. The Saints also began implementing more outside zone blocking schemes, believing those plays fit the group’s strengths.
The overhaul hasn’t panned out.
Etienne hasn’t played since Week 3, when he suffered a hamstring injury that soon landed him on injured reserve. His backups, too, have been largely ineffective. The Saints opted to retain Alvin Kamara in the offseason, but the franchise’s all-time leading rusher has rushed for only 125 yards on 41 carries — good for a disappointing 3 yards per carry. Kendre Miller, who leads the Saints in carries, has managed even fewer yards per attempt — his 2.8 yards per carry is the league’s third-worst mark among backs with at least 40 rushing attempts.
So Moore decided to move on from Paganetti — whose job it was to craft the team’s rushing plan each week alongside offensive line coach Brendan Nugent. Moore left open the possibility of making changes to his staff after a disastrous game in Paris, when the Saints rushed for their fewest yards in a game since 1999.
