Kellen Moore has brought a pair of familiar faces with him to the Saints as he continues to build out his coaching staff.
The New Orleans Saints officially hired Kellen Moore to be their next coach after he helped the Philadelphia Eagles win Super Bowl 59 as their offensive coordinator. Now, Moore is beginning to build out his coaching staff with the Saints, and it looks like he has put together a pair of reunions with his latest hires.
After spending time in the NFL as a quarterback, before working as an offensive coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers, and Eagles, New Orleans zeroed in on Moore as their next head coach after they fired Dennis Allen midway through the 2024 campaign. Moore has some connections across the league as a result, and it resulted in him bringing longtime running backs coach Joel Thomas back to town.
“Reunion: Longtime Saints RB coach Joel Thomas, who spent last season with the Giants, is returning to New Orleans on Kellen Moore’s staff, sources tell The Insiders. Thomas is highly regarded and recently served as offensive coordinator in the Senior Bowl,” Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported.
That wasn't the only reunion Moore wanted to make happen, though. Shortly after it was reported that Thomas would be returning to the Saints after one season with the New York Giants, Moore made another reunion happen when he hired Scott Tolzien, another former NFL quarterback who he worked with during his time in Dallas, to be the team's new quarterbacks coach.
“The Saints are hiring Scott Tolzien as their new QBs coach under Kellen Moore, sources say, as Tolzien and Moore reunite after both being on the Cowboys coaching staff. A former NFL QB, Tolzien is now a rising young coach and a key hire for New Orleans,” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported.
Kellen Moore's coaching staff with the Saints beginning to come together
As a first time head coach, who Moore picks to work with him in New Orleans is crucial. Finding a balance between coaches with experience and coaches who he has familiarity with appears to be the preferred path forward, and in this case, both Thomas and Tolzien could end up checking off both those boxes.
Of course, Moore's two most important hires still need to be made, as the Saints need a new offensive and defensive coordinator. So while it's great to see these assistant coach spots being filled, Moore still has a lot of work to do when it comes to filling in the rest of his coaching staff this offseason.
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