NEW ORLEANS – In the leadup to Super Bowl LIX, Kellen Moore’s presumed next stop was the worst-kept secret in the NFL.
The Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator is bookmarked to be the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, per multiple reports. Sunday likely served as his opening audition in the Superdome, his soon-to-be home stadium — and he aced it.
Moore, 36, called a superb game against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Eagles’ 40-22 win in the championship game. He attacked the Chiefs’ weak points and remained aggressive, setting up Philadelphia to succeed against a strong Kansas City defense.
“The best part about Kellen’s offensive genius is that we had two weeks to really set up a game plan that has an answer for everything [Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve] Spagnuolo has,” offensive tackle Jordan Mailata said.
Philadelphia’s offensive talent is undisputedly elite. The roster features six first-round picks and four second-round picks. But they looked broken in the final stretch of the 2023 season, scoring just 18.9 points per game in their last seven contests.
Prized offseason pickup Saquon Barkley, who won the 2024 NFL Offensive Player of the Year award, deserves a lot of praise for the Eagles’ rebound. But Barkley rushed for just 2.3 yards per carry in the Super Bowl, and Moore had to move off his top weapon.
“They took away our bread and butter, but we were able to find a way which is hard to do against [the Chiefs],” offensive tackle Lane Johnson said.
Moore didn’t even bother testing Kansas City’s front. Instead, he trusted quarterback Jalen Hurts to make difficult throws outside the hashes, attacking the Chiefs’ corners, including top defensive back Trent McDuffie, who has rarely been targeted this season. And Hurts succeeded, finding A.J. Brown in key moments.
“Explosive passes, the energy and how it brought the crowd out, it’s just the shift of things,” McDuffie said.
Moore also exploited one of Kansas City’s few defensive weaknesses — the quarterback run. Hurts rushed 11 times for 72 yards and a touchdown.
Philadelphia’s offensive play-caller was cast aside by the Dallas Cowboys after the 2022 season despite leading one of the top-scoring offenses in the league. After a one-year stint with the Chargers, Moore joined the Eagles in 2024 and led an offensive resurgence. Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley both had career seasons under Moore, and Philadelphia entered Sunday averaging 27.2 points per game.
After this season, Moore can leave on his own terms — unless he decides to do the unexpected and “run it back” with the Eagles, as head coach Nick Sirianni implored him with a laugh during the Super Bowl trophy presentation.
Philadelphia defensive coordinator Vic Fangio also deserves his share of the praise for the team’s victory. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was sacked six times and looked rattled in the pocket throughout the night. The Eagles pressured Mahomes on 47% of dropbacks without blitzing once in the first half, according to Next Gen Stats.
Mahomes’ pick-six to Cooper DeJean midway through the second half epitomized the game. The Chiefs attempted to mitigate pressure with a designed roll-out, but Mahomes still had a rusher in his face before throwing the interception.
Even with his team up multiple scores after the defensive touchdown, Moore didn’t ease up. Before the first half was finished, Hurts found Brown for a 12-yard touchdown to push the Eagles ahead 24-0 entering the break.
“We didn’t really have to do much because the defense was doing so well,” Brown said.
With momentum on its side, Philadelphia coasted to an 18-point victory, a dominant performance from a forceful roster.
In New Orleans, Moore would step into a much different situation, as the Saints’ roster does not have the depth or talent to match the Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning squad. Still, Sunday night provided a potential preview for fans of what Moore could do as a head coach.
Sam Jane is a junior at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. He is covering the Super Bowl for the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism in partnership with Sports Business Journal.