Katherine Terrell
METALIE, Louisiana – New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore made no firm commitment to quarterback Derek Kerr at his introductory press conference Thursday.
“Derek is an incredible quarterback in this league. I respected him very much. The journey he was in, he is the starter in this league,” Moore said. “He’s a premier player in this league. …I’m really excited to team up with him and go through this process. This journey with all of them.”
Moore, 36, is the youngest head coach in the league and has inherited a team that is expected to exceed the 2025 salary cap, but that number has not yet been set. Saints must comply with the CAP before the start of free agency on March 12th. This includes addressing Carr’s $51.4 million salary cap figure.
When Moore called Kerr “a tremendous starting quarterback in the league,” he was asked if he felt the team would make a decision in that position.
“We are lucky to have him and are excited to go through this process when we build this process together,” Moore said. “Again, I’ve seen these people for the first time in the last few days. I’m really excited to see so many of them. This will be a lot of fun.”
Moore said he hasn’t seen most of the players and staff members after officially accepting work on Tuesday.
Moore is taking off a year-old stint as a Super Bowl LIX victory as offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. He said he plans to call the play in New Orleans and use motion and tempo.
“We like to use a lot of tempos everywhere I go,” Moore said. “When you huddle, you use shifts and moves, but I want to emphasize defense. I don’t really care if you have to throw 50 times or run 50 times now, but we win. We have to. Soccer games are based on who we are available to us and who is on our roster, but we challenge them and we all have the whole of our roster. We want to be a team that wants to take advantage of the depth we have and utilize it out of all these different players’ superpowers.”
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Moore worked with the Eagles to drive back Saquon Berkley and led the league with 2,005 rushing yards this season. In New Orleans, Moore will drive back Alvin Kamara, who just signed an extension in the fall.
“I have respect for Alvin as a player,” Moore said. “Obviously, one of our league’s premier players, his ability to play in passing and running games, the various versatile roles he can play. A lot of people have been watching for a long time. We Find Alvin on the soccer team of? “And that’s a really important piece.
The Eagles beat 15-12 in week three of the season, with Moore saying the victory shows his new roster talent and he absolutely feels they are still a candidate.
“We realize that injuries are clearly a challenge this year and that these things are sometimes challenging and out of control, so we know there are some very good things here,” Moore said. “We want to accept good. Please build this in the right way, and don’t lose good.”
When Moore said, “It’s a collaboration,” he was asked if he would be involved in the roster building process, but he didn’t say if he felt the team needed to rebuild this year.
“I think we’re certainly going to compete for this sector,” he said. “We have a great opportunity in the NFC South. We’ll focus on this team while building the right way.”
Also on Thursday, league sources confirmed an NFL network report that Chase Haslett will join the Saints staff as tight end coach. Haslett’s father, Jim, coached the saints from 2000-05. Young Haslett has been with the Dallas Cowboys since 2020 as an offensive quality control coach and passing game specialist.
