Night Moves: Cowboys Coach Kellen Moore Interview Plan with Jaguars Revealed
FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys fans hope Kellen Moore's NFL playoffs-bound offense is as deceptive and elusive as he is when it comes to answering specific questions about his head-coaching future.
“That,'' offensive coordinator Moore said on Thursday when asked about this week's planned interview for the Jacksonville Jaguars vacancy, "is why you have agents.”
Indeed, it's a smart play: Let the agent be the "bad guy'' in Dallas ... and let the agent leak information to the media when it benefits his client.
And now, a "source'' has spoken: NFL Network reports that Moore's Jags interview will be conducted on Friday night. (Sidebar: Of course it is. Moore visited with the media on Thursday. Dallas plays on Saturday. So ... Friday it is.)
Also Thursday, Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn played it just as smartly, explaining his reason for not interviewing this week for the Jags job.
“I’m enjoying what I’m doing,'' Quinn said, "and I’m really having the time of my life with this group of guys.”
The truth, with both candidates to leave Dallas, is of course more complicated that press-conference snippets.
Dallas remains a hotbed of head coach prospects, even as Quinn has tapped the brakes on his possible departure from The Star.
Moore has accepted an invitation from the Jacksonville Jaguars to interview for the vacancy created by the in-season firing of one-and-done debacle Urban Meyer.
The interview session will be a virtual one and was always scheduled to take place this week. (And the public was to find out details when Moore's agent decides it is most beneficial for his client. Which is ... now.)
Moore is just 33, but comes with an impressive body of work for 11-5 Dallas - the team’s 25-22 loss on Sunday to Arizona notwithstanding. He’s drawn high praise from both head coaches who he’s worked under - Jason Garrett and Mike McCarthy - and from his top pupil, Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott.
Earlier this year, Moore said of such opportunities, “Once we get into the season, I don’t care about it. In the offseason, when those opportunities present themselves, if they do, awesome. I’d love that opportunity one day, but we’ll see where that takes us.”
Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will also do a virtual interview for the Jaguars’ job. Former Eagles coach Doug Pederson reportedly interviewed for the job in person on Thursday.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, a former Jags QB, is considered by some to be the top candidate for a job that features the chance to take over a Jacksonville program that this year has produced just a 2-14 record but boasts the talents of rookie QB Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in last April’s NFL Draft.
Early last week, the Jaguars requested interviews with Moore and Quinn. Quinn declined to interview for the coaching vacancy, a move that some misinterpreted as disinterest in moving to Jacksonville or even leaving the Cowboys at all. But in fact, Quinn, in his first season in Dallas, is simply delaying interviews under a new rule that allows any team that makes an in-season change at head coach to conduct virtual interviews with active NFL staff members during the season’s final two weeks.
He's telling the truth about enjoying Dallas; his family last February purchased a home just minutes from The Star; if he ends up staying with the Cowboys, he'll enjoy that, too. But there will still be interviews, eventually.
Since serving as a Cowboys backup quarterback, Moore has become a hot name in the profession. A coach’s son, the Dallas play-caller has the Cowboys offense ranked in the top five in most NFL categories.
Said CBS analyst Tony Romo, Moore’s former Cowboys teammate: “Kellen Moore is going to be a head coach next year. Someone is going to pick him up. I think it’s about his time.”
And when will you find out more details? That is why coaches have agents. And now you know.
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