Jaguars Head Coach Search: Pros and Cons to Kellen Moore's Candidacy
Well, here we are again.
One year after the Jacksonville Jaguars conducted a search for a new head coach to replace Doug Marrone, the team finds itself in the same situation this winter, now looking for a replacement for their replacement.
Names have been thrown around with vigor as potential candidates to replace Urban Meyer, while several interviews have been officially set up between coaches and the Jaguars' brass.
But who is the best candidate for the Jaguars? What does each of them bring to the table, on and off the field? From Jim Caldwell to Kellen Moore and everyone in between, we examine the pros and cons that come with each coach and their potential impact on the Jaguars.
Read more: Jaguars Head Coach Search: Pros and Cons to Jim Caldwell's Candidacy
Read more: Jaguars Head Coach Search: Pros and Cons to Nathaniel Hackett's Candidacy
Read more: Jaguars Head Coach Search: Pros and Cons to Doug Pederson's Candidacy
Read more: Jaguars Head Coach Search: Pros and Cons to Bill O'Brien's Candidacy
Read more: Jaguars Head Coach Search: Pros and Cons to Byron Leftwich's Candidacy
Next up in our review of this year's candidates: Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator and former Boise State, Detroit Lions and Cowboys quarterback Kellen Moore.
Background
- Dallas Cowboys (2018): Quarterbacks coach
- Dallas Cowboys (2019–2021): Offensive coordinator
If you thought Byron Leftwich's track record as a coach was short-lived, then Kellen Moore's own background offers some more context into this year's crop of candidates. Moore is in his fourth year as an NFL coach, though three of those four years have been spent as Dallas as the play-caller.
Moore, to his credit, had been seen as a future coach for much of his football career. He was essentially a de facto coach as backup and practice squad quarterback with the Cowboys from 2015-2017.
Following his retirement in 2017, Moore was immediately given a position on Jason Garrett's staff in Dallas, replacing longtime quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson as Dak Prescott's position coach. Moore's relationship with Prescott and intelligence as a quarterback were seen as major positives as he quickly rose the coaching ranks, joining Dallas' staff as a 28-year-old.
One year later, Moore's meteoric rise was accelerated even further as he was named Dallas' offensive coordinator as a 29-year-old coach, replacing Scott Linehan in the role. Moore was given play-calling duties, becoming a play-caller in just his second year as an NFL coach.
In Moore's first year as coordinator, Dallas finished the year No. 2 in offensive DVOA and No. 6 in points scored, while also finishing first in net yards per pass attempt and fifth in rushing yards per attempt.
In Moore's second year as the coordinator, the Cowboys finished No. 24 in offensive DVOA and No. 17 in points scored per game, though this regression can be largely attributed to an ankle injury that ended Dak Prescott's season after five games. The Cowboys went on to start four different quarterbacks during the course of the year as they went 6-10 and missed the playoffs.
With a healthy Prescott in 2021, the Cowboys finished the regular season 12-5 and as NFC East champions, with Moore's offense finishing No. 6 in offensive DVOA and No. 1 in points scored. Prescott threw for 4,449 with 37 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions, setting a career-high in touchdown passes as Ezekiel Elliot rushed for 1,000 yards and CeeDee Lamb joined the 1,000-yard club as well.
Pros
If you are going to look at simply results, then there are few coordinators better over the last three seasons than Kellen Moore. He has put his own spin and stamp on the Cowboys' offense while under two offensive-minded head coaches in Garrett and Mike McCarthy, and the fact that McCarthy retained him as play-caller after Garrett's firing speaks to his qualifications and reputation around the NFL.
In terms of making things easy for the quarterback, few in the NFL have done a better job than Moore. There is a reason that Prescott's two most prolific years as a passer have come in his two healthy seasons under Moore, and it isn't simply because of the weapons Dallas has at their disposal. Moore calls plays to his offensive's strengths and that begins and ends with Prescott, who Moore has been able to build an ideal quarterback/play-caller relationship with.
Moore isn't a coach who is overly pass-happy, either. While having Prescott, Lamb, Amari Cooper, and Michael Gallup could entice a coordinator to drop back and throw it 50 times a game, Moore has been able to keep both Elliot and Tony Pollard as key pieces of the offense. Being able to call plays with enough variety to have two different types of backs such as Elliot and Pollard find success at the same time is another feather in Moore's cap as well.
Finally, the fact that Moore has risen this quickly in the NFL is a big positive, not a negative. Moore was so impressive in the meeting rooms and as a voice on the practice field as an active player that the Cowboys were ready to hand him a key spot on the coaching staff fresh off his own retirement. If a coach is so impressive as a player that his team wants to add him to the staff at the earliest time possible, then that is encouraging.
Moore is also a coach who has been highly sought after in his career. Teams attempted to pry Moore from Dallas' coaching staff after the 2018 season, so even if he wasn't made coordinator in Dallas, he would have called plays for some organization in 2019. That kind of rise deserves respect as opposed to caution.
Cons
While Moore's quick rise through the coaching ranks should be seen as a positive, there likely still does need to be a question of whether the 33-year-old is ready to be a head coach after four years coaching in the NFL. Other young coaches in the NFL have at least put in more time and more years in the profession than Moore has, which will likely be seen as a bit of a red flag moving forward.
There is also the fact that Moore has one of the most talented offenses in the entire NFL to work with. Prescott is a legitimate top-5 quarterback and would likely make any coordinator look good, while Elliot and Cooper are each among the best at their positions in the NFL.
While few coaches can make things work on offense with sub-optimal talent, it is a fact that Moore's offense in Jacksonville would be vastly less talented than the one he has called plays for over the last three seasons. This is the same level of projection that we would see with Leftwich, of course, though we have also seen what Moore looks like as a play-caller without an elite quarterback.
