Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is expected to become the
New Orleans Saints' head coach, barring any unexpected developments, league sources told ESPN.
Moore has been the top candidate for the vacant Saints job since completing a pair of interviews with New Orleans last month.
The Saints are making sure they do everything by the book so as not to break any rules and risk any potential penalties. New Orleans learned from the lesson of the
Arizona Cardinals, who were
penalized for tampering with then-Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, whom they eventually hired as their head coach.
Arizona and Philadelphia ultimately agreed to a draft compensation penalty as a result of a phone call between Gannon and the Cardinals that took place during a no-contact period in advance of Super Bowl LVII.
The Saints, with their
history of being in the NFL's crosshairs, don't want to bend or break any rules and therefore will wait until after Super Bowl LIX on Sunday before working to try to finalize any agreement with Moore, according to sources. The sides are not expected to have any challenges to get a deal done, sources said.
Moore is expected to have his salary more than doubled, and possibly tripled, and few would be willing to surrender an opportunity like that to become one of the NFL's 32 head coaches.
Moore privately has told people he is interested in and wants the Saints job, according to sources, and the Saints want him, which is why a deal is expected to get done once the sides can meet again after Super Bowl LIX, barring an unexpected breakdown in contract talks.
Although he declined to elaborate earlier this week, Moore told reporters Monday that he had a "great" experience meeting with Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and other team officials in Philadelphia last week.
Moore has no previous head coaching experience in the NFL but has enjoyed success as a playcaller and oversaw an Eagles attack that ranked eighth in the NFL in total offense (367.2 yards per game) this season, including second in rushing (179.3 yards per game).
The Saints are the last NFL team with a current head coach opening. They fired Dennis Allen during the season, with special teams coach Darren Rizzi filling in on an interim basis.
Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury opted not to pursue the Saints job, and
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady opted to stay in Buffalo instead of pursuing a second interview with New Orleans. A third candidate, Aaron Glenn, interviewed virtually with the Saints but was ultimately hired as the head coach of the
Jets.
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