It’s time for Saints to pull the plug on clueless HC Kellen Moore

It's time for Saints to pull the plug on clueless HC Kellen Moore.

Key points

• On Sunday, second-year quarterback Tyler Shough was held to 16 completions on 25 attempts for just 96 yards, with two interceptions and a sack.
• That should be it for New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore.
• The Saints waited two years after we wrote off Dennis Allen to create a change.
• Now, this is regarding more than the Vikings game.

That should be it for New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore. After clawing his way to a 6-11 finish in 2025 and an offseason full of positive momentum in 2026, Moore has driven the ship into the rocks on a 1-4 start to his second season. Moore lost all three games in a monthlong homestand. With a special teams unit in disarray and an offensive line that can't protect its quarterback, or run the football, the New Orleans defense has been tasked with carrying more than they can shoulder. If Moore had answers for the challenges his team is facing, we would have seen them by now.

On Sunday, second-year quarterback Tyler Shough was held to 16 completions on 25 attempts for just 96 yards, with two interceptions and a sack. The aggressive, blitz-heavy defense run by Minnesota Vikings DC Brian Flores has been the talk of the NFL for a week. It didn't look like Moore ran a single practice this week with intentions of preparing for it. Shough was pressured often and rushed into poor decisions, leading to those turnovers and his lowest yardage output as a starter. He checked the ball down too often and tried to adapt by asking his receivers to create gains after the catch. There wasn't an attempt to test Minnesota downfield.

Now, this is regarding more than the Vikings game. Moore has done a bad job preparing the team week in, week out. They had a lead in this game at halftime for just the fourth time in 22 games. That's a direct reflection of poor preparation and a failure to plan for opponents' strengths and weaknesses. He's consistently unprepared for what it takes to lead an NFL team. Moore may just be another upjumped offensive coordinator who doesn't have what it takes to coach up all 53 players on the roster. His record is 7-15, a win percentage of.318 and second-worst out of the 2025 hiring cycle. Only Aaron Glenn, the Saints' top choice for the job, is worse.

Meanwhile, the Saints waited two years after we wrote off Dennis Allen to create a change. Hopefully it won't take so long for them to come into agreement with the inevitable in this Kellen Moore experiment. Are they going to wait until Shough is 30 to find him a coach who can take advantage of his talents? Either way, longtime general manager Mickey Loomis now 1-for-3 in hiring head coaches. Outside of the years Sean Payton was coaching his team, his record is 56-81, for a winning percentage of just.409. He shouldn't be allowed to hire the team's next head coach whenever that time comes.

Taken together, the developments around its time for Saints to pull the plug on clueless HC Kellen point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.