Before the New Orleans Saints won four straight games for the first time since 2020 to finish 6-11, before they generated a fever of optimism entering the offseason and before players credited Kellen Moore's approach, enthusiasm and consistency holding the team together amid a 2-10 start — the first-year head coach had already shown his ability to navigate adversity.
Moore was hired as head coach on Feb. 11, 2025. Three months later — May 10 — quarterback Derek Carr, an 11-year veteran who started 27 games in two seasons with the Saints, retired.
"We hired Kellen under a set of circumstances relative to the quarterback and then that changed dramatically," Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis said Wednesday, during a joint postseason news conference with Moore. "And, man, he didn't bat an eye. He just — OK, what's the next step that we have to do and how do we attack it? That was impressive right from the beginning.
"And then during the course of the season, there's circumstances and things that come up during the course of the year that you can think you're prepared for, but you're really not because you haven't been put in that position. And I think in virtually every case, he handled it really well. That's been exciting to see."
Moore's heat-handling skills were a highlight for the Saints, who twice beat NFC South Division champion Carolina and split with second-place Tampa Bay.
Much of the improvement in the won-loss column traced to rookie quarterback Tyler Shough joining the starting lineup in Week 9. The Saints finished 5-4 in his starts and Shough rose into contention for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award by completing 204 of 295 passes for 2,256 yards and 10 touchdowns, with five interceptions, and rushing for 174 yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries in those games.
The second-round draft pick, No. 40 overall, has spearheaded the buzz around the Saints entering the offseason.
"I don't know that there's anything surprising (about Shough's season) for us," Loomis said. "We thought a lot of him going into the draft. So we felt like, this guy's got a chance to be a real good quarterback in the league and that's why we drafted him. I don't think surprising is the right word. Probably progressed a little faster than maybe we expected, but I think our coaches did a great job with him. I think our players embraced his opportunity and obviously the player himself embraced his opportunity.
"There were some flashes there that you just, 'Whoa, that's really good.' But I don't think surprised is the right word because you have expectations when you draft somebody in the second round or first round. Because you value the talent and you have a vision for that player or those players being successful. I don't think surprised is the right word, but obviously pleased."
ROOKIE SUCCESS
That sentiment applied to much of the draft class. Offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. was a Day 1 starter, and safety Jonas Sanker, cornerback Quincy Riley and running back Devin Nealall made starts. Linebacker Danny Stutsman was a key special team contributor who earned defensive game reps, and tight end Moliki Matavao also earned game time.
"I think the important thing about that is those guys were ready when the opportunity presented itself," Moore said. "No timelines are going to be the same. Tyler's development was a great example of that, his willingness to get better through an entire season.
"Quincy kind of had an opportunity through injury to hop in there. Danny was a guy that is a great example of just being a really talented player that we feel great about and finding different roles and different opportunities where he can get on the field. A lot of these timelines were different, but I think it was important to see these guys play and have exposure and I thought a lot of these guys took advantage of the opportunity."
BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE
In part due to the contributions of the rookies, Loomis said the Saints can approach the draft seeking the best fit for the team. Last year New Orleans needed an offensive tackle, and selected Banks with the ninth overall pick.
"I'm excited about the draft class that's coming up," he said. "The discussions I've had with (Assistant GM/Director of College Scouting) Jeff (Ireland) and his staff, there's a lot of players that will fit us at a lot of different positions. I think the depth of this draft class right now looks pretty good, and I think we're going to be in a position to kind of take the best player that's available that can impact our team, as opposed to, we have to have this position or that position. There'll be positions that we prefer, but I don't think we're going to be in a position where we have to get this particular position."
MUTUAL INTEREST
Veterans Cameron Jordan, Demario Davis and Taysom Hill all have expressed a desire to return to the Saints for a 16th (Jordan), 15th (Davis) and 10th (Hill) season. Jordan led the team with 10.5 sacks, the first time he has reached double figures since 2021 and the franchise-record seventh time he registered 10 or more. Davis finished with a career high 143 tackles. Hill became the only player in the Super Bowl era to top 1,000 yards passing, rushing and receiving.
"There's a process that we go through at the end of the season," Loomis said. "It's an evaluation and then it's a determination of do they want to come back, do we want them back and then even with that, there's a lot of variables. What's the contract situation? What's the timeline?"
"There's just too many variables for me to give you a definitive answer on any of that. But I'm excited to hear when those guys declare that they want to be back here and I would say on the surface we definitely want to have them back, but there's just so many other variables that exist that I can't really answer that question right now."
