Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has interviewed for the head coaching job at Boise State, as Mike Prater of the Idaho Press was first to report (via Twitter). Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, meanwhile, says the interview has not happened yet, but he confirms that Boise State is interested in Moore and would like to speak with him soon (Twitter link).
Regardless of whether a summit has taken place, it sounds as if the interest is mutual. Moore, 32, quarterbacked Boise State from 2008-11 and finished in the top-10 in Heisman voting in three out of his four seasons on campus. According to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, Moore sees the Broncos’ HC gig as a “highly attractive opportunity,” and he is in the last year of his contract with the Cowboys.
Moore’s collegiate success as a player did not translate to the pros, as he suited up for just three regular season games in his NFL career. However, he became Dallas’ quarterbacks coach in 2018 and was elevated to OC in 2019. He has called the team’s offensive plays in each of the past two years, and his unit was the best in the league last season in terms of total offense. It looked as though the Cowboys would be equally prolific this year, but injuries to quarterback Dak Prescott and the team’s O-line have obviously made life difficult.
Still, Moore’s work has attracted plenty of attention. The University of Washington wanted to hire him as its OC last season, but Moore stayed with the Cowboys and managed to adapt to new head coach Mike McCarthy‘s schemes. He might now have the chance to run a prolific college program now that Boise State’s former HC, Bryan Harsin, has accepted the head coaching job at Auburn.
If Moore does leave, it’s unclear if McCarthy — who will be retained for 2021 — would take over play-calling duties.
MM calling plays…going backwards. Love to see JJ wallow in his own football puke.
Major step down, in my opinion
Not really….he’s a hero in Boise. He can stay there and lead the team and job security is pretty decent as long as he goes 8-4 every year or better.
In Dallas he’ll be fired within 2-3 years because expectations are super bowl every year and they haven’t played in one since the mid 90s and aren’t close to returning.
He’d be fired in Dallas in two weeks if the Cowboys make the right call
And coaches that get fired get paid their salary to not work. Coaches at a place like Boise State can run the table every year and will always be treated like a stepchild while they get hosed out of the CFP.
Since the Cowboys are insisting on sticking with McCarthy, the smartest move for them would be to build their roster around his schemes. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, that scheme is both offensively and defensively the antithesis to what they were doing before (moreso defensively). Moore and the offensive skill players are good enough to at least be productive, as seen the last couple of games, but the question remains regarding Prescott’s ability to mesh with whatever the offense would look like under McCarthy. McCarthy already has begun to transition the defense to his preferred style (though he is an offensive coach), and likely will do so soon on offense, which is likely mean getting rid of Moore anyway-or reducing his control.
As for Moore, I really would not be surprised to see him take that job. While I have high confidence in his playcalling ability, plus his actual experience playing position, there are going to be things that he’ll need to learn in the college coaching game. While the pros likely helped him hone his schemes much better than the Mountain West could, NFL teams don’t recruit and certainly don’t need to worry about boosters, athletic departments, academic requirements, or the NCAA. Plus, his youth hurts slightly in that he does not have an established network of assistants to call in on his initial staff. It’ll be a lot for a first time head coach to adapt to and Moore would likely struggle with that at first.
All that said, the opportunity seems almost irresistible. I mean, Moore not only played the position on that exact field at that exact school against those same opponents, he did so pretty recently. And he did so at a legendary clip. He’s proven to have exceeded expectations as a very raw playcaller professionally. If Moore can overcome the struggles of a first time head coach, I think his unique history and experience could be really good for Boise State.
Moore isn’t in jeopardy of being fired soon. He is Jerry’s new crush and we all know how long he keeps those around. I am an unabashed Cowboy hater mostly because of the fans. I hope they do opposite of whatever is better for the team. Keeping MM is the beginning letting JJ keep making decisions is right there too.
Jerry doesn’t dislike him at all, I agree on that. Moore got his job because of Jerry’s liking for him, and it proved to be a good call. But how long do you think McCarthy will stand aside not calling plays? Or having to share the playbook with another guy’s offensive system, a guy that predates him in the organization? It would be one thing if the Cowboys were winning, but since they’re not, McCarthy will feel greater need to take more control of the offense I think. And it’s an easier sell to Jones than it would be with a winning season.
And on the other end, how long will Moore want to split control with McCarthy? He may want out himself. This is all speculative of course. They may actually get along. But I even if they do, I think they each want to call the plays that they feel most confident in-plays that the other guy might not be so confident in.
I don’t think Moore would be fired, by the way. It would be “mutual parting of ways” or the like. Unless Moore stays next year and the Cowboys just bomb their first few games, he wouldn’t be fired outright. But these factors could make more inclined to leave for Boise of his own accord, instead of staying in Dallas. McCarthy is just tolerating him for Jones right now, and the only question in this scenario would be how much Jones tries to convince Moore to stay.
The offense isn’t the problem in Dallas. It’s the defense. Even with a second and third string OL, due to all of the injuries, they are still putting points on the board.
As a big Boise fan this would be fun to see. He would prob be able to recruit better than harsin and could really put up some numbers in that conference
If he gets a bag of money to coach college ball, he should take it. NFL just chews these guys up.