In the coming days, the New Orleans Saints are expected to hire former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to be their new head coach. While Moore is coming off a Super Bowl LIX victory, was he New Orleans’ first pick for the job?
According to Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan, the Saints job was Kliff Kingsbury’s to take should the Washington Commanders offensive coordinator have wanted it. However, he pulled his name out of the running two weeks ago, opting to remain with Dan Quinn and continue calling plays for phenom Jayden Daniels.
Kingsbury had interest from a couple of different teams, including the Chicago Bears, but he was never a lock to leave Washington after just one season. The former Arizona Cardinals lead man told reporters last month he would like to be a head coach again someday, but loved his situation in Washington.
“I won’t comment on that,” Kingsbury said, “but we’ll see how everything plays out but I’m very happy here. This has been an awesome, awesome place and has really helped me kind of rekindle my love for the sport.”
The Commanders shocked the NFL world by making the NFC Championship Game in 2024 after going 4-13 last year. Washington’s rookie quarterback was the key facilitator of the swift turnaround, as he broke rookie records for completion percentage (69%) and rushing yards (891) while becoming one of two first-year quarterbacks in NFL history to win 10 games while accounting for 4,000 total yards and 30 total touchdowns. It was a historic campaign that culminated with the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
Daniels quickly established himself as a star, but Kingsbury deserves credit for Washington’s success as well. His up-tempo, almost no-huddle offense kept defenses on their toes, and the system as a whole evolved from Week 1 to Week 18 as Daniels became more comfortable. Kingsbury clearly believes there’s something special going on in Washington, and he’s not ready to leave just yet.
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Author: Jordan Dajani
February 10, 2025 | 1:56 pm
