First-year head coach Kellen Moore confident in young Saints QB room
First-year head coach Kellen Moore confident in young Saints QB room
This year's New Orleans Saints quarterbacks room doesn't look like last year's QB room. Derek Carr's retirement will be formalized in June, and the depth chart will shake out one way or another with Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler, or Jake Haener on top of it -- and Hunter Dekkers pushing those on the outside looking in for a backup job. It's a much younger room. Shough and Dekkers are both rookies. Rattler started six games last season, and Haener didn't make it to halftime in his lone start. You could make the argument that the Saints need a veteran in there to show the young guys the ropes.
But that isn't an argument Kellen Moore is buying. The first-year head coach spoke with reporters Monday before the Saints Hall of Fame golf tournament and expressed confidence in the young room, saying he's done it before, and that having so many former NFL quarterbacks on the coaching staff makes up for not having an experienced mentor in the locker room. This isn't a new approach for him. Just look at his quarterbacks since Moore began calling plays with the Dallas Cowboys back in 2019:
2019: Dak Prescott (age 26), backed up by Cooper Rush (26)
2020: Dak Prescott (age 27), backed up by Andy Dalton (33), Ben DiNucci (24), and Garrett Gilbert (29)
2021: Dak Prescott (age 28), backed up by Cooper Rush (28)
2022: Dak Prescott (age 29), backed up by Cooper Rush (29)
2023: Justin Herbert (age 25), backed up by Easton Stick (28)
2024: Jalen Hurts (age 26), backed up by Kenny Pickett (26) and Tanner McKee (24)
So for most of his own experience as a coach in the NFL, Moore has worked with younger quarterbacks (one small exception being Dalton's nine-game stint as the starter in 2020 after Prescott suffered a season-ending injury). Whether it's a rookie like Shough or a second- or third-year pro like Rattler or Haener starting this season, it's nothing new for him. And as Moore himself pointed out, having former pro quarterbacks on his coaching staff like Doug Nussmeier and Scott Tolzien goes a long way towards bridging the gap.
There's one other factor at play here we should mention, though Moore wouldn't admit it himself. If the kids stink it up this year and the Saints stumble in the first or second overall pick in the 2026 draft, that wouldn't be the worst thing. Having someone like Carson Wentz or Ryan Tannehill coming in off the bench and winning five or six games would dash that plan and leave New Orleans in the same purgatory they've been stuck in the last few years. You'd like to think Shough or Rattler can get the Saints back to the top of a weak division but that's no sure thing. So long as you're willing to practice patience and accept the consolation of a premium draft pick, this might be the best path forward.
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