Less than 24 hours before the city of New Orleans hosts the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, a report arrived revealing the next head coach of the Saints.
He will be coaching in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Just before 11 p.m. ET Saturday night, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that Philadelphia offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is expected to take the Saints' open head coaching job, barring "any unexpected developments."
It is hard to imagine Moore doing anything so repugnant against the Chiefs that New Orleans would back off its preferred candidate, but the fact Schefter dropped the news so close to the big game filled Philadelphia fans with rage.
Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
"Dirty business dropping this night before the Super Bowl," a user replied to Schefter on X.
"Couldn’t have saved this until Monday huh?" said another response.
According to Schefter's report, Moore has been the leading candidate to take over the job in New Orleans since he completed two interviews in January.
He noted that the Saints are waiting to finalize the contract to avoid breaking NFL rules governing a no-contact period before the Super Bowl — something that tripped up the Arizona Cardinals when hiring former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
Schefter is under no such restriction to avoid dropping the news, even the night before the Super Bowl.
"Just announce this after the game why do this right now," complained an Eagles fan. "Such a joke shefty."
"Dropping this the night before the Super Bowl is nasty work Adam," one person said.
The Saints fired Dennis Allen during the season, leaving special teams coach Darren Rizzi as the interim while they finished the year 5-12, last in the NFC South.
It would be Moore's first head coaching position, having been an offensive coordinator for the Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Cowboys. Philadelphia ranks eighth in the NFL in total offense this season under Moore, averaging 367.2 yards per game.
