The Eagles turned to their biggest rival to fill the vacant offensive coordinator position.
Kellen Moore, who coached the Cowboys to three top-6 offensive rankings in four years in Dallas, will be the Eagles' new offensive coordinator, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Saturday night.
Moore replaces Brian Johnson, who was fired after three years with the Eagles, as offensive coordinator last season. Moore will be the Eagles' third offensive coordinator in three years.
Moore spent last year with the Chargers as OC under Brandon Staley, who was fired last month and replaced by former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.
Nick Sirianni said Wednesday that whoever brings him in as offensive coordinator will provide their own scheme and structure instead of calling plays within Sirianni's offense.
“We're bringing in a guy to bring new ideas, to do the things he's done in the past,” he said Wednesday. “It would be crazy not to add some of the things we've done in the past here as well. …
“We're working on getting the best guy here for the job, a guy who has a vision, a guy who's going to run plays, a guy who's going to be able to coach the quarterback. … So it's just a matter of getting the right guy and then we'll decide where that goes. But I I appointed him to do a job and be responsible for the crime.
The Eagles ranked seventh in the NFL in scoring last season, but the offense has become stale and predictable as the year has gone on. They have scored fewer than 20 points in five of their last seven games, and in their loss in Tampa, the Eagles scored just nine points.
Moore, 35, spent parts of six seasons as a backup quarterback with the Lions (2012-14) and Cowboys (2015-17) before beginning his coaching career in 2018 as the Cowboys' quarterbacks coach. After one year, he was promoted to offensive coordinator and held that position from 2019-2022.
The Cowboys ranked sixth, 17th, first and fourth in Moore's four years on offense, the first year under Jason Garrett and three under Mike McCarthy. Oddly enough, both Johnson and Moore coached Dak Prescott – Johnson at Mississippi State and Moore with the Cowboys.
After the Cowboys lost to the 49ers 19-12 in a conference semifinal game in Santa Clara last year, the Cowboys and Moore parted ways. A day later, he was hired by the Chargers, and in his only season in Los Angeles, the Chargers went 5-12 and ranked 21st in offense.
Killeen was one of only three known candidates for the position. Former Cards coach Kliff Kingsbury and Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson also gave an interview. All three were major college quarterbacks.
That just goes to show you how important this hire is to Jalen Hurts, whose performance has declined under Johnson, and who was coached by Hurts' father in high school.
“It's really important that these two guys work side by side to make sure we get back to where we need to be,” Sirianni said.
During Moore's four years in Dallas as offensive coordinator and play-caller, the Cowboys averaged 27.7 points per game — second-most in the NFL behind the Chiefs' 28.8. During his five years in Dallas as the QBs or OC coach, they had the fourth-most receiving yards in the NFL with 256 yards per game.
Moore's only NFL playing time came with the Cowboys at the end of the 2015 season.
With Tony Romo injured and Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassel struggling, Moore played in the final three games, starting two, throwing four touchdowns and six interceptions versus the Jets, Bills and Washington. He threw for 435 yards with three TDs against Washington in his final NFL appearance. Moore is the first head coach, offensive or defensive coordinator in Eagles history who played or coached for the Cowboys at any time before joining the Eagles.