Saints CEO’s jaw-dropping gaffe steals the show at Kellen Moore’s introductory press conference as head coach
Saints CEO Gayle Benson mispronounced new head coach Kellen Moore's name during his introduction on Thursday.
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Kellen Moore (Image via IMAGO)
New Orleans Saints CEO Gayle Benson channeled her inner Cherelle Parker while introducing Kellen Moore as the team’s new head coach on Thursday. Moore took over from interim coach Darren Rizzi, who had to step in after Dennis Allen was fired last year.
After a long while, the Saints brass seemed really happy about their new head coach. Moore was the mastermind behind the Eagles’ 40-22 win over the Chiefs at Super Bowl LIX on February 9.
The 36-year-old devised the offensive plays for Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley on their way to winning the Super Bowl MVP and Offensive Player of the Year awards. Saints zoned in on Moore for quite some time, and hours after lifting the Lombardi Trophy inside Saints Stadium, the brass announced his appointment as the new head coach.
Saints CEO Gayle Benson welcomed Kellen Moore to the Saints organization in a very interesting manner.
We wanted a coach that was exceptionally bright, creative and most importantly, a tremendous leader. I believe that’s exactly what we have in ELLEN Moore.
Gayle Benson said
Saints head coach Ellen Moore pic.twitter.com/mzhiMCWsdS
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) February 13, 2025
The excitement may have gotten the better of Benson. It’s understandable because the Saints finally signed a coach with a good track record of developing quarterbacks for the first time since Sean Payton left.
When we began this coaching search, we were all aligned. Exceptionally bright, creative and a tremendous leader… been a winner in every stage of his career.
Gayle Benson concluded
Kellen Moore is ready to cooperate with Derek Carr
Destiny can sometimes be funny. Moore is the youngest head coach in the league, and a couple of his players are older or near the same age as him. One of them is quarterback Derek Carr.
There have been reported cases when a young guy takes charge of the coaching; players tend to give the cold shoulder and do whatever they feel is best for the team. However, there’s always the exception. Sean McVay won the Super Bowl when he was the same age as Moore with an aging Matthew Stafford.
Moore has nothing against Carr. He is looking forward to working with the 4x Pro Bowler.
Derek’s a tremendous quarterback in this league. I have so much respect for him for the journey that he’s been on—a starter in this league, a premier player in this league.
Kellen Moore told the Associated Press
#Saints HC Kellen Moore pretty non-committal on Derek Carr being his QB1 pic.twitter.com/4OOFlKLLeH
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) February 13, 2025
The Saints fans just need to study Payton’s career in New Orleans. When the Saints hired him, Payton was 42 and won a Super Bowl. So maybe history will repeat itself.
Unfortunately, Moore will have very little to work with on the monetary front. The Saints are at the bottom in terms of cap space with $54,112,537 over the cap, with Carr occupying 54.1% of the budget.
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