Getty Kellen Moore
Hours after it was reported that he was unlikely to fill Boise State’s head-coaching vacancy, Kellen Moore signed a multi-year extension to remain the Dallas Cowboys‘ offensive coordinator, the team announced Saturday.
“I am very excited to remain with the Dallas Cowboys as the offensive coordinator,” Moore said in a statement Saturday night. “I will no longer be pursuing the head coaching job at Boise State. I love Boise State. I will always root for them, and I hope one day to be a part of the program again.”
Moore interviewed with BSU after now-former HC Bryan Harsin took the same job at Auburn. Speculation pointed to the 32-year-old returning to his alma mater; FootballScoop.com reported last weekend that a deal was close to being consummated.
And Moore admitted his interest in pursuing such an opportunity.
“Yeah, I want to be a head coach,” he said Monday. “But I think like anything, really I’m focused on this job right now. Again, we’ll go through this process and we’ll see where it’s at.”
But it went nowhere.
Given full play-calling autonomy, Moore knew he’s in an advantageous position, his gig secure with arguably the most recognizable franchise in professional sports history. And being one win (and outside help) away from an NFC East crown, entering Sunday’s regular-season finale, might have swayed him to stay put in Frisco.
“We are building something special here in Dallas,” Moore said Saturday. “I am thankful to the Jones family and Mike McCarthy for providing me with the opportunity to coach these special players. I am excited for us to put it all together and finish the job.”
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Before he’d call plays for the Cowboys, Moore was quarterbacking BSU from 2008-2011. He finished his collegiate tenure having completed 1,157 passes for 14,667 yards, 142 touchdowns and 28 interceptions. Moore was a Heisman finalist in 2010 and the first QB in FBS history to record at least 50 career wins.
Moore went undrafted in 2012 and lasted three seasons with the Detroit Lions before bolting to the Cowboys, with whom he’d spend the 2015-17 campaigns as a backup. In 2018, he announced his retirement and subsequent foray into coaching; his first gig was a big one: Cowboys QBs coach.
In 2019, Moore was promoted to OC under then-HC Jason Garrett. He was an instant hit with franchise QB Dak Prescott, devising an offense that ranked in the top-five in most statistical categories. One of the league’s most inventive minds, Moore was retained this past offseason by McCarthy, who ceded play-calling duties upon his hiring.
Dallas’ 2020 offense was off to a historic start, averaging nearly 40 points per game until Prescott suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 5. Still, Moore has displayed an ability to coax production out of backup QB Andy Dalton, who finished 22-of-30 for 377 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in last Sunday’s trouncing of the Eagles.
This ability will inevitably lead to additional college and NFL head-coaching interviews. But the timing of Moore’s extension — as well as its length — suggests the Cowboys have their own long-term plans. One potential scenario: Moore taking over for McCarthy if the team sags again in 2021. Don’t discount it.
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL