4 things to know about Dolphins head coach finalist Kellen Moore

The Miami Dolphins are coming to the end of their coaching search with second interviews expected to take place in the following week. Miami has two finalists for the position after the third, Brian Daboll, was hired to become the head coach of the New York Giants.

Miami’s finalists are San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel and Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

With a hiring likely taking place in the next week or so, now would be as good of a time as any to get to know these guys just a little bit more. Here are four things to know about Moore.

He's only been coaching for fours seasons

Moore was a backup throughout his six-year NFL career, but when he retired in 2017, he immediately jumped to the coaching staff. Dallas, where he played his final three seasons, was looking for a new quarterbacks coach with Wade Wilson (who had been their quarterbacks coach since 2007) retiring.

The quarterback made the move to coaching and was promoted to the offensive coordinator under Jason Garrett the following year. When Garrett was fired at the end of the 2019 season, Dallas kept Moore in place as the offensive coordinator under new head coach Mike McCarthy.

He was the last left quarterback before Tua Tagovailoa

Being a left-handed quarterback is extremely rare in the NFL. While roughly 12% of the world is left-handed, there are usually very few leading your favorite team. Before Tua Tagovailoa was drafted by the Dolphins in 2020, there had been none in the league since Moore’s retirement.

This may help him relate to Tagovailoa while coaching.

Jerry Jones made sure he didn't leave for the Boise State opening

When the job became open at Moore’s alma mater last winter, it looked like there was a chance he could jump to the collegiate coaching ranks and lead the Broncos. However, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made it worth Moore’s while to stay in Dallas by giving him an extension that was reported to be for roughly $2 million per year.

With defensive coordinator Dan Quinn (who interviewed for the Dolphins job) deciding to turn down head coach opportunities in favor of a new contract with Dallas, it’d be fair to wonder if Moore will receive a similar bump again.

His offenses have been solid when he's had his starting quarterback.

Moore’s had some strong offensive performances in three seasons as offensive coordinator. In 2019, his offense was first in yards and sixth in points. Those numbers dropped in 2020 due to Dak Prescott missing a majority of the season, but they were still 13th in yards and 17th in points. Then, when Prescott returned this past season, they jumped back up to second in yards and first in points.

It’s tough to project that Miami could be a top-five offense under Moore, but he has a strong track record.

1

1