Saints HC Kellen Moore on the Year-2 Expectations for QB Tyler Shough

Kellen Moore joined The Rich Eisen Show to talk about year two for quarterback Tyler Shough, and the New Orleans Saints head coach kept coming back to one word. Opportunity.

Rich opened by reminding Moore where his head coaching chair came from. Moore developed quarterbacks in this league. He helped take Jalen Hurts to a championship podium. So where, Rich asked, does Shough's development sit right now?

Moore said Shough is in a great spot. The exciting part for both player and coach is the offseason itself. Shough gets to take control of the room, lead the throwing sessions, and rally the group together. Then the staff gets to double down on the system. Year one was about install. Year two is about adjusting from a roster standpoint and a scheme standpoint, then tailoring the offense to what New Orleans actually wants to do collectively. Moore said Shough finished last season really well, and the early offseason work has built on that.

Rich pressed for a moment of clarity. When was the first time Moore looked at Shough and said, we have got this? Moore pointed to training camp first. Watching Shough grow each week. He noted the value of the early-season work as a scout team quarterback, where Shough could test himself in real situations without the lights fully on him.

Then came the live reps. Shough's first NFL start was against the Los Angeles Rams, one of the best teams in the league last year and, Moore said, set up to be again this year. The Rams got after the Saints. Shough hung in to the end. Moore gave him credit for that.

The following week New Orleans went to Carolina. The Saints had won one game to that point in the season. Shough hung in again, made third-down throws, played off-schedule when the play broke down, and scrambled for plays. Moore called that game a big-time moment for the entire program.

Rich shifted to Moore's own quarterback journey. Boise State to the NFL, sharing a quarterback room in Detroit with Matthew Stafford, Shaun Hill and Dan Orlovsky. Then a stint in Dallas with Tony Romo. How much of that experience does Moore bring to bear when he is coaching Shough now?

Moore called quarterback a developmental position. Every quarterback he was around had different exposures and different preferences. The fun part of the job, he said, is building systems around individual players and putting them in position to succeed. That comes from relationships and time.

Rich pushed on a more personal angle. Were there moments in Moore's playing career where, with the right opportunity or the right coaching, things might have gone differently? Moore said he loved playing. He got hurt in one of his last years in Dallas and watched Dak Prescott take off. Sometimes things happen for a reason. Coaching pulled him in, and Prescott became the star he is. Moore said he can relate to what he asks his quarterbacks to do because, to some degree, he has been there.

The conversation closed with a fun fact. After Moore left the league as a player, there was no left-handed quarterback in the NFL until Tua Tagovailoa.