Sports
New Orleans Saints Took Their Time To Hire Kellen Moore, and It May Pay Off
Kellen Moore was on the fast track to becoming an NFL head coach.
The New Orleans Saints weren’t going to be rushed into hiring their head coach.
Eventually, two timelines intersected in a mutually beneficial way when the Saints hired Moore two days after he coordinated the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense in their Super Bowl LIX victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
It was the right choice for the employer and the employee.
Moore, at age 36, is the youngest head coach in the NFL but one who has been preparing for this opportunity for a very long time. He decided he wanted to be a football coach while watching his father, Tom, coach his team at Prosser (Wash.) High School.
He started taking detailed notes even before he played quarterback on his father’s team. Moore recognized that he wasn’t the most athletic quarterback, and the key to his success was going to be his mental skill.
His smarts and film study helped him become a very successful quarterback at Boise State, which led to a six-year career in the NFL, mostly as a backup.
Though his studiousness didn’t lead to a notable NFL playing career, it did accelerate his preparation to be a coach.
Moore started his coaching career as the Cowboys’ quarterbacks coach in 2018 and the next year began a four-year stint as that team’s offensive coordinator, a position he held with the Chargers in 2023 before joining the Eagles last offseason.
Despite his relatively short resume, Moore has been on the radar of head coach-needy teams for a few years now.
When this hiring season began, seven teams were looking for new coaches, but each knew that they would have to be patient if they wanted to hire Moore because Philadelphia kept on winning.
Six of them made hires before the Eagles won the NFC Championship.
The Saints took their time.
They had preliminary talks with Moore, and he was intrigued from the start. Almost without exception, the former Saints players and coaches he encountered had told him “how great the New Orleans Saints organization is.”
The Saints were one of the most successful organizations under the Benson family ownership, general manager Mickey Loomis and former head coach Sean Payton from 2006 to 2021. When Payton resigned after the 2021 season, the organization understandably opted for continuity by promoting Dennis Allen from defensive coordinator.
But the team has now missed the playoffs four straight seasons, including Payton’s final one.
One can never be sure what role (if any) fate plays in events, but in retrospect there are signs that this partnership was meant to be.
The Super Bowl victory took place in the Caesars Superdome, which Moore visited twice this past season and will now be his home stadium.
The Saints were the most dominant team in the NFL during the first two weeks of the season, and when the Eagles visited New Orleans in Week 3, Moore said he was reminded that “this is a really hard place (for opponents) to play.”
Moore’s offense produced a touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter that gave his team a 15-12 victory and triggered a seven-game losing streak for New Orleans. The tailspin led owner Gayle Benson to fire Allen despite Loomis’ hesitancy.
When it came time to undertake another coaching search, continuity wasn’t going to be an asset for any candidate, not even interim head coach Darren Rizzi.
There are similarities between Moore and Payton when the latter was hired as a young (42), well-regarded offensive assistant after New Orleans’ 3-13 season in 2005.
But Moore isn’t Payton and shouldn’t try to be.
Still, as the Saints navigate the worst salary-cap situation in the NFL and face decisions on several key players past their prime, Moore—like Payton before him—brings a fresh set of eyes in evaluating a roster that must be overhauled.
The money quote from Moore’s introductory news conference came when he said that taking on two new opportunities in the previous two seasons enabled him to do something essential to his growth—“to get out of my comfort zone.”
And that’s something that New Orleans’ stagnant franchise needs.
Sports
Red Sox tackle Blue Jays to secure sixth straight series win
Jul 26, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images Boston Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez and four relievers combined to shut down the visiting Toronto Blue Jays in a 6-1 win Sunday.
Boston, which has won 17 of its last 19 games, won a sixth straight series.
Suarez, pitching for the first time since July 5 due to a groin strain, was taken out after four scoreless innings and 64 pitches. The southpaw allowed four hits with no walks and struck out six.
Greg Weissert (3-2), Tyron Guerrero, Justin Slaten and Ryan Watson scattered five Blue Jays hits the rest of the way.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman (4-10) allowed three runs and five hits in six innings. The right-hander walked one and struck out six in 98 pitches.
Toronto has lost eight straight Gausman starts, and the 35-year-old has not won since May 22.
Boston jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third when Andruw Monasterio led off with a single off the Green Monster. He scored on a two-out single by Ceddanne Rafaela.
The Red Sox added two more in the fourth when Willson Contreras led off with a walk and Caleb Durbin singled. Romy Gonzalez laid down a bunt to sacrifice the runners to second and third, and Jarren Duran drove them both in with a single to center for a 3-0 lead.
Suarez, meanwhile, kept the Blue Jays off balance.
His only trouble came in the fourth inning when Alejandro Kirk and George Springer hit back-to-back one-out singles. Suarez, however, induced Daulton Varsho to hit into a fielder’s choice and then struck out Kazuma Okamoto looking to end the threat.
The Red Sox scored three more in the seventh.
Duran led off with a single and Monasterio walked. Carlos Narvaez bunted them over and pinch hitter Jahmai Jones doubled them both in with a drive off the wall in center.
Jones came home when Wilyer Abreu broke an 0-for-20 streak with a double off the wall in left.
The Blue Jays finally broke through in the ninth with three hits. Andres Gimenez drove in Varsho with two outs for their lone run.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Birthday boy Ryan O'Hearn leads Pirates past Cubs
Jul 26, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe (left) and designated hitter Bryan Reynolds (10) greet first baseman Ryan O’Hearn (29) crossing home plate on a grand slam home run against the Chicago Cubs during the third inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Ryan O’Hearn celebrated his 32nd birthday by belting his second grand slam of the season and fourth of his career as the host Pittsburgh Pirates held on for an 8-7 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.
Pittsburgh’s Shawn Ross launched a two-run homer in his second MLB game while rookie Esmerlyn Valdez also went deep and added an RBI single
Brandon Lowe collected three hits and two runs as the Pirates snapped a three-game losing streak in the finale of the three-game series.
The offensive explosion proved just enough for Braxton Ashcraft (10-4), who allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings.
Carmen Mlodzinski bridged the gap to Mason Montgomery, who surrendered Seiya Suzuki’s two-run homer in the ninth before retiring the next two batters to secure his second save.
Pete Crow-Armstrong ripped an RBI triple and Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Pedro Ramirez each had an RBI single for the Cubs.
Swanson opened the scoring in the second with an RBI single, but that slim advantage didn’t last long.
Valdez sent a 1-1 cutter from Jameson Taillon (2-6) over the left center wall to lead off the second inning. Valdez’s homer was his 14th of the season and eighth in his last 13 games. After O’Hearn walked, Ross deposited a 3-2 cutter over the wall in left.
The Pirates loaded the bases in the third before O’Hearn deposited a 0-1 fastball from Taillon over the wall in center to stake his team to a 7-1 lead. The homer by O’Hearn was his 17th of the season and first since he went deep three times — highlighted by a grand slam — in a 12-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on July 7.
Taillon permitted seven runs on six hits in four innings to fall to 0-5 in his last eight outings.
Chicago scored three times in the fourth before Valdez’s broken-bat RBI single off Ryan Rolison extended Pittsburgh’s advantage to 8-5 in the fifth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jerry Kelly holds on to win 'indescribable' Senior Open title
Jerry Kelly hits out of a bunker on hole No. 14 during round 3 of the Kaulig Companies PGA Championship, July 11, 2026, at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Jerry Kelly turned a clutch bunker shot on the final hole into a birdie and won the ISPS Handa Senior Open by two shots on Sunday in Auchterarder, Scotland.
Kelly, 59, delivered his third consecutive round of 2-under-par 68 on The King’s Gleneagles course and finished at 10-under 270 to win the fifth and final major tournament of the season.
Matt Gogel, Darren Fichardt of South Africa and Cameron Percy of Australia all finished two shots back in a tie for second place.
With a one-shot lead on the par-5 closing hole, Kelly found the bunker with his second shot. The Madison, Wisc., native put the bunker shot to within 4 feet and made the putt for his first Senior Open title and his third major victory on the Champions Tour.
“It’s indescribable to win it,” said Kelly, who now has 15 overall victories on the Champions Tour. “The senior Claret Jug is the trophy that I’ve wanted as an over-50 golfer other than any other. To do it in Scotland, at the home of golf … I mean, I’m absolutely speechless.”
Tied for the lead with Percy at the start of the final round, Kelly was 2 under through five holes before his first bogey of the day at No. 6. He bounced back by birdieing the par-3 eighth. Kelly also had a bogey at No. 11 before he reeled off six consecutive pars that led into his birdie at 18.
“My brain, actually, was the most successful part of my game,” Kelly said. “In the past I would have gotten down that I wasn’t striking it the way I’d like to strike it. But instead of worrying about that, I just went and took care of the next shot.
“I learned a lot about myself today, and I wish I would have learned it about 20, 30 years ago.”
Gogel worked his way into contention with a 7-under 63 in the final round as he shot a 4-under 30 on the front nine. He also had birdies at Nos. 10 and 12 to close the gap, then wrapped his round with his seventh birdie of the day at No. 18.
“Certainly by 10, when I had a two-putt birdie there, I was thinking, ‘Geez, we keep this thing going, we have a chance to get a high finish,'” Gogel said.
Percy (even-par 70) had a rocky ride in the final round and was at 2 over the front nine. He had his first birdie of the day at No. 10 before another bogey at No. 11. He gathered himself down the stretch for two more birdies but was unable to collect another at the 18th.
Percy missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole that would have put more pressure on Kelly.
Fichardt shot a 4-under 66 to close in on Kelly. He started his round with a bogey on the first hole, but had a strong finish with birdies at Nos. 14, 15 and 18.
Kely remained undaunted with his one-putt birdie to win it.
“To be on this trophy, to be a part of this trophy, to be a part of the R&A — I just love it over here, I really do,” Kelly said. “It brings it full circle that I didn’t do what I wanted to in the Open Championship but to get it done here, I mean, I’m over the moon.”
–Field Level Media
The Ozlo Sleepbuds 2 launch with better battery life and a lower price point than their predecessor
Red Sox tackle Blue Jays to secure sixth straight series win
