Falcons
- Per Ian Rapoport, the University of Florida hired former Falcons executive Nick Polk as Associate Athletic Director/Football GM.
Panthers
Panthers first-round WR Xavier Legette finished his rookie season with seven total dropped passes. Former Panthers WR Steve Smith Sr. thinks Legette lost confidence, pointing out how the rookie attacked the football with his body.
“I think he’s lost a little bit of his confidence in catching the football because of the drops,” Smith Sr. said, via PanthersWire. “And you can see it sometimes in how he’s attacking the football. He’s attacking the football with his whole body, almost grasping at the football. And I know that because I too had struggled with confidence.”
Smith mentioned how confidence can be shaken by several different situations when reflecting on his own career.
“Depending on the defender, depending on what happened during week, what’s going on with the weather—there’s a ton of things that impact your confidence that has nothing to do with a man’s heart. It has to do, sometimes, with just being a human being.”
In the end, Smith thinks Legette has “tremendous upside.”
“Based off of injuries, based off of what he did in college, you know and you can see that he’s a young man that’s learning, getting his feet wet in the National Football League, and I think he has a tremendous upside,” said Smith Sr..
Saints
The New Orleans Saints announced they have officially hired Eagles OC Kellen Moore as their next head coach. At his introductory press conference, owner Gayle Benson said it was clear Moore was the right person for the job and thanked Darren Rizzi for his time as interim head coach.
“At the start of the interview process, it was important to find a head coach who was the right fit for the New Orleans Saints organization,” Benson said, via NFL.com. “Through the search process, it became clear that Kellen is the right person to help us re-establish a winning program and culture that our fans are accustomed to and have come to expect. I would also like to thank Darren Rizzi for his service as interim coach and leading our team this past season. I am truly grateful to him.”
Saints GM Mickey Loomis said Moore has a “clear vision” for New Orleans.
“I would like to welcome Kellen Moore and his family to New Orleans,” Loomis said. “He is an outstanding communicator with the ability to lead people and has a clear vision for this football team. Through this head coaching search, we had the opportunity to meet with several impressive candidates and I thank them for their hard work and preparation in this process.”
Moore is grateful for his first head coaching job.
“I am excited to join the New Orleans Saints and deeply appreciate the faith that Mrs. Benson and the entire Saints organization have placed in me,” Moore said. “I look forward to embracing the challenges ahead and am eager to get started. I would also like to thank the Philadelphia Eagles for an incredible 2024 season. I’m excited to begin this new chapter.”
- Jeff Howe of The Athletic polled 10 NFL personnel executives and coaches on who the top head coaching hires were this offseason, with Moore finishing in fifth place.
- One executive noted the following about Moore: “All they’ve done this year is run the ball. He had a reputation coming out of Dallas as being pass-happy, so this shows me he can run an offense to fit their strengths, which is cool to see. I’m just concerned about the roster and cap situation. It might look a lot like it did with (Allen).”
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