Theory: Kellen Moore is Secretly the Highest Paid Coach in the NFL
 

When the Saints were pursuing Kellen Moore, there was speculation he could make about $10 million per year, just below more sought after candidates like Ben Johnson and Liam Cohen, and also that he had concerns about the Saints QB room. Fast forward to today and Moore's contract details have never been released, while his concern and authority over the QB room has disappeared, as Mickey Loomis has announced that Carr is the Saints QB and they are planning to work something out with Carr's contract, which means a restructure or extension as Carr has said he will never take a pay cut.

In Jacksonville, Liam Cohen had similar concerns, in his case about GM Trent Baalke, but ultimately his concerns were addressed with the firing of Baalke, and he set the market at $12 million a year for an up and coming offensive coordinator whose concerns were addressed with personnel action. So what is the market for an up and coming offensive coordinator, of similar ability, with similar concerns, where the front office would rather address concerns with the check book than personnel action? Essentially the Jags got Liam Cohen for $12 million a year, but couldn't get an NDA on Trent Baalke sucking thrown in for that price. So what is the price for Kellen Moore as coach plus an NDA on Derek Carr sucking? 50% premium? 100% premium?

Here is a look at the highest paid coaches for contract details that have been released:

https://frontofficesports.com/highes...-head-coaches/

If Moore got a 50% premium over Cohen for agreeing to the NDA that Cohen wouldn't that puts Moore at $18 million per year, tied with Sean Payton for 2nd highest paid coach in the NFL. Ironically, Payton's record contract came along with initially endorsing a QB he didn't believe in, albeit only for 1 year, though it also paid for a coach of much higher stature. Mickey Loomis seems to have plans for Derek Carr beyond just 1 year.

If Moore got a 100% premium over Cohen for the NDA and his wonderful acting job in smiling and praising Loomis and Carr, that puts him at $24 million per year, highest paid coach in the NFL over Andy Reid by $4 million, and honestly still a good value compared to Derek Carr's contract.

As the last credible candidate who wouldn't make the Saints coaching search look like a joke, Moore had the Saints over a barrel. But the one thing he likely asked for, a QB with upside who would stay on the field that he could mold, was the one thing GM Mickey Loomis would never give in a million years. So the solution was obvious, cash money. If losses racked up under Carr could cost Moore a second coaching contract, pay him double to suck it up and trot ole hickory out there for one last go.

Of course, I could just be pulling all this out of my arse. It would be so simple to disprove. Just release the contract details like Ben Johnson and Liam Cohen's contracts. Simple. Then people wouldn't have to ask why the details were not released and what the Saints are hiding. But the details have not been released, which means we do have to ask why not?

If the Saints won't leak Moore's contract details, why wouldn't Moore's people, such as his agent, leak the numbers? The easiest explanation in most cases would be that an agent or coach would not want to leak low numbers, that lower their stature as a high profile new coach. But in this case where Moore was the Saints only credible option and was negotiating immediately after a Super Bowl win, its hard to believe he got underpaid and didn't at least match Cohen. So that explanation is out the window. That brings up another explanation, that Moore was paid not just to be coach, and to smile and ignore his concerns with a Derek Carr NDA, but also to include a salary NDA, to cover up the payment for the Carr NDA. This could be bolstered by Moore not wanting to expose himself to public criticism for taking extra money to endorse a QB he doesn't believe in, as public knowledge of a Kellen Moore salary in excess of $18 million per year combined with an endorsement of Derek Carr after previously leaked concerns would make it clear to everyone what was going on, that Moore did not control the QB room. Combine the Carr NDA with the salary NDA and that is asking a lot of Kellen Moore beyond just coaching the team, having to endorse a QB he doesn't believe in and the salary compensating him for it, greatly risking his own reputation. With all these conditions on Moore's contract, risking his own reputation and forcing him to join the ridiculous contingent of Derek Carr stans with Mickey Loomis and a few online trolls, its easy to see how he could have demanded double what Liam Cohen was paid for getting everything he wanted with Baalke's exit and his own hand picked GM. That would make him the highest paid head coach in the NFL. Actually it would make Kellen Moore the highest paid coach in all of American professional sports, trailing only two European soccer coaches.

Sean Payton's contract is a good example of a slightly different case. The Broncos were in a similar situation with Russell Wilson. Payton's contract made him the highest paid coach in the NFL at the time he signed, after expressing concerns with the Broncos QB situation. But they did make his record contract public. Making Payton's record contract public was a bad look for the Broncos, with commentators speculating thats what it took to secure a top coaching candidate willing to take on Wilson's diva personality and albatross contract. It was a good look for Sean Payton, showing he was valued as a top coach in the league and willing to take on any challenge, but wasn't drinking the kool aid on mediocre QBs and was getting fairly compensated for the challenging situation he put himself in. Ultimately, disclosing the contract was costly to the Broncos and valuable to Payton, so not disclosing it should have cost even more in terms of coaching salary. That seems to be the path the Saints have taken.

You can say this is a ridiculous conspiracy theory, but then why won't the Saints or Moore's camp just release the contract details?

You can say this doesn't matter since its Gayle's money and won't count against the cap and the more we spent the more it shows we are committed to compete. But then you can't say 'if Moore believe in Derek Carr, I do." If a person who has cashed a check for an amount of money that nobody wants to disclose believes in something the people who wrote that check believe in, I reserve the right to be highly skeptical.

Just release the contract! If there is nothing to hide, prove it!

Re: Theory: Kellen Moore is Secretly the Highest Paid Coach in the NFL
 

Interesting if true ...

Re: Theory: Kellen Moore is Secretly the Highest Paid Coach in the NFL
 

I suspect that Moore got a pretty sweet deal. There was no indication of second thoughts about Moore staying in Philly as OC - and I thought there would be some of that. If we overpaid that is fine ... the PR nightmare of losing out on Moore and having to settle for Kafka or someone else would've been gnarly.

Re: Theory: Kellen Moore is Secretly the Highest Paid Coach in the NFL
 

I think you nailed the highlighted text. LOL!

Besides, who the hell gives a flying rat's arse about a coach's pay? As you pointed out, it is a private matter between the owner and the coach. I actually asked Nick Underwood some time back about the lack of disclosure of coaching contracts when we first hired Dennis Allen as head coach. He said it wasn't shared and likely wouldn't be. He said their salaries are routinely left private, especially for new head coaches because they are relatively less remarkable. When it is shared it comes from the coach's agent as a feather in their own hat about how much his client got paid.

But, keep wearing that tin hat. It becomes you. ;)

Re: Theory: Kellen Moore is Secretly the Highest Paid Coach in the NFL
 

Other teams disclose coaching contracts. There is absolutely no reason they need to be private. In a league where all player contracts are public, coaches whose contracts are public such as Andy Reid and Bill Belichick have been more successful than those with private contracts who don't live by the standards their players do. How would you feel if your boss made everyone's salary public but their own?

Do you really think Moore's agent is keeping his contract secret because the number is low? The Saints had no other credible options. Several others said no. Moore won the Super Bowl with a stellar offensive performance. Dude is getting paid enough to brag about.

Its very possible that DA was being paid well too. Remember, Mickey Loomis compared DA to Belichick. Maybe Loomis gave him Belichick money. That would explain sticking with him long after he lost the team.

As to Nick Underhill, he is not totally independent, as he depends on the Saints front office for inside information. As such, he is beholden to them, and will often do their bidding. Probably he is just some kid who got creeped on by a priest and Gayle agreed to make him a Saints insider in return for keeping silent on the matter.

Re: Theory: Kellen Moore is Secretly the Highest Paid Coach in the NFL
 

No. Other teams do not disclose contract info. Certainly not without the expressed consent of the Coach and his agent. If any contract info is made public it can only be from the coach and/or agent themselves.

As for Underhill, I'll guarantee you that he knows more about the workings of the NFL and the Saints, in general, than you will ever understand. By the way, I also asked Kat Terrell at the same time what she knew of any contract details for DA and she simply responded with a simple one word, "Nothing".

But back to the article you posted. It listed Sportico as a source for the contract numbers. The link within the article to Sportico guides us to their sources. As they explained:

Sportico identified 10 current NFL coaches who currently earn at least $9 million a year, based on conversations with a half-dozen people familiar with NFL coaching contracts.

Those "half-dozen people" are undoutedly agents that are more than willing to share those numbers when the numbers are higher. When they are toward the low end? Much less likely.

Re: Theory: Kellen Moore is Secretly the Highest Paid Coach in the NFL
 

Do you really believe Kellen Moore's contract is 'on the lower end?' All our other top candidates backed out. We were desperate. Loomis made it clear that any candidate had to be on the same page as him and that he supported Carr. Then Kellen Moore went on to win the Super Bowl with his offense putting up 40 points on the Chiefs vaunted D.

Call me crazy but I think you hide something when you have something to hide. I am sure there were a lot of priests transferred out of New Orleans and what people heard about why they were transfered was "nothing" because it was "a private matter" that "happens all the time."

When NFL team have something to hide about a coaching contract in many cases it may be a low number. But under these circumstances its likely the opposite, a number so high it makes everyone look desperate, the Saints for a credible candidate who would agree to work with Carr and the Saints cap mess, and Moore desperate for money for getting so much that merely being considered a top candidate like Ben Johnson couldn't explain it, and only settling on Carr for Cash could.

Re: Theory: Kellen Moore is Secretly the Highest Paid Coach in the NFL
 

I believe I need to call you crazy then. Everything is some sort of conspiracy with you. Tin hats of every style must be on your hat rack.

:rolleyes:

Re: Theory: Kellen Moore is Secretly the Highest Paid Coach in the NFL
 

Everything is some sort of conspiracy with you too. In my conspiracies Loomis is the villain. In yours he is the hero whose guaranteed 17-0 seasons brought about by amazing cap genius that makes him the most innovative GM in the league that every other team is seeking to emulate have only been dashed from their true destiny of many multiple championships by completely unforeseeable injuries that the rest of us just predict to be bitter and by the lack of fan faith and support in future GOAT QB Derek Carr and hall of fame coach Dennis Allen. The injuries with an aging roster, losing seasons, and firings I predict happen. The amazing winning seasons of glory you predict don't. Then you blame injury year after year after year and won't admit any contract is bad when the team goes 5-12. Ultimately your conspiracy theory of Mickey Loomis underappreciated genius and Saints as unluckiest victim of completely unforeseeable injuries is the crazy one. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. That, Guido, is you.

Re: Theory: Kellen Moore is Secretly the Highest Paid Coach in the NFL
 

Ramble away, dude. :rolleyes: I can fashion you a nifty bowler out of Reynolds Wrap.