Eagles' Super Bowl-winning coordinator Kellen Moore will become the Saints head coach

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Kellen Moore, who oversaw the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles ' offense this season, has agreed to return to the site of his latest triumph as the next coach of the New Orleans Saints.

The 36-year-old Moore will join an organization that has been floundering since the retirement of quarterback Drew Brees and departure of Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton. The Saints haven’t made the playoffs since the 2020 season — the last of Brees' career.

Their interest in Moore became increasingly evident as the club waited longer to fill its vacancy than any other NFL team seeking a new coach this year.

Moore was the only assistant coach on either Super Bowl team to be interviewed by New Orleans and thus the only candidate who, under league rules, could not be hired until after Sunday's title game was played. The Saints announced their agreement with Moore on Tuesday.

Their decision mirrors that of several teams that have found success after hiring relatively young offensive coaches. They included the Los Angeles Rams with Sean McVay, Green Bay with Matt LaFleur, Miami with Mike McDaniel and Minnesota with 2024 AP Coach of the Year Kevin O'Connell. All four of those coaches were hired while in their 30s.

“I look forward to embracing the challenges ahead and am eager to get started," Moore, whose formal introduction is scheduled for Thursday, said in a statement released by the club.

A standout college quarterback at Boise State, Moore had a six-year career as a practice squad or reserve QB with Detroit (2012-2014) and Dallas (2015-2017). He played in just three regular-season games, all with the Cowboys in 2015.

He moved into coaching in 2018 as a quarterbacks coach and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019. He left Dallas to join the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023 before moving to Philadelphia in 2024.

While Moore tended to favor pass-heavy schemes in his early years as a coordinator, he adapted when he joined the Eagles.

Recognizing Philadelphia's strength as a running team — with its big, physical offensive line, star running back Saquon Barkley and mobile quarterback Jalen Hurts — Moore oversaw the NFL's second-ranked ground game in 2024.

The Eagles rushed for a franchise-record 3,048 yards, with Barkley gaining 2,005 of that before adding an additional 499 yards in four playoff games. And when the Chiefs limited Barkley to 57 yards rushing in the Super Bowl, Moore responded with well-timed passing plays that included touchdowns of 46 yards to DeVonta Smith and 12 yards to A.J. Brown.

Moore takes over an offense featuring versatile running back Alvin Kamara and receiver Chris Olave.

While in New Orleans for the Super Bowl this past week, Moore discussed how he tries feature the strengths of available personnel in his play-calling.

“You have certain things that you have strong feelings about from a coaching perspective — certain philosophies — but I think it’s important to do what your players do best,” Moore said. “Going from Dallas to LA to Philadelphia, we've certainly played three different styles, and it's fun when you team up with people just building it however we want to.”

Saints quarterback Derek Carr has two years left on his contract, but his future with the Saints is cloudy following a pair of non-playoff seasons with the club.

Moore will become the Saints' second head coach since Payton briefly retired following the 2021 season, during which New Orleans went 9-8 and narrowly missed the playoffs.

That was the first of what is now four straight seasons without a playoff berth.

Payton's former defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen, took over in 2021, only to go 18-25 during 2 1/2 seasons before being fired following a seven-game skid.

Darren Rizzi, who was a special teams coordinator under both Payton and Allen, took over on an interim basis and went 3-5.

He wanted to remain with the Saints and interviewed for the full-time job after this season. New Orleans also interviewed Miami Dolphins coordinator Anthony Weaver, New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and Buffalo offensive coordinator Joe Brady.

Former Dallas and Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy also was expected to interview with New Orleans, but withdrew his candidacy on Jan. 28, just days after Brady withdrew.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has lost a key assistant from his staff for the second time after the team reached the Super Bowl.

Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon left after the 2022 season when he was named head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. He is 12-22 in two seasons with Arizona.

Offensive coordinator Shane Steichen left in the same time period when he was named head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. He is 17-17 in two seasons.

AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi in Clearwater, Florida, and AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) talks to offensive coordinator Kellen Moore during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione is asking for a laptop in jail, but just for legal purposes — not for communicating with anyone — as he awaits trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO.

In a court filing made public late Monday, Mangione's lawyers proposed that he get a laptop configured solely to let him view a vast amount of documents, video and other material in the case surrounding the shooting of Brian Thompson. Similar limited-laptop provisions have been made for some other defendants in the federal lockup where Mangione is being held.

The Manhattan district attorney's office, which is prosecuting Mangione on a rare New York state charge of murder as an act of terrorism, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. According to Mangione's lawyers, prosecutors are frowning on the laptop request, saying that some witnesses have been threatened.

Defense lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo wrote that there's “no connection to Mr. Mangione for any of said alleged threats.”

Mangione, 26, is accused of gunning down Thompson in December outside a Manhattan hotel where UnitedHealthcare was about to hold an investor conference. Thompson, who was 50 and had two children in high school, worked for decades within UnitedHealthcare and its parent company.

Mangione, an Ivy League computer science graduate from a Maryland real estate family, has pleaded not guilty to the New York state charges. He also faces a parallel federal case that carries the possibility of the death penalty. He hasn't entered a plea to the federal charges or to state-level gun possession and other charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested days after Thompson's death.

Thompson's killing alarmed the corporate world, where some health insurers hastily switched to remote work or online shareholder meetings.

But at the same time, the case channeled some Americans’ frustrations with health insurance companies. Mangione's writings and words on bullets recovered from the scene reflected animus toward health insurers and corporate America, authorities have said.

Some people have lionized the accused killer, donated money to his defense and even flocked to his court appearances. Others, including elected officials, have deplored the praise for what they cast as ideological violence and vigilante justice.

Through his lawyers, Mangione has released a statement thanking supporters.

If he does get a laptop, it would be unable to connect to the internet, run video games or play movies or other entertainment, his lawyers said in Monday's filing. But it would let him examine, from his jail cell, more than 15,000 pages of documents and thousands of hours of video that prosecutors gathered and were required to turn over to his attorneys.

Otherwise, he can view the material when meeting with his lawyers. But they say there aren't enough visiting hours in the day for him to do that and properly help prepare his defense.

FILE - Luigi Mangione , accused of fatally shooting the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City and leading authorities on a five-day search is scheduled, appears in court for a hearing, Feb. 21, 2025, in New York. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool, File)