The Dallas Cowboys had a chance to make Kellen Moore their head coach but they shocked everyone and went with Brian Schottenheimer.
Moore and Schottenheimer both would have been safe hires in that they represent familiarity and comfortability for team owner Jerry Jones. They seemingly wouldn't ruffle any feathers and ensure that Jones maintains final say in all personnel decisions as de facto general manager.
Being that Moore was a finalist for the Cowboys' job, fans have no choice but to track how he fares with the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints announced Moore as head coach last week, a few days after the Eagles hoisted the Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl 59. New Orleans was the last team to fill their HC vacancy so Moore is now scrambling to fill out his coaching staff.
As a result, Moore is relying heavily on his Cowboys roots.
Kellen Moore hires another former Cowboys coach to his Saints staff
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported on Tuesday that the Saints are hiring Scott Tolzien as their quarterbacks coach.
The #Saints are hiring Scott Tolzien as their new QBs coach under Kellen Moore, sources say, as Tolzien and Moore reunite after both being on the #Cowboys coaching staff.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 18, 2025
A former NFL QB, Tolzien is now a rising young coach and a key hire for New Orleans. pic.twitter.com/lL1T7yQIXX
A former quarterback in the NFL for four seasons, Tolzien worked with Moore on the Cowboys for three years. He served as a coaching assistant from 2020 to 2022 while Moore was Dallas' offensive coordinator.
Tolzien was promoted to Cowboys' QBs coach in 2023 and held that title through the 2024 season before his contract expired. Moore served as the Chargers and Eagles offensive coordinator, respectively, during that span.
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Tolzien oversaw arguably the best season of Dak Prescott's career in 2023 when he finished second in MVP voting after he threw for 4,500 yards and a league-high 36 touchdowns compared to just nine interceptions.
While Prescott took a step back this past season, that is more attributed to a combination of Dallas' abysmal 2024 offseason, Mike McCarthy's play-calling and a poor running game than anything Tolzien did in the quarterback room.
Tolzien is now the second former Cowboys assistant to join Moore's staff in the Big Easy. Former assistant tight ends coach and passing game coordinator Chase Haslett will be Moore's tight ends coach. Like Tolzien and Moore, Haslett and Moore coached in Dallas together from 2020-22.
It was always expected that Moore would reunite with former Cowboys coaches whenever he got a head coaching gig. Several positions on his Saints staff still need to be filled, so don't be surprised if Moore dips back into the Dallas coaching tree pool.
Much like Dan Quinn signing every Cowboys free agent under the sun last offseason, Moore doesn't seem to have any original ideas as far as filling out his first-ever coaching staff.