It doesn’t look like last week’s Joe Brady fiasco is repeating itself with Kellen Moore. The New Orleans Saints reportedly made plans to fly in to Philadelphia as soon as Monday after the Eagles offensive coordinator led his team to a blowout win over the division-rival Washington Commanders in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. And on Monday they followed through on that expectation.
The plane, a 2014 Bombardier Challenger 300 licensed through Benson Football LLC and registered with the Federal Aviation Administration at N411ST, departed New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International Airport on Monday afternoon. After reaching a cruising altitude moving north-by-northeast over the Southeast, the flight descended in a turn east over Delaware before approaching Philadelphia from the south. You can find the flight map here.
Were general manager Mickey Loomis and his confidants on board? Top lieutenants like Jeff Ireland, Khai Harley, and Michael Parenton have sat in on all virtual interviews so far, along with senior personnel advisor Randy Mueller. One name no longer in those meetings is Dave Ziegler, another consultant who left for a full-time role in the Tennessee Titans front office.
It says a lot about the Saints’ interest in Moore that the Saints are flying cross-country to meet with him in person. Other candidates like Darren Rizzi, Anthony Weaver, and Mike Kafka all held their second, in-person interviews in New Orleans at the team headquarters. But it remains to be seen whether anyone from the team brass was actually on board or if this trip was related at all. But that sure feels like a safe assumption.
Update: The jet landed at Philadelphia International Airport around 6:47 p.m. ET, having spent a little over two hours in the air. It’s a 12-minute drive to the Eagles headquarters at the Novacare Complex, but the Saints will likely want to meet with Moore elsewhere. Stay tuned for more details.
