What we learned about Kellen Moore, Doug Nussmeier and the Saints at LSU coaching clinic

It kind of felt like everything Kellen Moore had done, every single step he ever took, was leading him right here, to this stage inside of LSU's practice facility.

Becoming an NFL head coach at just 36-years old probably feels quick to most people. But you just get the feeling that for Moore, this was a finally moment. That part of getting here, as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, is about moments like this one, where he could stand on a stage and give some knowledge to a group of Louisiana high school football coaches. It's probably no coincidence that Moore spoke at a clinic before he ever coached in a game.

Moore presented for an hour, sharing knowledge and breaking down film. When you look at a photo, which flattens everything down into one still image, Moore looks young, probably younger than his age. But up there on the stage, where he's in motion, you see a man in command of a room, full of knowledge and passion, all of his dimensions on display. Yeah, this is a finally moment. Moore has been walking this path for a long time. Back before he could drive, he was sitting in rooms like this one, a coach's son, learning about the game, tuning his own whistle.

Moore presented for about 55 minutes, including questions, and was followed by Doug Nussmeier, who spoke for about the same amount of time. Here are some key takeaways:

Simplification

Moore talked a lot about the language of his offense and how he wants it to be as simple and relatable as possible for his players. The coach revealed that he's had four different systems and has called them all differently. He caters his playbook to what works best for each group.

So, when he was in Dallas, he used many words relatable to the state of Texas. In Moore's old Cowboys' playbook, there were plays called Odessa, Frisco, Dallas, Austin, and so on — names of cities within the area and state. It stands to reason that the Saints' playbook will draw from similar sources. The reason for this is that it makes it relatable, and using familiar words and phrases makes it easier for the players to create an association and remember the concept.

To keep the spacing concepts all front of mind, Moore uses words that can't be confused — Pluto, Saturn, Comet, Orbit, etc. And he does the same thing with his running concepts. All of the runs to the Weakside will start with W words, while the Strongside runs start with S words. And if a certain package of plays go together, Moore will find a theme to make sure the word creates an immediate association.

The idea is to make it easy to remember and hard to screw up.

Building a culture

Nussmeier's portion of the clinic centered heavily on culture building, and it was really cool to see how different things correlated to things the Eagles did in practice last season.

The coach showed a clip of a ball-security drill the team's offensive linemen did last season, then a clip of a player recovering a fumble using that technique in a game, and how a blocking drill led to perfectly clean pockets in games.

But maybe the most interesting thing he talked about was their rules for finishing plays. He said they want their players running everything out, and he wants to see the offensive linemen get 10 yards down the field. Nussmeier then showed the reason for this, and the reveal was a tight end recovering a fumble well down the field because he finished the play.

That's culture. That's what this staff wants to bring to New Orleans.

Core values

Moore spelled out his core values for players and coaches, which are all straight to the point — and it was about what you would expect.

He wants players who have the physical tools to succeed, the ability to learn and love football.

He wants coaches who are great people who love football, are excellent teachers, and have a growth mindset. Most of all, he wants people who will build confidence in the players.

The overarching point and common thread between everything Moore talked about was a love for the game.

Looking for plays

One of the more interesting moments was when Moore shared there are a couple of Twitter accounts that he keeps an eye on because they share a lot of interesting plays. It's interesting to know that a football coach in the NFL is keeping after some of the same accounts we look at.

And yet, it also wasn't surprising at all. I watched a mic'ed-up video Moore did while he was with the Chargers, and he was talking about how he was going to implement a blocking drill he saw on Twitter. He really is just a student of the game and loves the game.

2023 Texas-Home Motion➡️2 Back Nub TE Snug-Push Motion➡️WZ w/ Swing RPO pic.twitter.com/K5w5YcPDGf— Pace N Space (@PaceNSpace2) March 23, 2025

Meshing personalities

My biggest personal takeaway was how well these guys fit together. Moore and Nussmeier speak the same language and have similar points of view, but they have different personalities. Moore is more down to business, let's get it type. Nuss is also that, but he leads with his personality. Both of them are highly effective communicators, engaging in their own way, but it's good to see it come from different places. That should keep the messaging fresh.