When many made their predictions entering the 2026 NFL Season, the New Orleans Saints were a popular breakout pick. They finished last season strong, had one of the best drafts in 2025, and had a quarterback in Tyler Shough who elevated the offense to another level. But this is far from what has happened this season so far.

The Saints were 2-4 entering the NFL’s first game in France, and when they needed to win, they fell short in an embarrassing fashion. It may be the nail in the coffin for head coach Kellen Moore.

Kellen Moore’s Performance in the New Orleans Saints’ Loss Draws Criticism

After hiring Moore in 2025, the expectation was that year 1 would be a free season and that improvements would come in year 2.

Instead, Moore hasn’t been able to fix many issues, including the offensive line, run game, questionable personnel decisions, and needed changes that haven’t been made. He completely turned around the Saints’ red-zone success, but against the Pittsburgh Steelers this week, they even regressed in that area.

In the run game this season, the Saints are ranked 25th overall per PFN’s Offensive Impact Metric.

The Saints have also suffered some embarrassing games this season, which has put pressure on Owner Gayle Benson to demand better. Although the score was 16-10 against the Steelers, a better-coached team would have won.

After the loss, many around the NFL World shared their thoughts about Moore and his time with the Saints:

Former NFL defensive lineman Breiden Fehoko called out Moore for being pass-heavy and the Saints’ lack of physicality, “Kellen Moore being a pass happy head coach has costed the Saints 3 wins this year. He has no type of physicality and his team embodies that.”

Saints reporter Katherine Terrell posted a comment from Moore before the game after being asked about stopping Steelers RB Jaylen Warren, and he responded with arguably the most obvious answer ever, “Kellen Moore was asked just now how they stop Jaylen Warren. He said they’ve got to stop the run.”

LSU Tigers writer David Billiot Jr. spoke on Moore’s time management decisions and questioned why it wasn’t used before the two-minute warning, “I understand that the Rodgers scramble likely clinched the loss, but why did Kellen Moore not call a timeout immediately and instead let 30+ seconds run off the clock to the 2 minute warning? This dude is so in over his head.”

Billiot Jr. then spoke about one of the last plays of the game, where the Saints were called offsides and gave the Steelers a first down to run out the clock, “#Saints special teams player jumps offsides to cost the game, walks to the sideline, and what’s waiting for him… Kellen Moore standing there looking like a mom that’s perpetually bothered by the service at a restaurant. No emotion, no fight, no fire.”

Tom Stakes stated his opinion on Moore, “Kellen Moore is not a head coach.”

Paul Blooming claimed that Moore should not be head coach in New Orleans, and the proof of that consistently shows up: “Kellen Moore is not the answer for the Saints. It keeps showing up. He’s not the answer.”

Fantasy football writer Ryan McDowell believes that if Moore is fired, he will quickly become an offensive coordinator somewhere else, “Kellen Moore is going to be a great OC for some team next year.”

One Saints fan called Moore a “substitute teacher” and expressed their interest in New Orleans hiring former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, “Fire Kellen Moore. The substitute teacher has to go… Run me Mike Tomlin”.

Clearly, many have turned on Moore, and after the Owner’s comments just a couple of weeks ago, a change could be made soon. The Saints have been a patient team, so that may not happen until after the season, but the writing is on the wall for Moore.